Nothing Gold Can Stay

My work bud, Trisha and I were wasting time today, and talking about guys in Hollywood we thought were hot. I mentioned that one of my favorites, who has only gotten hotter over time, is Rob Lowe (grrrrrrr). She totally agreed, which prompted her to tell me how excited she was of her latest purchase, the two disc dvd of The Outsiders (in which a young Rob Lowe was featured) with deleted scenes and all kinds of extras. I remember reading about it coming out a few months ago, but had forgotten. I think I'll run to Best Buy this weekend and grab one for myself. This movie had the hottest cast of guys in the eighties (Lowe, Cruise, Swayze, Estevez, Dillon, Howell, and of course Macchio). If you haven't seen this movie.....shame on you.... do yourself a favor and rent it.

Possibly the first male crush i ever remember having came from this movie. I was just a wide-eyed naive schoolboy. My oldest sister had just turned 16 and was always forced to babysit me (of course, in my mind, i was too old for a sitter). She and her boyfriend wanted to go to the movies, but my parents and other sister were off doing other things, and they were stuck with me. So, they decided to take me along to the theater. They sat in the back and I went to the front. I had no idea what The Outsiders was about except that it had greasers and some fighting in it. I figured it would probably be cool, after all, I liked Fonzie and he was a greaser. The movie started, and before I knew it, there he was on screen. At the time, I didn't know his real name. He was just Johnny Cade to me. By the time the movie was over, I was in love. I couldn't keep my mind off him.

I don't know if it was his certain tough facade and knowing that underneath was a sweet vulnerable kid, if it was his rugged cuteness and dark complexion, or perhaps if it was the tender relationship he had with his best friend,Ponyboy, and how he loved Ponyboy to read him to sleep with Gone With the Wind. It was probably a combination of all three. I remember when Johnny died in the movie and how I cried. All of this emotion over a guy. I didn't really understand what was going on in my head and heart, but I liked it. It felt right.

Later that night, I snuck into my other sister's room (she was 13 at the time) and stole a few of her Tiger Beat magazines. I saw his name in the closing credits of the film, but could only remember the name Ralph. Needless to say, there he was on the glossy pages among other heartthrobs of the era.....Ralph Macchio. I didn't really know how to pronounce the last name, but it didn't matter. In my mind he was Johnny Cade and I filled in the shoes of Ponyboy Curtis, holding him and comforting him as was shown in the movie. I clipped his pics and kept them in my Trapper Keeper. Whenever bored in class, I would open it up and daydream. The feelings would overwhelm me at times.

The crush lasted through to the Karate Kid, after which time Ralph got fat, and i lost interest. But for those couple of years, Ralph was mine.