It was a Friday when my mother told me those five
little words. “We’re going to New York.” Of all the
things I could’ve said, I chose “why?” “For
Christmas. We do the same boring thing every year.
We need some adventure, Talia. And, I’ve always
wanted to see Rockefeller Center during Christmas
time.” So many thoughts ran through my head, “What am
I going to wear? How long are we going to be there?
New York...SNL! Wait! SNL isn’t taping right now!
What am I going to do in New York without SNL?”
“Talia, are you all right? Did you hear what I said?”
“Yeah, what?” “We’re flying there on the 23rd.
We’ll return on January 3rd. I want to go the Time
Square for New Year’s.” “This is crazy, mom! I’m so
psyched.” “Everything is booked and reserved. Oh,
and, Talia? You can invite a friend.” After some
serious pondering, I finally decided to take my next
door neighbor and close friend, Nicole. I was so
excited. I knew it was going to be so much fun.
* * * * *
I’d been sitting for two hours, and my bum was
falling asleep, and that was not good. I was going to
have to sit for three more hours when I got on the
plane. Nicole didn’t seem to mind. She was sitting
next to me, completely relaxed, moving her head to the
beat of some Limp Bizkit song. My mom, on the other
hand, was a nervous wreck. She kept getting up from
her seat and pacing back and forth around the
terminal. She never was a patient person. I had had
my fill of boredom, so I headed over to the gift shop
and purchased a magazine. “Thirty Ways to Get His
Attention!” I chuckled as I read the “headline”.
Just as I returned to my seat, I heard, “Good
afternoon. The 3:30 to Chicago will begin boarding,
at gate 12, in 10 minutes.” I looked over at gate 12
and saw a line quickly forming. I harshly nudged
Nicole and started gathering my bags. My mom was
already in line. I told you she’s not very patient.
I leisurely strolled towards my mother, with Nicole
not far behind. When you’re in an airport, 10 minutes
can seem like 30. Finally, a flight attendant
appeared, and began taking tickets. She repeated,
“Thank you, enjoy your flight,” to every one of the
boarding individuals. I took a deep breath before I
walked through the jet ramp. I thought, “Please, God,
let everything go right.”
We transferred planes in Chicago, and soon, we were
nearing JFK International. Suddenly, the flight
became a bit bumpy. Over the speakers, I heard,
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your pilot, speaking.
We are experiencing some turbulence. Don’t worry,
everything will be fine. It’s just a little stormy
here in New York, so I’m gonna have to ask you to
remain seated and buckle your seat belts. Thank you.”
I did as he said, and looked over at Nicole. She was
looking straight ahead and taking deep breaths. I
guess she was trying to keep from throwing up. My
mother, however, was not bothered at all by the slight
jerking of the plane that occurred every so often.
She sat quietly and continued to read her romance
novel. I smiled. I had managed to find some humor in
this serious situation, and I was very proud of
myself.
* * * * *
I had never been more afraid in my entire life. I
thought we were going to die. I knew it. I closed my
eyes and imagined that I was back home, in a city
where it is safe to drive. Since entering the car 20
minutes earlier, my mother had nearly killed a total
of five pedestrians, and we had narrowly escaped too
many accidents. And, to add to the horrible drivers,
it was raining. New York was a scary place. Finally
my mother pulled in front of the hotel. As soon as
the engine died, I let out my breath. I turned and
looked at Nicole. Poor girl, she had been permanently
traumatized.
Nicole and I walked around the hotel lobby, while my
mother checked in. Thank God for credit cards.
Otherwise, we would have had to wait until 2:00 pm,
the next day, to check in. There wasn’t much to do but
wait. Finally, Mom was finished and we headed up to
our room. It took a while, but I finally found room
124. I inserted the key and threw open the door.
Nicole managed to get ahead of me, and dove onto one
of the beds. It was 11:30, but I was wide awake.
That’s because I’m used to West Coast time. It was
really only 8:30. I noticed the grumbling of my
stomach and looked at my mom. “You guys hungry?
Let’s get something to eat.” So we headed back down
to the car.
