Celebrities

We have a new member of our blog team, author Joan Sowards. Welcome, Joan!

by Joan Sowards

In my college days, I was a big-time fan of a popular singer named Matt. I could listen to his music all day and had a few albums on 8-track. He had a concert planned in a neighboring city, so the guy I was dating bought tickets and in great anticipation of a fantastic concert, we dressed up and traveled quite a distance to attend.

The pre-act was painful to watch. This stand-up comedian’s crude humor made his act hard to sit through. I endured a demonstration on how to remove a bra one-handed from an ironing board, among other degrading concepts, all for the fantastic show my favorite singer would present in just a few minutes. The pre-act went on and on and enduring became harder. I wanted to stand up and shout "Get off the stage and take your dirty jokes out to the dumpster!" but restrained myself, knowing the fabulous show following would make the wait worth it.

Finally, the guy finished. As the crowd cheered him wildly, I shrank into my chair with relief. Then Matt walked onto the stage looking wonderful in a tuxedo and charmed us all with his smooth singing and English accent. Each time he stopped singing, he made a vulgar comment. I tried to forgive each comment, hoping he'd just sing and quit talking. Disappointment. He kept talking, offering the same kind of humor as had the stand-up. I wanted to stand and shout, "Stop talking, and sing!"

But then he said, "Let's hear it for all you naughty girls out there!" The crowd went crazy cheering. When they stopped, he said, "Let's hear it for all the nice girls out there." The cheers were about one tenth compared to the naughty support. "Well," he laughed, "tell me, how is Salt Lake City these days?"

My heart sank to my tailbone. That jab at my values and my religion shattered any love I ever had for the man. I sunk into the depths of disappointment. The man's pedestal had turned into a cesspool. I didn't want to sit through his dirty jokes and be insulted by him any longer. It took me a few more minutes to gather courage and turn to my date and say, "I'll wait in the car." I stood and walked out. He followed.

I wished I had known then that I could ask for a refund. I would have. We walked away from the theater and I left that part of my life behind. I never listened to another album of Matt's--and today can only tell you one title of a song he sang. Never missed him.

From that experience, I learned that celebrities are not people to put up as idols. They may sound wonderful on recordings and look good on screen, but they are often not people I'd enjoy spending time with. It's not worth it. I'd rather save my money and buy a plane ticket to Salt Lake City.