I turn to face Andrew who is shouting over Kelly Clarkson and her band as they perform live at the Motorola “Moto 9” party. I scan the crowd and see none other than Ian Ziering, also known as the Dancing With the Stars Z lister, moving his way towards the front of the stage.
I was a huge fan of Beverly Hills 90210 in my teens. In the early 1990’s it was the only must-see TV in my life, even though I grew up in a blue collar town and had little in common with the glamorous students of West Beverly High. I spent my summers with the gang at the beach and my evenings hanging out at the Peach Pit After Dark. I even followed them through the college years at the mythical California University.
Just like your high school experience...only different! The gang from West Beverly:
I never really cared for Ian Ziering’s character Steve Sanders on 90210. I thought he was a complete tool – one who drove a Corvette and sported a blonde afro/mullet to boot. I think the writers thought those attributes made him cool, but instead he looked like a guy having a midlife crisis with the sports car and wearing jackets with shoulder pads.
Exhibit A: The White Man Mullet'Fro...
Even with all that working against him, seeing Ian Zierling in the flesh changed everything for me. I just had to get my photo taken with him.
I plead with Andrew to help me in my mission. I start envisioning the possibilities this photo could create for me. A holiday card. Can’t you see it? Happy holidays from the Zierings. Oh, this is going to be really funny.
I spend the next 15 minutes strategizing on how to approach Ian to have our photo taken together. Could I be bold and approach him? Wait for him to walk by? Make Andrew do it for me? I begin wondering if a proper protocol exists for asking a Z lister to take a photo with you.
As I contemplate my next move, an opportunity for introduction presents itself. Ian begins making his way out of the crowd away from the stage, and as luck would have it, heads straight in my direction. I decide to just go for it and approach him. I step towards him and almost instantly our eyes connect. My heart starts racing and he smiles at me. This is going to happen! I continue stepping towards him, making sure not to trip and trying not to lose the eye contact. Everything is going to plan, at least until the moment I opened my mouth.
If this situation happened to anyone but me, the following things might have been said:
“Ian! I’m a huge fan of your work. Could I please take a photo with you?”
“You were AMAZING on Dancing with the Stars!”
“I’m a dying woman and my last wish is to take a photo with you.”
But alas, this is me we’re talking about, so think about what a jackass would say instead.
“AAAAAACCCCKKHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
I'm not sure of the proper spelling of the shriek that came out of mouth. The shrill tone startles me as much as it does Ian. To make it worse, I realize I am POINTING at him while I'm doing this. The pitch of my voice stops Ian in his tracks and pretty much anyone within a ten foot radius of the two of us. He continues to stare at me but his smile is gone, replaced with a concerned glance. Then his expression turns to one of fear, right before he turns and high tails it the opposite direction.
Mortified, I stand there frozen. Not only did I blow my chance for a photo opp, but I managed to scare the crap out of the guy, just by being me. What can I say? It's a gift...
I hear Andrew laughing his ass off behind me. “Kristen! What the hell just happened?” he taunts as he doubles over. I come back to my senses and join Andrew in the laughter.
What can I say Andrew? I guess you can say Steve Sanders and I shared a moment we’ll never forget.