Driving along, I spotted a Denny’s. Right then, a
Grand Slam sounded really good. So we stopped. Isn’t
it funny how you can go to a restaurant with a
specific item in mind, but when you look at the menu,
your craving goes away? I know, you don’t have a clue
what I’m talking about. Anyway, that is exactly what
happened. Instead of the Grand Slam, I ordered some
french toast. After placing my order, I happened to
look over at the register. I did a double take. You
know, like in movies. Jimmy Fallon was standing
there, donning a watchman’s cap and a scarf, paying.
I started to freak out. I noticed that I was
staring at him, but not before he turned around and
caught me in the act. He waved at me and left. I
nearly died. I’d had the chance to talk to Jimmy
Fallon and I did nothing. My mother noticed my
strange behavior and asked what was wrong. I lied and
told her that I was just a little “weirded-out” by
being in such a different place. I couldn’t eat my
french toast. I was too excited. I couldn’t sleep
that night, either. However, I was more calm than I
would’ve been, if I’d known what was in store for me.
* * * * *
The next day was Christmas Eve, and we decided to go
ice-skating in Rockefeller Center. It was 11:00 am,
and it was cold. I felt like a sumo wrestler in all
of the jackets and sweaters that I was wearing. It
took me three tries to get onto the ice. I could
barely move, and it was a sad sight. Nicole and I
started off holding on to each other, but she soon
“got the hang of it”, and ditched me. I had to make
it on my own. I was doing pretty well, until this
idiot pulled a hit-and-run on me. I lost my balance
and hit the ground quite hard. I could feel the cold
of the ice seeping through the many layers of
clothing. Even though my eyes were closed, I could
tell that someone had come up next to me. I heard a
familiar voice say, “Are you all right?! Here, let me
help you up.” I opened my eyes and took hold of his
hand. “Thanks.” As soon as I looked up at him, I
fainted, falling to the ground once again, this time
more forcefully.
I woke up, laying on a bench. I saw my mother,
Nicole, someone who I assumed was a doctor, and my
rescuer. There was also about 50 other people around.
You know, the kind who slow down when they see an
accident, because they’re so damn nosy. I heard my
mother’s voice, “Oh thank goodness you’re all right!”
Next came Nicole, “I’m so sorry. I wouldn’t have left
you if I’d known this was gonna happen. I swear.”
The doctor chimed in, “Talia? My name is Steve
Wilson. I’m a doctor and I’m gonna take a look at
you.” After a quick examination, the doctor told me
that I was fine and could even go back into the rink
if I wanted to. No thanks. I’d had enough. Nicole
and Mom decided to continue skating, while I stayed on
the bench. I was joined by the kind soul who had
“saved my life”. “Oh, wow. I never introduced
myself. Sorry. I’m Jim,” he said after a couple of
minutes. “I know. I watch you every Saturday...on
SNL.” Stupid response. He knew what I was talking
about. I can be such an idiot at times. “Really?
That’s awesome. Working there is the coolest! Those
dudes are so so so nice! It’s like a party every
week. I love it! It’s a dream come true. Literally.
Man, listen to me. I’m going on and on about
myself.” He laughed. I love that laugh. I love that
smile. I love him!
The only thing I could think of to say was, “So,
you’re here by yourself?” “Why? Oh wait, is that
like a pickup line? I get it. Haha. Actually, I’m
waiting for Horatio to get here. We’re supposed to go
skating together. I guess they ditched me.” “Oh.”
“You don’t talk much. Is everything okay?” “Yeah!
I’m just...nervous.” “Over what? Not over talking to
me!” “Yeah,” I blushed when I said this. “I get like
that, too, when I’m talking to certain people. But,
you don’t have to be nervous around me. It’s not like
I’m some big celebrity.” “Yes you are. Do you know
how many girls there are, that would kill to be where
I am and do what I’m doing right now?” “Well, yeah.
There’s that. But, I try not to think about it. I
get embarrassed. I don’t think I’m that hot. Haha.
I’m just...me.”
“Oh my God, you are very hot!” I was mortified. How
could I have sad that? It was official; I’m the king
of idiots. I nearly died when he ruffled his hair,
“Wow, um, I underestimated you. You’re very
outspoken. Haha, but that’s cool.” “I’m so sorry. I
didn’t mean to say that. I mean, it’s not that I
think that you’re not hot, but I just-...I’m sorry.”
