IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME

I became a fan of Sonny and Cher's when I was fifteen years old. I watched them on television and bought their albums. I played them constantly. I knew the jokes from their live albums so well that when I saw them in concert, I said the jokes right along with them. I made scrapbooks filled with pictures my grandmother cut out of gossip magazines for me. I spent so much time at the drugstore magazine rack, that when my teacher saw me looking at the magazines, she referred to the drugstore as The Library. 

The walls of my room were covered with posters. And, I had a cardboard standee that was a promotion for Cher's solo album, Stars, standing proudly in my room. It was so tall, it almost looked liked Cher was actually in my room. After I put a hat it, well that really freaked anyone out who came into my room for the first time. Yes, I was a diehard S and C fan.

I wanted to write them a letter, but I didn't have an address. Because I read all the gossip magazines, I knew the area where they lived in California. I sat at my electric typewriter and wrote my letter. I don't remember what I said in the letter, but I am sure at fifteen, I poured my heart out to them.  I addressed it to, "Sonny and Cher, Holmby Hills, California." That was all the address I knew. My mom put a stamp on it and mailed it.

I don't know how much time went by, probably several months. On Saturday, morning,  I heard my mom talking to the mailman. "Oh, if I don't pay this my daughter will die," she told him. The piece of mail had eight cents postage due on it,

My mom brought the envelope into the kitchen. It was from CHER!!! After I stopped screaming, hyperventilating and  Mom picked me up off of the floor, she opened the envelope. Inside was a personally autographed photo of Sonny and Cher. The signature was handwritten in ink."To Joanne, Love, Sonny, and Cher." The handwriting looked just like the handwriting on one of my posters. It really was from Cher. I loved it.

Then, on June 26, 1975, the unthinkable happened. Sonny and Cher got divorced. I was crushed and devastated. I was absent from school the next day and word around school was that I was home with a broken heart. I stopped playing their music. If that wasn't bad enough, I ripped up the photo. 

I look back on it now and wonder what I was thinking. How could I have ripped up that photo? More importantly, what would Cher think if she knew?

So, Cher, If you happen to be surfing the net and run across this post in the Blogosphere, I apologize and beg your forgiveness. I was young and you know when you are young you do some dumb things. Okay, so I did a REALLY dumb thing. I hope you will forgive me. I hope that you won't revoke my title of being your #1 fan in St. Louis. I can't turn back time, but I wish I could.