I love Jaime Sommers, aka the one and the only Lindsay Wagner! Okay I’ve said it.
This Christmas I received the gift of both nostalgic memories and a “bucket list” dream. It all began on Christmas morning as I opened a vintage 1978 lunchbox of the Bionic Woman, complete with the matching thermos. I could not believe my eyes as I always admired and longed to have one of my own. Truth be told, asking for one when I was a kid turned out to have been completely out of the question as I was told “only girls carry such a lunchbox.”
I was devastated and completely crushed I would never own one, but that did not stop me from watching and loving the show even more. I did not get my parents’ objections: after all, I was a boy who had a huge crush on a girl. Okay, perhaps she was much older, but nevertheless my feelings were perfectly normal in my book. She was kind, funny and always attainble in my book and being bionic was just the bonus. I used to wish Jaime Sommers and Steve Austin would adopt me so I could join the OSI in missions to help them save the world.
Years turned to decades and I remained a fan. Even after the show ended my love for Lindsay didn’t. Whatever TV show she was on or movie she was in I needed to watch, and today with the help of YouTube I can relive those memories all over again. She has worked steadily her whole career and is now also an accomplished speaker and teacher of holistic mind-body awareness.
So getting back to the lunchbox: I opened it to find airline tickets to Indianapolis, Indiana, to see her on January 27th at 7pm. OMG! The night is called “More than a Bionic Woman: An Evening with Lindsay Wagner.” Then I discovered VIP tickets to meet her one-on-one! (Officially freaking out at this point.) What will I say, what will I do? What will I wear? How will I capture the moment?
So I’m packing my bag–and lunchbox of course!–and heading to the Hilton Hotel on West Market Street, Indianapolis, to meet my childhood actor crush. That said, it’s a crush that never really diminished, and being a huge fan my whole life I find myself crazy with excitement and beyond awed to meet her in person. Perhaps this makes me a geek; regardless, it makes me truthfully me.