He laughed at me, but not in the cruel sort of way.
“So, are you from here?” Thank God he changed the
subject. “No, I’m from California. We came from
California, for Christmas.” “Whoa! That’s a long
ways from here. What part of California?” “Santa
Clara.” “Really? I used to live in LA. So, how do
you like New York, so far?” “Uh...it’s interesting.
There are so many people!” “Yeah,” he chuckled,
“there are. Hey! Weren’t you at that Denny’s last
night? Are you the girl I saw?” I was so
embarrassed. I knew exactly why he remembered me.
Who wouldn’t remember someone who’d been gawking at
them?
“Yeah. Guilty as charged. I’m sorry if I creeped
you out.” He said, “small world”, like he was in awe,
but then quickly added, “Aw, no. Why would you creep
me out?” “Because! I was staring at you. I know I’d
get freaked out.” “Nah, I’m used to it. I think that
everyone who lives here is. New York is home to some
of the creepiest creeps in the world. Millions are
stared at everyday. Nothing new.” I began to laugh
uncontrollably, and he smiled. “What’s so funny?”
“You. This. Yesterday I would never have thought
that I’d be sitting on a bench in Rockefeller Center
talking to you. I’m so confused.” “That’s because
this is all a dream. I’m not real, the ice isn’t
real, the jerk who bumped into you isn’t real. You’re
imagining all of this.” “Aw, man!” “Relax, I’m just
messing with you.” “Don’t do that. The one awesome
thing that happens in my life, and you try to take it
away from me. Damn you!” Our laughter was
interrupted by, “Hey Jimmy!” Horatio Sanz had arrived
and Jimmy had to go skate. He asked me if I wanted to
go with them, but, being the idiot that I am, I
politely turned down their proposal. It would’ve been
too weird.
* * * * *
Even though I’d said that I was never going to talk
to her again, Nicole managed to get every detail of my
private conversation with Jimmy Fallon. My mother had
allowed us to wander around the city by ourselves. I
have no idea what possessed her to let two 16 year
olds explore New York City on their own, without adult
supervision. Her reason was that she needed to do
some shopping, but I think it was craziness, caused by
lack of sleep. It was pretty close to four o’clock
and we were in a Tower Records. As we browsed through
the selection, I told Nicole what happened. Just as I
was finishing up the tale, I heard, “Okay, now you’re
creeping me out. I’m beginning to think that you’re
stalking me.” It was him. I was facing Nicole, so I
was lucky that he didn’t see my face turn beet red.
Nicole responded for me saying, “How do we know that
you’re not stalking us? You yourself said that there
are a lot of creeps here. You could very well be one
of them.” Why did she have to say that?! I made a
mental note to kill her later. I felt instant relief
when Jimmy laughed.
“I swear, I’m not stalking you guys. I’m just a nice
boy from New York City.” “Saugerties,” I corrected
him. “Same difference. I just think that NYC sounds
way more awesome.” “Well then,” I continued, “if you
aren’t stalking us, then what are you doing here?”
“Looking for a CD. You know, like everyone does.” I
felt like an moron. Of course he was looking for a
CD. I mean, look at where we were. Nicole rescued
me, “Oh really? What CD?” “Uh, like a mix of songs.
Like,” he quickly changed into an announcer type
voice, “Now That’s What I Call Music, Volume 56.”
“Yeah, you’re really gonna find that in the ‘R&B’
section.” Sometimes I really hate Nicole. “I know.
I was over there, and I saw you guys,” he said as he
pointed at the ‘Soundtracks’ section,“ So, I came over
here.”
“Nicole shut up. Why are you being such an ass?”
“It’s what I do best,” she responded. “Apparently,”
muttered Jimmy, but then he changed his mood and said,
“nah, I’m just playing.” “Fine then. If you two love
birds are gonna be so difficult, I’m just gonna go
look at stickers. I don’t need this!” She pretended
to stomp away. I was extremely embarrassed, now.
