As I’m laying here recouperating from my weekend, a friend of mine who I went to college with popped up on my Yahoo Messenger. After she left to attend Law school in Houston a few years ago, IM’ing has been our main form of communication along with our visits to New Jersey on holidays. This morning Sandra mentions that her & her husband went to a comedy club last night and saw “Screech” from Saved By The Bell. She said he was pretty funny but really raunchy. I also told her that I saw him sex tape and he’s definitely a well-endowed man, needless to say, she felt that was TMI. The next bit of information she told me broke my heart, just a little. During his routine “Screech” made reference to “Zack” aka Mark-Paul Gosselaar, in regards to him being gay! I guess nothing should shock me when I hear news like that, but YOU don’t understand.

I had the biggest crush on “Zack”! I can honestly say he was my first white boy crush. I had every Teen Beat/Tiger Beat photo I could possibly find of him. Every Saturday, I was glued to the screen just to watch him. I also hoped year after year, him and “Lisa Turtle” aka Lark Voorhies would hook up so that could solidify in my mind there were actual interracial relationships on television. Eventually, “Zack” and “Lisa” eventually shared a short lived relationship, but quicky ended it b/c they thought they’d be better ‘friends’. I always wondered how many letters of outraged the network received in response to their ‘relationship’ for it to have ended so quickly.

In any event, during my sophmore year of highschool, I found my own “Zack”! I remember the day clearly. I was walking down the hall way and here is this 6′1, blond hair, green eyed, guy with a football jersey on walking towards me down the hallway. He stopped directly in front of me and congratulated me because he saw my cable show on television the night before (I produced/anchored our community/highschool news show). I think that was the first time I’d ever became speechless.

Frank was the typical ‘All American” boy. Star Quarterback , excellent student, popular, and beautiful! After that first encounter we became alot more friendlier towards each other in the months to follow. I interviewed him a couple of times for our news show and we also shared a few classes together. By the end of our sophmore year, we were a ‘couple’.

When I say “couple” we were the “IT” couple. In a school of 4000+ students, everyone knew Frank & “Funkyblackchick”. Star football player with the local tv personality and a track athlete. We shared lockers for 2 yrs, all of the same classes..etc..etc…he was a huge support to me during the majority of my highschool years.

Senior year came quickly and by the end of our senior year, we realized that even though we would be a few exits away on the NJ Turnpike from each other (He was attending Princeton and I was at Rutgers) that it would be best if we just remained friends. Till this day I’m in constant contact with Frank. He went on to become a star player and Princeton and now he’s an Art History Teacher and minister in the Princeton area. He also recently got married (to a black woman), so I guess the saying is true for him, once you go black, you never go back.

How did/does this relationship play an impact on my present life? Well, I’m pretty much an Equal Opportunity Dater. Some people who know me, like to joke around and say that I prefer white men, but that’s not the case at all. I just don’t feel the need to be obligated to only dating black men. I like variety and if that comes in the form of another “Zack”, then so be it!

What are your views on interracial dating? Do you still think there is a stigma tied to it, depending on the area/location where you live?