If you’re a fan of this site then it should come
as no surprise when
I say everyone here at the office is a lil’ obsessive.
Lulu will stay up
until 2 am on a school night rereading Nancy Drew mysteries,
Chris
will see some Old Navy commercial, then turn to me and say, “Put
your shoes on. We’re going to buy Performance Fleece NOW!!!” and
me, well, it seems each week I’ve got a new crush. On Tuesday I
can’t
stop talking about Vinnie and his tampon cases and then by
Sunday I suddenly
must know everything about Claire Grogan of
80’s band Altered Images. Whatever
did we do before Google?
Actually, I remember. When I was a kid I would go to the library
each week and
carry out mini research projects. I’d scroll through
the microfiche to
learn all I possibly could about Doug and Suzie
Tompkins of Esprit or check out
back issues of any magazine that
mentioned the CK model Josie Borain.
But I’d also have these weird fascinations with people in my every
day
life, like Alice the lunchlady who had the word “Elvis” inscribed
in her gold tooth. Those subjects were more difficult to discover, but
not really.
I’d simply interview them for my zine “Hurricane.” We’d
talk up a storm! Turns out working at a high school is the perfect
set-up for
Elvis fans. This way you’ve got summers off and never
miss your yearly
pilgrimage to Graceland to honor the King on
August 16th, the day of his untimely
passing...
Point is, you can learn a lot from a crush. Best case scenario, your
life will
completely be changed. Try to remember that the next time
you see some cute boy
or girl on the bus and then let shyness get
the best of you. I’m living
proof! I met Chris and Lulu at a birthday
party in 1996 and now can’t imagine
what I would be doing without
them. There would be no fredflare.com,
that’s
for sure.
This year for my birthday those two gave me my very own column
which you are
reading right now! (Thanks, guys.) This is where
you’ll learn about some
of my all-time fave people as well as a few
new discoveries. I’m actually
pretty shy myself but here you’ll find
me to be a real people person! I’ll
give raves, I’ll gush and every
coupla weeks I’ll tell you a secret
crush... Email me anytime at keith@fredflare.com and
tell me yours. I’d
love to hear from you! Xoxox, Keith
I tried to sit down and write something about how
much I love Teeter Sperber from 31
Corn Lane but I just kept drawing big ballpoint bubbly hearts like I’m back in 7th grade. I can’t help it!
She’s totally the kind of girl that I would befriend in Social Studies
back in 1985. We’d pass notes in class and hang out on the monkey bars
at recess. On weekends we’d pool our allowances and buy ice creams at
the Dairy Dream.
While in my mind I’m still 13, some things have certainly changed. Last
week, Teeter and I went out fer lunch like grown-ups at Oznot’s in Williamsburg!
I told her I had some work stuff to chat about when really I just wanted to
hang out and get to know her better. (Secret crushes are the best!)
The minute she shows up my day is going great! She’s so super cute, smart
and full o’ pep and just makes ya happy. Her big bright eyes sparkle
and her infectious laugh makes you feel like they just called yur name on The
Price is Right.
And she has the cutest pixie cut ever! (I love pixies!
We give ‘em a
lil’ shout-out in our list of fave things in our song Sparkle
Pop.) Imagine
if Tinkerbell hired Punky Brewster’s stylist and you get an idea of her
hot look ‘n vibe.
Recently Teeter left her city job and moved back home to New Jersey to work
on 31 Corn Lane full-time. She was telling me all about her new life out there
over lunch. She has an lil’ office in a town called Little Silver. It’s
in a two-story building, the tallest around, and her studio is right above
the pizza place. What a slice o’ heaven!
Sometimes, when she’s bored, she’ll go down and chat with her uncle
who runs the liquor store next door. Or she’ll watch old 80’s flicks
like Pretty in Pink, the Goonies or
Rad on her VCR in the office. Or she’ll
go bowling.
Chances are, though, she won’t soon have time for any of that. Her and
her sisters, twins Heather and Amy, have big plans for 31 Corn Lane in 2004.
They’re all so super talented we can’t wait to see what they do
next! I only hope Teeter will still have time for lunch every once in a while...