“Wow. Love birds? Is there something you’re not
telling me?” Jimmy joked. “I’m sorry. She’s
just...being Nicole.” “That’s okay. I’ve dealt with
worse than her. I know she’s just messing around.
Hey, how long are you gonna be here, Tal? Is it okay
if I call you that?” “Sure. Um, in New York? Uh,
until the 3rd. Why?” “Oh,” he sounded kind of
bummed, “I was gonna get you some SNL tickets, like,
for when we start taping again, since you’re such a
big fan and all. But that won’t be for a few weeks.”
“Oh, well, that’s okay.” I faked a smile. He saw
right through it, though. “I’ll tell you what, I’ll
give you a tour of 8h. Right now.” “Really?! You
can do that?” “I don’t know. I think so. I mean, I
work there. Let’s go find Nicole.”
Next thing I knew, we were walking around the SNL
studio. I didn’t have my camera with me, and I was
kicking myself. Jimmy showed us everything, even
Lorne Michael’s office. I actually sat in Lorne’s
chair. But I quickly got up because it was emitting
this power that I just couldn’t handle. By the time
we finished sneaking around the studio, it was 5:30.
“So, you’re mom really let you walk around by
yourselves?” “Yeah, she’s a horrible parent. I tried
to report her, but they wouldn’t listen.” I had begun
to feel really comfortable around Jimmy. I had a huge
crush on him already, and this made it worse. “Hey!
Let’s find her and then we can go have dinner or
something.” Nicole began to laugh, and Jimmy and I
looked at her with concern. “Why are you laughing?”
“Because. This is really really weird. Jim, you’re
really starting to creep me out. Why would you want
to hang around with two 16-year-olds, like us? What
are your intentions, buddy?” I wanted to kill her,
yet she had a point. “You have a sick, twisted little
mind, Nicole. Don’t worry, I’m not gonna do anything
to you. I just think you guys are pretty cool.
Besides, I don’t have anything else to do until
tomorrow. That’s when I’m going to my parent’s. You
know, the whole family/Christmas thing. Does that put
your mind at ease?” “Hey, I’m just checking. Tally,
here, is too caught up in her crush, to worry about
these kinds of things.” I was angry, but I managed to
get out, “Nicole, shut up! You are so retarded!” I
should’ve known what was coming, “You ah!” “Hey, hey
hey! No line stealing. You’re gonna put me out of a
job, missy!” laughed Jimmy.
Just then, my (actually it was my mother’s) cellphone
rang. “Hello? Oh, hey mom. We’re okay. Uh, you’re
never gonna believe this, but we’re in Studio 8h. No,
it’s not a club, it’s in the NBC building, in
Rockefeller Center. Well, Nicole and I ran into Jimmy
Fallon at Tower Records, and he said that he’d give us
a tour. You know, Jimmy Fallon. The guy from SNL.
Mom, he’s the guy who helped me out over in
Rockefeller Center. Right, him. Mom! He’s not
psycho. Relax, we’re fine! He hasn’t done anything
overly creepy...yet. Mom, I’m just playing. Where
are you? On your way? How long? 10 minutes?! Try
40. Why?! Look where you are! Okay, love you too.
Bye.” Nicole and Jimmy were laughing hysterically.
“I know,” I said. Jimmy suggested that we go
downstairs and wait in the lobby, so we did. Sure
enough, 40 minutes later, my mother arrived. “Thank
you for baby-sitting, Mr. Fallon.” I was so
embarrassed. “Oh, no prob.,” he laughed, “And please,
call me Jimmy. I’m not old enough to be Mr. Fallon,
yet.” “Hey mom,” I quickly changed the subject, “how
about we get some dinner?” “Sure, you guys must be
starving. Would you like to come with us, Jimmy?”
“Uh, sure. If you’ll have me.” “Of course, it’d be
our pleasure.” What had happened? First my mother
thought he was some psycho lunatic who was going to
kidnap us, and now she was inviting him to dinner?
Maybe she was just being nice.
We ended up eating at a pizza place. It was so
awesome. Jimmy and I had a Mortal Kombat show down.
