What Do You MEAN There’s Already a Mrs. Randy Mantooth?

Call me crazy, but Randy Mantooth in Tiger Beat mMagazine did not sound all that great to me. Heck, I didn’t even know who he was! But I learned to love him above all others, and all to save face from my big sister and her friends.

Happy Birthday Hunks

My sister was a typical big sister, but a whole five years older than me. And nothing irritated and boiled her blood more than her bratty little sister. It was the 70’s, and for her almost-teen birthday she received her first copy of Tiger Beat magazine.

Media then was not like it is now, and a teen magazine that dived into the fabulous world of boy celebrities was like getting a new iPhone in today’s terms. She leaped like a baby gazelle while cradling her new treasure to her chest. So guess who leaped for joy, too? Me.

Can you imagine the face someone makes when a needle is scratched across a record? Well, that was the look on my sisters face when she noticed me leaping through the air behind her. With a hand to the face and a knock-down push my happiness at our good fortune turned into sobs, for both of us.

Our mom took the magazine away until a determination could be made about what happened next.

Of course in my perception, I was the one wronged. So I was sure the magazine would be in my position soon. In the end, since it was my sister’s birthday she got her magazine back.

Later, in private my sister told me that if I even looked in her magazine’s general direction I would be killed in my sleep and nobody would find my body. I took her seriously and only looked at the cover when she was not home. You know, like a good little sister.

Finding Mr. Right

Many more tears followed as posters and pinups started to go up on her wall. I begged and cried, wailed, and punched my pillow to try to get a hunky boy poster for my own. But, there was NO way she was going to give me one teeny scrap from her magazine. It was just never going to happen.

My poor mom finally had enough of the fighting and told my sister she had to let me have the magazine after she had cut everything out that she wanted and was completely done with it. Many weeks later my sister turned over her magazine to me, under the watchful eye of my mom, and laughed as she wished me luck finding anything.

As I looked through the Swiss cheese looking pages, I thought that maybe I could find something, anything. Then there it was, I found something!

It was one page of Randy Mantooth. Wow, Randy Mantooth! I imagined myself as Mrs. Mantooth. Wow!

I laughed and shoved Randy into my sister’s and her friends’ faces. They acted like they didn’t know who Randy Mantooth was! My sister missed a poster and I found it! What a fool.

For the longest time it was me and Randy, he was my rock star, my idol. I just just had no idea who he was. But, I was not going to admit that to anyone. He was in Tiger Beat and that was good enough for me!

Emergency! Chocolate Attacks Moms!

Fast forward many years to when my son and I joined a mommy group. As an icebreaker they asked us moms to tell an embarrassing story from our childhood. The other moms had some great stories and I wanted something great, too. But what? Oh yes, my Randy Mantooth story.

It was a hit! I think someone fell out if their chair.

Few months after I started the mommy group, I found out that we were moving out of state. It was decided that on my last meeting we would have a death by chocolate party. My job was to bring chocolate milk.

After I arrived for the morning party, I felt like I was the last one there. I rushed and placed my chocolate milk on the serving table and quickly moved to a table with several other mommies. I was quite surprised to find that our normal meeting room had centerpieces and colorful plates and a going away banner. I felt like I was going to be missed.

After a few minutes of small talk the hostess mommy asked for one person at each table to pick up the centerpiece and place it in front of their face.

I was really confused about what was going on and it took me several seconds to realize what I was seeing.

The centerpieces were two paper plates put together with a picture of Randy Mantooth on one side and on the other it said we’re going to miss you Mrs. Mantooth. That was what the banner said too.

Let’s hear it for Randy Mantooth, Tiger Beat pinup!