First off, HAPPY NATAL ANNIVERSARY, JENNIFER!!!
Second off, about the nattering nabobs of negativity, deeveedee style. I was in a Best Buy about a year or so ago, when I overheard one of them dismissing the version of Gone with the Wind in his hands, saying with all the pretense he could muster, "There's no way I'm getting this until they release it in widescreen". I wanted to bitch-slap him...I really, really did.
Third off...he's one of my "unusual date" stories. I had mentioned to a group of friends that I was going off to see Star Trek V: The Final Frontier the next day, the day it opened. (I always see Star Trek movies the day they open. Unless they're Next Generation movies. Oy!)
Anyway, one of the newer people in the coterie, a very nice and attractive young lady, lets it be known that she'd like to accompany me to this extravaganza. And here's how headless I am...I have no idea that what she's asking me for is a date. And she, obviously, has no clue that I'm really, really gay. I mean, seriously gay.
Anyway, we arrange to meet each other at the theater, and I arrive wearing extremely casual clothes: cut-off jeans, sandals, and a tank top. (Hey, back then, I didn't feel self-concious about showing some skin.) And she's dolled up in a very nice dress, high heels...you know, the works. We kinda looked at each other, and realize that there'd been wires crossed here. We get it all ironed out, before the movie begins, and have a laugh.
And then, after the movie, we decide to pretend we're on a date for the benefit of the onlookers and passersby. We appear the odd couple, to say the least; the prim, proper ladylike Michelle and the guy who looks like a major league stoner. We gazed longingly into each other's eyes, as we walked hand-in-hand down the boulevard. We had our pictures taken by confused tourists, who were scratching their collective heads. Needless to say, a splendid time was had by the both of us, and we're still very close to this day, nearly fifteen years later.