We wasted a good $20’s worth of quarters, each. In
the end, I won. Jimmy insisted on a rematch because
he was convinced that I had somehow cheated, but I
refused. I had never had so much fun in my life. We
also had a very immature pizza eating contest. Nicole
came in first, with 10 slices (which she soon
“un-ate”), Jimmy came in second with 8 slices, I came
in third with 5 slices (what can I say? I’m a light
eater), and my mother came in last, with only 1 slice.
We had tried to get other diners to join us, but they
all, surprisingly, declined our offer. Them and their
damned etiquette. We finally decided it was time to
leave the parlor around 10:00. Actually, we kind of
had to leave, because they were closing. My mother
offered to give Jimmy a ride home, but he said that he
preferred to walk. My mom thought it was because he
was tired of us, but I think he’s just used to
walking. But, before he left, I got a hug. I was so
happy, that I nearly fainted.
That night, I couldn’t sleep. I really needed to get
some rest, but I couldn’t stop thinking about all of
the things that had happened to me. It was all so
magical. Oh man, I sound like Drew Barrymore.
* * * * *
Christmas Day. It was snowing when I woke up. In
the hotel room, we opened our presents. It was a
different experience. We had no tree or decorations.
It was kind of a bummer. We ate “breakfast” at
McDonald’s, and then we went to Church. After that,
there really wasn’t much to do. Practically,
everything was closed. We went to the movies, but it
was something that I’d seen. My mother and Nicole
enjoyed it, but I pretty much fell asleep. Imagine
that, I couldn’t sleep in the hotel room, but I could
sleep in a movie theater equipped with THX. Madness,
isn’t it?
My mom would have liked to cook a Christmas dinner,
but there was no stove in our hotel room. Duh. So,
we ate at The Olive Garden. The food was so good. We
feasted on salad and bread sticks and Fettucini
Alfredo. It was so much better than the honey baked
ham that my mother purchases every year for Christmas.
After dinner, we stopped at a 7-11 and bought some
popcorn, which we ate while watching “Almost Famous”
on HBO. All during Jimmy’s part in the movie, I kept
saying, “I know him!” I finally shut up when Nicole
smacked me on the head with her pillow. Our
movie-fest continued with “Dude, Where’s My Car” and
“Hannibal”, during which we managed to laugh ourselves
to sleep.
For the next few days, we did normal tourist stuff.
We visited Central Park, we took pictures in Time
Square, we toured the Statue of Liberty. You know,
the usual. Finally, the 31st arrived and it was time
for the big Time Square/ Dick Clark New Year’s
celebration. That day, we went shopping so Nicole and
I could get some awesome outfits to wear. Not
Broadway Play dressy, just something like you’d wear
to a concert. We got ready and headed for the “party”
at about 8:30 pm. There was already hundreds of
thousands of people there. By 10:30, there was
millions of both tired and wired people waiting. I
looked around and saw all the cameras and specials
taping.
When I spotted the TRL studio, I saw Carson Daly,
joined by someone who was bouncing around like crazy.
I screamed to Nicole, “Oh my God!!! Nicole, look up
there!” I pointed to the studio and continued,
“That’s Carson Daly, and that’s Jimmy!” “Where?!”
“Up there! Where they film TRL!!!” “OH!!! I see
him!” My mom didn’t seem to care. She was too busy
dancing to the Aerosmith; they were performing live.
I grabbed Nicole and pushed through all the people,
toward the sidewalk next to the building. “What are
you doing, Tally?!” “I’m gonna try to get Jim’s
attention!” “What?! Why?! How are you gonna do
that? You actually think he’s gonna see you?!” “I
hope! Dude, where’s the flashlight?!” “Right here,”
shouted Nicole as she reached into her backpack.
“Give it to me.” “Hold on!” She handed me the
flashlight, and I turned it on to see if it was
working. Nicole started to scream something that I
couldn’t understand. Finally, I was able to decipher
that she wanted me to look up. I did and Jimmy was
looking down from the studio. Apparently, they were
at commercial.
I waved the light all around and sure enough he
looked right at me and pointed. He said something to
Carson, and they busted up laughing. “Haha, he’s
laughing at you, Tally!” “Oh God! He doesn’t
recognize me!” “Why are you so surprised?!” “I know!
