"The trick is to make them laugh with you..."

"... before they can laugh at you." - Jaleel White in "Stephanie Got Framed." - "Full House," January 25, 1991. I took this advice to heart, so when Stephanie got glasses, I wore sunglasses. When Stephanie wore a side half ponytail, I wore a side half ponytail. When Stephanie sang "The Sign" in the talent competition at the Smash Club, I walked around singing "The Sign" at church. In fact, when asked "oh, you like Ace of Base?" by an older kid, rather than playing it off as a badass third grader who knew the songs on the radio, I replied, "um no." I didn't like Ace of Base - I had never heard of Ace of Base. I liked Stephanie Tanner, and I wanted to be just like her.

Although I am six months (... and a day - I promise I'm not really crazy) older than the Olsen duo, I always felt way too cool and mature (clearly if we are using this post as an example) to be a fan of baby Michelle. (And as a "Full House" purist who loved the show as a whole, I detested it when kids called the show "Michelle"). Then there was D.J. I always knew D.J. with her pillow person, Paula Abdul poster, and private phone line was the epitome of a cool teenager, but she was a little too old for me to relate to. So I naturally turned to Stephanie as my hero - a few years older than me and totally rad with awesome clothes and an even cooler attitude. In my book, Stephanie ruled. (and Jodie Sweetin is one of the best child actors of all time - seriously, the kid memorized lines when she was four - who does that... even if she couldn't spell mnemonic).

So with all the love I had for Jodie Sweetin, you can only imagine my excitement when I was visiting my cousins in Massachusetts circa 1992 and saw a commercial on TV that caught my attention. Jodie Sweetin was going to be signing autographs at the local mall! (I recently read in her book that this experience wasn't fun for her - go figure, but to me, it was the thrill of a lifetime, so for my sake, thanks for putting up with it Jodie).

My older cousin, knowing how much I loved the show, asked our parents if we could go and for some reason, they agreed. I put on my best outfit - a polka dotted button up sweatshirt with coordinated polka dotted shorts, layered up my socks - a different color on top for each foot, and my cousin curled and feathered my hair. I wanted to look just right for my big meet and greet with Jodie.

We drove over to the mall where we saw a huge line and a giant purple dinosaur. (Later when Barney became popular, my mother would claim that we had seen Barney before he hit it big, but this was a generic purple dinosaur - it was not Barney). We got in line, and as I recall, I waited patiently like the absolute angel that I always was. I waited and waited. My cousin asked me what I was going to say to Jodie when I got to the front of the line. "Are you gonna tell her you watch her show?" She asked. Hmm.. i hadn't thought about that. I decided that I would tell Jodie that I loved her show.

Once I could see Jodie sitting at her table, I became increasingly nervous. I didn't know her! And you couldn't just go up and talk to a cool 10 year old!.. even if she is sitting at a table with the sole purpose of saying hello to her fans... I thought, "am I going to tell her I like her show?" - Like hell I am. I definitely wanted to speak to Jodie, but by the time I handed her the black and white photo that her people had given me to have her sign, I was completely frozen. I have no idea if anyone in my family ever spoke to her (although I'm certain that they did because who in their right mind couldn't muster up a simple greeting), but I know I didn't... I just stood there like a deer in the headlights of a VW bus. Although I still think it's too bad that I choked, I still remember the event fondly (as evidenced by the fact that I am still talking about it... 17 years later). If I could say something to Jodie Sweetin now, it would be "thanks for contributing to my childhood - you will always be my first TV hero... and I may or may not still have your autographed black and white photo framed and hanging on my wall." Here's to you Jodie Sweetin. With or without Mr. Bear, as D.J. once said, "you're a cool kid." And as far as I'm concerned,you always will be.