One fateful summer day when I was twelve I got on the city bus with my mom and my little brother and headed to a local mall. When we got there my brother hopped in the stroller and the three of us wandered around for a while. In the center of the mall in front of the escalators a stage was set up with ropes in front of it. A crowd had gathered and we stopped to see what was going on. My mom saw a sign nearby mentioning someone I’d never heard of.
"It looks like Davy Jones is going to be here," she told my brother and I. "He’s signing autographs for his new book." At first I was disinterested since I had no clue who this guy was. My mom explained to me that he had been on a TV show in the 60s and girls used to scream for him at concerts. I still had no idea what she was talking about, but the crowd and the excitement were starting to take their affect on me. I was anxious to see this guy and find out just what they were getting worked up over.
We were standing near the escalator to the basement level. Yellow ropes blocked them from us. But from that viewpoint I got my first glimpse of the man who would change me forever. In that one unassuming instant my young life took a dramatic turn for the better. Coming up the escalator I saw two security guards surrounding a man with a nice tan and brown hair that was long in the back. When he got to the top of the stairs his smile was captivating as he waved to the crowd and rushed to the stage. Between the heads of the grownups all around me I watched him break into Daydream Believer and I had an instant crush. In my short, sheltered life I had never encountered excitement like this. The man up on stage was larger than life to me.
My mom had to tear me away after the one song ended so we wouldn’t miss our bus to go home. I walked away in a daze. She told me all about Davy and the Monkees on our way home.
"You know," she said, "he’s not much taller than I am." (Actually, he is. She’s 4’10")
When I got home my dad pulled out his three Monkees records for me and I listened to them a hundred times until he gave in and put them on cassette. I only had to watch the show once and I was hooked for life- literally.
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