Lemme get up on your shoulders!” “Oh, uh-uh! No
way!” I tried to climb onto her, but she resisted.
When I looked up at one of the monitors, I saw my
crazy antics being displayed. Then I looked over at
the studio and saw Jimmy waving for me to come up. I
ran into the building, with Nicole in tow, saying, “I
can’t believe it worked!” A woman led us onto the
set and immediately everyone started applauding, even
Carson Daly. It was awesome. Jimmy suddenly
recognized me and said, “Oh my gosh! Haha, Tal?! And
Nicole!” “Wait. You know these two freaks?” laughed
Carson. “I’m not the freak,” Nicole coughed as she
pointed at me.
Jimmy put his arm around my shoulder and said, “These
are my buddies, Talia and Nicole. They’re really
awesome, so say ‘hi’ everyone.” We were greeted with
about 50 hello’s. Carson joked, “All right, shut up!
So, where are you guys from?” “California. Santa
Clara?” “Not sure, eh?” “No! It’s just that I don’t
know if you know where that is.” “Suuuuure. Just
playing. Of course I know where it is. So, how do
you know Jimmy, here?” “Well, I was skating in
Rockefeller Center and some dude bumped into me, I
fell over, and Jimmy helped me up.” “I might as well
have left her there, though,” continued Jimmy, “As
soon as she was on her feet, she fainted again.”
Everyone started to laugh. “And then, we ran into him
again at Tower Records. And again, here.” “Yeah.
They keep “running into” me. Coincidence? I think
not. I’ve caught onto your sinister plan, girls,”
laughed Jimmy. Carson said something like, “Oh man.
You’re watching MTV’s New Year’s Bash, here with Jimmy
Fallon and the Flashlight Freaks, so stick around.”
“That sounds like some band,” added Jimmy as he waved
crazily into the camera, and we went to commercial.
Jimmy turned to me and said, “Guess you really wanted
to get up here.” “Yeah. I just wanted to say ‘hi’.
So, hi!” “Thanks, you’re so sweet,” he looked at his
watch, then continued, “Hey! At 11:00 I gotta go over
to the main stage. I’m supposed to entertain the
people until it’s time for the countdown. You guys
wanna come with me?” “Sure!,” exclaimed Nicole and I.
“Didn’t have to ask you twice.” “But wait. Nicole,
we gotta find my mom and tell her where we are.”
“Good luck,” said Nicole. “What? No way, you’re
helping.” “It was your idea to leave your mom to come
over here. You find her!” I would’ve finished, but
everyone started screaming, so I knew that we were
coming back from commercial. Jimmy whispered, “We’re
being broadcast on a huge screen. I’m sure your mom
can see where you are. Besides, when you get to the
stage, there’s no way that she can’t see you.” Nicole
and I were shown a place to sit, while Jimmy continued
talking with Carson. “So Jimmy. You’re gonna be
performing on the main stage in a little bit. What’s
that gonna be like? What are you gonna do?” “Uh, the
usual...guitar, songs, jokes.” “Any new stuff?”
“Yeah, actually, I’ve got some new stuff that I’m
gonna use. But I don’t want to talk about it. I
mean, I, um...I...I can’t...can’t tell you...about my,
um...my plan.” “Because you’d have to kill me,
right?” “Right.” “All right, awesome. Thanks for
hanging with us Jim. Jimmy Fallon, everybody. Now
let’s check out what’s going on with *N Sync down
there.” Jimmy quietly said, “C’mon. Let’s go,” and
we exited the set.
We stood backstage for a while with Jimmy, while he
tuned his guitar and practiced a couple of songs. He
did a little of his new act for us, just to see how
we’d react. It was hilarious. Soon, Jimmy was on
stage, and all of Time Square was filled with non-stop
laughter. Nicole and I were really hungry, so we
started to eat the bags of chips that we had brought
with us. Luckily, there was a soda machine, so we
were able to quench our thirst. After what seemed to
be only a few minutes, I checked my watch, and was
surprised to see that it was already 11:50. “Nicole!
