Guilty Pleasures

     So I am hearing about a lot of things lately that are supposed to be peoples' "Guilty Pleasures."  Back in the day, the boys used to call fat ugly girls mopeds. You know, fun to ride but you don't want your friends to see you on one. Now we just call them guilty pleasures. Things you enjoy doing, but don't want everyone to know you enjoy. I have just one word for this phenomenon: Bullshit.

     If my friends are going to make fun of me for liking Nickleback, they aren't really my friends anyway. And I can't be the only one, judging by the size of that diamond Chad just put on Averil Lavigne's finger. And let's just get this out of the way up front, too. I can sing along with every song on the "Let Go" CD, so obviously I like her, too. Mock away. I refuse to hide my pleasures. I thought about creating the term "Innocent Pleasures," but I'm not sure how innocent all of them can be considered, so I have created "Proud Pleasures."

     I have been proudly married to Shaun Cassidy since 1978. There, I said it. He doesn't know, of course. Neither do his wife nor my husband. But this does not make my love for him any less real. The "Under Wraps" album (yes, album) came with a poster that hung on my wall for years. Poor Shaun, behind a wall of what must have been very strong clear plastic. Pushing on it, trying to get out. But alas, the plastic is too strong, and he just can't break free. With his beautifully feathered hair, and his all black outfit, like his georgeous little head is just sticking out of nothing. It really is a school girl's dream.

     I did let peer pressure make me take down that poster. But, being me, I replaced it with none other than Boy George. I know, he is even less likely to marry me than Shaun (or more likely to want Shaun, maybe) but that does not make him any less adorable. I learned to apply make up by copying my "Colour By Numbers" album cover. I never did get very good at it, and gave up even trying for special occassions about a decade ago, but for about 6 months there in the ninth grade, I was one pop idol worthy little trollop!

     So now, in my adult life, I refuse to let other people tell me who to like, not like, make fun of, or applaud. I love who I love, detest what I detest, and don't stop to think about if I'm supposed to feel guilty about it. I know it's un-American, but I'm not a huge fan of Bruce Springsteen. I would also venture to say that a lot of people who claim to be are just afraid of being called un-American. You know, like they would feel guilty. I don't. And he's doing all right without me, so we're all good. I also haven't read 50 Shades of Gray or even the Twilight series. Just not my thing. They also seem do be doing just fine without me, so again, we're all good. But, and this is the important part, I would never ever make fun of my friends for enjoying any of these things. If they get joy from them, they should be proud!

     I have also recently discovered a new Proud Pleasure. Every once in a while, I like to sit at a computer and type out all the crap that's floating around in my head on a daily basis. I thought maybe some other people who think like me would enjoy reading my ponderings, so I made this. Please, readers, do this for me. Do not let reading my musings be your guilty pleasure. Make it your proud pleasure. I will be proud to like all of you, if you will proudly read me!