Lucy Meets An American Idol
1 Rating / 4 Comments
My husband refers to me and my best friend, Vannessa, as “Lucy and Ethel” because of our willingness to think up and carry out hair-brained schemes. Vannessa and I were involved in many such schemes during our years together at McKinneyHigh School some twenty years ago. My latest “Lucy” moment occurred when I traveled from McKinney to Rockwall to attempt to meet this year’s fourth-place finisher in the American Idol contest, Jason Castro. He had his homecoming celebration in Rockwall last week, and I was determined to actually meet Castro instead of merely catching a glimpse of him from afar.
The sole reason I was on this mission is because of Vannessa, a.k.a “Ethel.” Vannessa is a big American Idol fan and an even bigger Jason Castro fan. Like Vannessa, Jason is an Aggie, a Texan and a devout Christian. The dreadlock-wearing Castro, 21, became a favorite of female fans because of his piercing blue eyes, dazzling smile and unique voice. His fans proudly refer to themselves as “dreadheads.” Vannessa is No. 2,246 of the Dreadhead Fan Club. She so badly wanted Jason to be one of the top three American Idol finalists (which would have earned him a televised trip to College Station where Vannessa lives) that she called in votes for him for two solid hours with a cell phone in each hand. Unfortunately for Vannessa, her valiant, two-fisted effort on behalf of Jason didn’t help him make it into one of the top three spots. Vannessa, by the way, is not some teeny-bopper, but a level-headed forty-year-old married mother of three children and has never before joined a fan club.
When Vannessa heard that Castro would be attending a homecoming parade and concert in his hometown, she begged me to go in her place. “You HAVE to go,” she implored. “So I can live vicariously through you!” So, being as easily influenced as Lucy and knowing that if I didn’t accomplish the goal, I would have “some ’splainin' to do,” I accepted the challenge. My three children, my brother and his friend accompanied me on the adventure.
Jason is well-known for playing the ukulele, and we just happened to have one, so I decided that my seven-year-old daughter was going to dress up like him, dreadlocks and all, to try to attract his attention and get him to sign her ukulele. But when we turned up empty-handed after our search for a dreadlock wig, we scratched that idea. But I did come across another ukulele at a thrift store for Jason to autograph for Vannessa.
After getting lost and stopping to ask for directions several times, we made it to Rockwall ten minutes prior to the start of the parade. As fate would have it, we happened to park right at the beginning of the parade route, and we immediately noticed the man of the hour, Jason Castro, sitting in a waiting convertible. We walked right up to him and he asked my daughter, “Do you want me to autograph your ukulele?” Then he proceeded to play our ukulele. In true Lucy form, I complimented Jason on his beautiful smile and asked him for the name of his orthodontist. It was amazing, and I immediately called Vannessa and asked Jason if he would mind talking to his No. 1 fan (or at least No. 2,246). He graciously obliged, and I even took a picture of him talking on my cell phone to Vannessa. It made Vannessa’s day, to say the least, and she immediately called her friends and family members to ask, “Guess who I just talked to on the phone?”
As it turned out, if we would not have lucked out and parked where we did, we would have had virtually no chance of meeting Jason and getting his autograph. An estimated fifteen thousand fans attended Castro’s free concert after the parade. We were so far from the concert stage that we couldn’t even see the platform.
My daughters were so excited to tell their classmates about meeting an American Idol and proudly took their autographed ukulele to school. The whole experience was fun for all of us and somewhat surreal. Even though I enjoyed watching Castro on American Idol, I didn’t share Vannessa’s fascination with the talented crooner. But, after actually meeting the charming and down-to-earth young man and hearing him sing live, I am now pleased to say that I, too, am officially a dreadhead. I wonder if I can get those dreadlocks in Lucille Ball red?
