“It’s just a little crush,
not like I faint every time we touch”
-Crush by Jennifer Paige
“How do you come up with names?” -seems to be a question that writers love to ask and answer.
For me, if I know someone with similar characteristics the characters names themselves (such as a free-spirited artist type named Jayden after actor and twitter philosopher Jaden Smith.)
Now, in honor of my new upcoming series I want to talk about a name that is a character in itself. Noah.
For many the word ‘Noah’ brings to mind, ‘the guy who was told to put 2 of every animal on a giant boat, before God performed a Ctrl-Alt-Del on the planet.’ But for me, that name would always be associated with my first ever crush.
I was eight and in my city, there was a group called the ‘Young People’s Musical Theater company.’ Basically, it was/is the most talented high school kids from all over San Francisco cast to put on musicals that (in terms of performance) rival Broadway productions at the cost of a school play. Since it was so cheap and my parents were theater fans, my sister and I saw over a dozen performances.
And I developed a crush on a guy named Noah. I carried that crush for years. When I got into School of the Arts high school and met people my age who were in the aforementioned exclusive theater company they asked “What does he look like?” and “What years was he there?” “How do you spell his last name?” They had access to old photos and yearbooks so a few of my friends offered to try to find a pic for me. That was when I realized- I had no idea.
I had an idea in my mind; a hot guy with tan skin the color of caramel (Hispanic? Native? Bi-racial?)with a great voice who always seemed to get cast as the cool underdog character. He played the bad-ass friend, the forbidden lover; every character who you’d want to get to know.
I didn’t know anything about the actual person named Noah, and I never would. But that name holds a special place in my heart; Noah is the heartthrob, the many of mystery- and you’ll be seeing a lot more of him in future posts.
Now on to my other irl crush inspired character.-Isaiah
Once upon a time at Target I worked with a truly remarkable person. Isaiah was a nursing student, newly wed new father and movie-buff. He was a kind soul who received a much deserved promotion during the time I was there. But in my mind he will always be the sexy, exotic man (if I had to guess I would say he was Hawaiian or bi-racial)with the long surfer hair and a voice to match.
That’s all I knew about him. Everything I knew of his personal life I heard through other co-workers. And I could count on one hand the times I was brave enough to initiate conversation. So, like Noah, he inspired a truly mystical character.
Check out his story on Amazon!
