A roundabout way to say happy birthday

I’ve been married twice to dark-haired men with brown eyes. And in my past are some green- and blue-eyed blonds. But the alluring combination that I often use for the men I write are those with dark hair and blue eyes. I think I’m drawn to this combination because when I was three or four, I fell in love for the first time with the man I assured everyone I was going to grow up and marry. He had wonderful Elvis-blue eyes and dark hair and his name was Charles. Unfortunately, he was quite a bit older, not to mention that he married my cousin Rachel, who I adored.

The second man with dark hair and blue eyes that I fell in love with was Ricky Nelson. He first came into America’s homes via our televisions before I was even born and was a married father by the time I knew who he was. But this was the man who Life magazine coined the term “teen idol” to describe, and whether I was watching him on syndicated episodes of Ozzie and Harriet or sitting riveted to the TV whenever he appeared on any show, he was definitely an idol of mine. I dreamed that I was the Mary Lou who made this “Teenage Idol” say goodbye to his heart. I wanted to keep every place this “Travelin’ Man” went from being a “Lonesome Town.”

In 1970, Ricky Nelson covered one of my favorite Bob Dylan songs, “She Belongs to Me.” I like Ricky’s version best (and it was banned on some of our North Alabama radio stations because they thought it was dirty and might put ideas in young girls’ heads–as if looking at Ricky wouldn’t do that for me anyway).

So, Miss Shannon, if you are into downloading music from iTunes or some other online source, then may I suggest that you get yourself a copy of the late Ricky Nelson singing “She Belongs to Me,” because I hereby dedicate this song to you on your birthday, and I sang it along with Ricky earlier and sent you good wishes.

If you know the lyrics, you’ll understand why.

Salute. =)