It’s almost time! Like 10 minutes.” I nearly choked
on my snack. “Really? Wow! Hey, maybe you’ll get a
kiss from Jimmy at Midnight.” “No way. That is just
wrong. I’m 16, Nicole. He’s 27. It’s kind of
illegal.” “Not necessarily. It’s just a kiss.” “A
kiss that’s never gonna happen. I really really
really don’t think he likes me the way that I like
him. And if he did, that would make him, I’m sorry to
say, a pervert.” “True. But wouldn’t you just
freak?!” “Like, oh my God! I’d soooo totally
freak!,” I mocked, “Man, Nicole. You sound like a
you’re 13.” “What? I know you’re imagining him
whisking you into his arms and passionately kissing
you. Hell, if you won’t take the kiss, I will!” “I
should have never shown you my mother’s romance
novels. I’ve created a monster. But, anyway, why
does it even matter? Wait. Oh my...Nicole, please
don’t tell me that you’re falling for him. I can’t
believe this! Just the other day, you said that you
don’t like him! Please tell me I’m seeing something
that’s not there.” “Correction: I didn’t like him.
Now that I’ve met him, I think he’s...sweet.”
“Why are you doing this, now?! You can’t like him!
This is so unfair.” “What? Stop being so selfish.
You act as though he’s your own personal property!
Wake up! I, and 50 million other Jimmy fans, have
just as much a right to that kiss as you.” “I am not
being selfish! You just-... holy crap. I cannot
believe how insane this is. We’re arguing over
something that won’t even happen. Let’s just call the
whole thing off and say that neither one of us is
getting a kiss from Jimmy Fallon!” We both turned
back around to watch Jimmy, only to find that he was
standing right there in front of us. “Whoa. Did I
miss something?” he asked. “Um...how long have you
been standing there?” “All I heard was, ‘No one is
getting a kiss from Jimmy Fallon!’. I swear. But,
what’s going on?” “Okay, good,” I breathed a sigh of
relief, “Nothing’s going on.” “Actually,” started
Nicole, “we were arguing over which one of us you were
going to kiss at midnight.”
I had never wanted to die more than I did at that
moment. Jimmy ruffled his hair, looked down at his
feet, and began to laugh. “Oh, really? Well-...” he
responded, but I interrupted. “But, I told her that
it’d never happen because of the age difference. It
was a stupid conversation, really. I’m sorry you had
to hear that.” “Nah, it’s okay. And you can stop
blushing now, Tal. You don’t have to be embarrassed.
I don’t mind it at all.” “Of course you don’t! You
were the one we were talking about. This is just my
luck! It seems that I’m perpetually mortified. Gawd,
I’m such an idiot,” I nearly yelled.
There was an uncomfortable silence. Jimmy broke it
by saying, “Where on earth did you get that idea?
You, an idiot? You’re smart; you’re humorous. You’re
one of the sweetest fans I’ve ever met. And someday,
you’ll find the right guy for you. But, trust me,
Tal, I’m not him.” “I know you’re not! I know that!
I know that I’ll never be yours. That I’ll never
experience the joy of knowing that when I come home
every day, I can look forward to seeing you. But I’ve
accepted that,” I snapped, “I’ve accepted it.” By
this time, I could feel the hot tears cascading down
my flushed cheeks. I was immediately engulfed by his
cologne commandeered embrace. “C’mon, Tal. Don’t do
this. Don’t do this over me. Please. I’m not worth
it. I mean, I know you wouldn’t like me if you had to
live with me. I’m messy and I’m crabby in the
morning. Do you really want that?” “So are a lot of
guys,” I choked, “I’d just be more willing to put up
with it if it came from you.” My words were swallowed
by his jacketed shoulder. “And I’m 27. I’m 27, to
your 16. I can vote, I can drink, I can stay out past
3:00am. It’d be no fun, Tal. No fun at all. Just
please, let go of me. Let go.” “You have no idea how
hard that is,” I whispered as I wiped my eyes.
“You’re right, I don’t. But, I do know that you can’t
maintain this infatuation for the rest of your life.”
“Yeah, I am pretty crazy over you,” I laughed. “See,
you’re smiling!” He hugged me again.
