Crush

I really like the word, and concept, "crush." To me it connotes somewhat innocent, puppy-dog love, where it's more about adoring and being in awe than actually knowing and being in love. Crushes are from a distance, from down a hall, from across a classroom. They're uncomplicated, usually unrequited, and often times slightly embarrassing.

In college, "crush" came to refer to things we liked to a point of shy obsession. There were categories: "Intellectual Crush" for the really smart and insightful grad student teaching your Semantics class, "Book crush" for the characters in books that you want to hang around with, "Non-sexual Crush" for the person of your gender-of-interest who you adore and can't get enough of, but have no interest in being physical with.

Crushes of mine:

1) Keanu Reeves
From Paula Abdul's "Rush, Rush" video right up until Speed. One of the few people whose picture I actually ripped out of a magazine and hung on my wall.

2) Mikey in The Goonies
I've had a lot of crushes on characters specifically, and not so much on the people portraying them. This was a big one for me.

3) JK Rowling
I love the HP series, she's fabulously wealthy, and she seems really smart and down to earth. My version of heaven is a coffee shop where I get to hang out with people like her.

4) John S.
He lived across the street from me when I was a kid. The first of a long line of crushes on my brother's friends.

5) Calvin O'Keefe
He travels across the universe with Meg Murray and helps her save her dad. And he doesn't care how non-lustrous her hair is.

6) Alison B.
Taught a lot of my college courses. She was just so cool. She lived in Harlem, knew karate, was very smart, and not the least bit preoccupied with the rich kids in class. I sort of wanted her life, minus having to teach people.

Like I said, somewhat embarrassing. I could waste a lot of digital ink on the whole "characters (but not the actors) that I have a crush on."