Friday, September 10, 2010

pop culture flashback

this week, we had september 8. [we also had sept. 5, which ironically is both the birthday of my rocker ex-bf AND the day we blessed baby j, but i digress.] september 8 was jonathan taylor thomas' 29th birthday. is it completely pathetic that i know this? not really. in fact i'd say it's proof that all those hours of celeb-stalking in my tweens have actually paid off -- at least i learned something!



i was a biiiig fan of JTT. like ob. sessed. i watched home improvement every week, plastered my walls with his face, knew that his real last name was actually weiss and that "thomas" was just his stage name. i had calendars and books and all sorts of crap.

then on nov. 12, 1997 my friend's mom pulled some strings and we got to go to a taping of home improvement. her friend-of-a-friend was the makeup artist on the show and she agreed to bring me backstage to meet JTT. i walked behind some sets, met heidi the tool time lady, walked down some steps and there he was. i remember something about him wearing a bomber jacket and eating a bowl of rice [he IS a vegetarian, you know]. also, i, at the age of 13, was already a few inches taller than his 5'7" frame [that's a dealbreaker, ladies].

i shook his hand and squeaked out a few words and heroically managed to not confess my undying love for him. he was adorable in person, if not dwarflike. then my time was up and i was ushered back to my seat, where i sat shaking like a leaf for the next few hours. no pictures were taken that day, sadly, but if there had been i'm sure you would have seen my face crack wide open from sheer bliss.

on my way out, the makeup lady handed me a home improvement hat signed by both JTT and zachery ty bryan [who guest starred on burn notice a few months ago, haha]. i'm sure that hat is currently sitting up in my parents' attic collecting dust, but i will make sure it never gets thrown away. i went home that night and put a plastic bag over my hand when i took a shower so his germs wouldn't come off. true story. i am so weird.

yeah, that was a good day.

whatever happened to JTT? i saw him guest star on an episode of smallville once. then i heard a bunch of internet rumors he was either dead or gay. whatevs. JTT, you'll always have my heart. [also, speaking of my junior high pop culture life, did you know the LFO guy died this week?]

12 comments:

La La Land said...

I love this post. And I love that you covered your hand when you showered. I was older than JTT, but I still thought he was cute. How can you not love baby Simba?

becca said...

this post just blew my mind. jealous you met jtt and the lfo guy died??! que triste.

becca said...

also, remember when he was the voice of simba???

Megan said...

hahaha! You make me laugh! I used to watch lion king over and over (pre dvr days) just so I could hear his voice! no wonder we are friends :)

Jenny said...

I was a JTT fan back in the day, too. :)

dillon and kim said...

oh my!!! I totally had a JTT wall in my tween room and when I'd play 'mash' I'd put all his characters names as to be sure we would end up together...glad someone else was as crazy as me! I thought you were cool before but now that I know you 'hung out' with JTT you might be the coolest person I know.

Justin + Kelly said...

I totally remember that!! You were so crazed with JTT fever!

Tiffany Fife Buckmiller said...

Oh my gosh! I loved LFO! So sad! I'm pretty sure I still have a cd with a mix of their songs on it

Jamie Onken said...

I never knew of your undying love for JTT (even though you know of my past with bb mac) I went to elementary and junior high with him.

'Hel said...

yeah.... totally remember this phase. I even remember you putting the bag over your hand when you took a shower! lol Love ya!

Tara said...

Not to gross you out or anything, but he totally reminds me of Grant.

Jean said...

AHH!!! I crushed on JJT, too, until I learned that he was most definitely shorter than me. (Haha!) He's still adorable, though, even at the old age of 29. Your story is so cute!! I love that you didn't wash your hand... I remember those days of major boy crushes!!!