We heard Dick Clark’s voice and knew, immediately,
that Midnight was very close. “It’s 11:54,” said
Jimmy, as he looked at his watch. A few minutes
later, Dick Clark was calling all of the entertainment
from that night, back onto the stage. Jimmy started
to walk, but then he stopped and grabbed Nicole and I.
He dragged us on stage with him. I looked out and
saw all of the people. “Wow! You performed in front
of all this?!” “Yeah,” he laughed, “no biggy.”
“Dude, you’re amazing. I’d probably die...or throw
up,” exclaimed Nicole. I looked up and saw the huge
illuminated ball. I heard someone say, “Are you
ready? Let’s start the countdown. 10...” I watched
the ball slowly come down. “C’mon! Count!” shouted
Jimmy. ...5...4...3...2... Finally, in unison
everyone shouted, “One!!! Happy New Year!” Jimmy was
jumping up and down hugging everyone. Streamers and
confetti were thrown around, every which way. A band
started to play “Auld Lang Syne” and people sang
along. Finally, Jimmy got to me, and said, “Happy New
Year, Tal.” Then he hugged me and kind of rocked back
and forth to the song. I’d never felt so happy in my
life. I started bawling like an idiot and Jimmy
laughed, “You’re such a hug hoarder!” Nicole came
over forced her way in between us, and it became a
group hug.
I realized that I hadn’t asked Jimmy for his
autograph or a picture yet. So, I pulled out my
camera and went wild. I wasted a whole roll (36
pictures) on Jimmy, the people on stage, Nicole, and
“the ball”. They handed out party hats, and I asked
Jimmy to autograph mine. He wrote: To my pal, Tal.
Stay awesome and Happy New Year! Love, Jimmy. I was
in shock when he asked me to autograph his hat. I
wrote something stupid like: you’re awesome. Beware
the creeps. Love, Talia. We eventually found my mom
and went with Jimmy to an NBC party. I met all of the
SNL cast members. They were so nice. Excuse the
informality, but I had a blast! The party didn’t die
down until about 4:30 AM. Even then, everyone was
still pretty wired. But, we knew that we had to get
some sleep, so we decided to leave.
I found Jimmy and told him, “Sorry, but we’re gonna
go now. Thank you soooo much for inviting me. You
have no idea how much fun this was. I’ll never ever
forget this.” “Aw, you have to go?! Okay, well, I’ll
talk to you later. I’m glad you had a good time,” he
said as he hugged me. “I really wish I could stay
longer. But my mom keeps talking about this thing
called ‘sleep’. Apparently, everyone is doing it
nowadays. You know how it is---gotta keep up with the
times.” We laughed. “Hey, Tal? I was thinking...do
you wanna be like...uh...I know this sounds kind of
dorky, but...e-mail buddies?” “No, that’s not dorky
at all. Of course!” “Awesome. Here’s my address.”
He grabbed a napkin and wrote it down. I did the
same. We exchanged napkins, and I said, “You’re sure
that this is really your e-mail address? You’re not
just messing with me, are you?” “No way! It’s legit.
Trust me.” “Jimmy, you’re the only creep that I
trust.” We started laughing and he hugged me again.
“Bye, Tal. I’m gonna miss you. Really. Oh, and hey!
Can I get copies of the pictures you took?” “Oh, no
prob! I’m gonna miss you, too, Jim.” Then I waved
goodbye, and left.
* * * * *
Now, I’m back home in Santa Clara. I e-mail Jim all
the time, and he always replies with something
histerically funny, so that’s really awesome. I had
the pictures developed, and I’m going to scan them and
send them to Jimmy. SNL has resumed taping, and every
time I watch an episode, I can’t help but smile. I
told everyone at school about my “adventure”, and now
people come up to me all the time, asking for tickets
(for SNL). I don’t know why. It’s not like I’m on
the show. Just because I know Jimmy, doesn’t mean I
can get tickets whenever I feel like it. Oh well, the
attention isn’t all that horrible. I still can’t
exactly swallow all of this. I am so grateful for
being able to meet my hero, because I know that not
everyone can. One phrase comes to mind, whenever I
attempt to justify my experience: Only In New York.
