Wild And Crazy Guys

I just love moments like this. I was going to take a quick look at what my friends were up to on social media, and then take a nap. You see, it's a lovely, cool day today, and I am really enjoying it. As I was looking around, I saw a comment made by my friend Cindy. Someone she knows had made a post along the lines of, "Steve Martin, you have xx number of people following you, and you haven't posted anything in the last year?" My friend responded by saying that she loved Steve Martin anyway, he is one wild and crazy guy! Now, for those of you that read that and don't know what's so funny, here it is in a nutshell. Once upon a time, AKA back in the day, the cast of Saturday Night Live included two men named Dan Aykroyd and Steve Martin. They had ongoing skits featuring two characters called the Czechoslovakian Brothers. They had escaped Soviet control and moved to the USA. Their clothes were just a bit behind the current fashion, and horribly mismatched. And  they were always trying to pick up foxy chicks. They were goofy and dorky, and every skit included the line, "We are two wild and crazy guys!"

Suddenly I remembered something that happened to me many years ago. I was working as a drive-through bank teller, and my coworkers were a blend of all types of people. There were college students and grandmas, and everything in between. There was a very interesting lady named Nan who also ran her own business as a psychic. I am not going to judge in one direction or another on that subject, because there are charlatans and genuinely gifted people in every walk of life. Also, I have had one or two moments of intuition that have literally saved my life, and since I'm just an average Jane, who knows what abilities might truly exist among others?

One day, Nan started talking to me about a male friend of hers that she felt that I really should meet. She just knew that we would click, and that we might just be soul mates. I won't lie to you, I was a bit leery. How often do these meetings really end up being a good thing? (Okay, it did work out for me eventually, as that is how I met Trent.) And time never goes as slowly as it does when you are out on a date with someone that you absolutely do not click with. So I kept avoiding the situation until the fateful Department Christmas Party. Nan informed me that she was going to bring this friend of hers to the Christmas party so that the magic could happen. Okay she didn't say anything about the magic, that's something I just threw in there. I told one of my friends from work, a very sweet young man named Mike, about Nan's plans. Both of us were nervous and curious to see what would happen, but I did get Mike's assurance that he would help me out at the party if things were weird. Although we both loved Nan, we knew she was a bit of an odd duck, so who knew what her taste level would be in this type of situation?

The night of the party arrived, and the venue was a beautiful old building near a park. Everyone was having fun eating and dancing and enjoying each others' company. And that's when I spotted them coming in the door. Nan looked like her normal self, but they guy with her? My blood ran cold. I am not the kind of person who judges others on standards of beauty or attractiveness. Heck, that would make me a hypocrite since I am certainly not one of the pretty girls. But even from across the room, this man scared me. The first thing everyone would have noticed about him was his impaired fashion sense. The most important to me, however, was when I saw his face. Sounds shallow, doesn't it? It isn't, because I am not talking about his looks. The best way I could describe what he looked like is very chilling. He looked like the person who, as the saying goes, probably has bodies in his basement. To make things a bit more clear, something about his eyes and the way he looked at people reminded me of David Berkowitz. You remember him? Maybe you will if I tell you that he is better known as the Son of Sam killer.

I didn't want to say anything about how his face totally freaked me out, but I turned to Mike and said, "There they are. He makes the Czechoslovakian Brothers look cool!" Mike's smile and laugh disappeared as he looked over my shoulder and saw the man that Nan thought might be my soul mate. His face showed that he was both disturbed and concerned. Without a moment's thought, he said, "Katrina, we're engaged. There is no way I am going to let him get near you. You're staying right here with me." That was the first time I realized that you don't have to be romantically involved with a guy for him to have a moment as your night in shining armor. And several years later, when Mike married a very lovely woman named Gail, I enjoyed sharing the story of how, although she married him, I was his first fiancee! Thanks, Mike, for being a true friend and a hero!