The slinky black dress and the frozen burrito

Since Bunny and Simply April have said it was alright for me to go on and on, I've decided to tell two more stories I remember from Northern. On the plus side, they both have a celebrity in them. I'll start with the slinky black dress since it is poignant and end with the burrito because it is just a stupid story that can (and I'm sure has) happen on any campus anywhere.

The Slinky Black Dress

In grad school I worked in an office on campus and became friends with several of the secretaries who worked there. I had more in common with them than the other grad students. I was older (26) and married and had worked full time in an office as a secretary too. The grad students were all really nice, but they were only 22 or 23, just out of their undergrad programs and hadn't really lived on their own.

One of the girls, I'll call her Tia, was a townie and had lived most of her life in DeKalb. Her 10th high school reunion was coming up. Now it just so happened that she was in the same graduating class as Cindy Crawford. Did you know that? Cindy Crawford is originally from DeKalb. Barbed wire was invented there too by Joseph Glidden. I like barbed wire better than Cindy, you'll learn why shortly.

Tia, and most everyone in her class, was so excited when they learned that Cindy was coming home for the reunion. It was the talk everywhere, Cindy was coming home! Tia really wanted to go to the reunion. First she had to talk her husband into it. Dinners and dances weren't his thing. But he agreed since they had a lot of friends who'd be there (he was local also, but from the next town over).

Next Tia needed something to wear. She went shopping and found the slinky black dress. She looked drop dead gorgeous in it. But it was more expensive than she was comfortable spending, especially with the price of the reunion tickets. But she looked drop dead gorgeous in that slinky black dress and eventually, against her better judgment, she bought it.

The Student Center was abuzz with the reunion (our office was in the Student Center we knew everyone who worked there) since the event was being held in the Ballroom. Security and production were stepped up when it was learned that not only was Cindy coming, she was bringing her film crew from her MTV show "House of Style".

The night finally came and Tia, looking drop dead gorgeous in her slinky black dress, and her husband left the baby with Tia's mother-in-law and went to the reunion. Sometime during the night Tia called to check in. Something was wrong. Her mother-in-law said something Tia couldn't understand then dropped the phone. Tia and her husband raced home to find the mother-in-law had had a stroke. Now before I scare you more, the mother-in-law had a full recovery. Slow, but full. And the baby was just fine, fast asleep unaware anything was going on.

The slinky black dress in which she looked drop dead gorgeous and cost more than she could really afford got hung in the closet. That should be the end of it. Tia went back to work on Monday, took care of her baby and now cared for her mother-in-law as well.

Then the "House of Style" episode came out. The classmates all found out that Cindy used her show to make fun of their hometown, her classmates and their clothing. How classy is that? The classmates, Tia included, were hurt, disappointed and angry. How could someone with all the fame, the money and the power hurt her classmates like that? I haven't forgiven her. I saw the disappointment in Tia's face. I'll never forgive Cindy, even if Tia and the others do.

Another former classmate of theirs once told me that Cindy was quite the party girl in high school and had a reputation. He wouldn't tell me any details, probably because he knew I had a big mouth and would blab as soon as I got a chance. But he did say that he always thought Cindy's younger sister was the pretty one. If she wouldn't turn on her classmates on national cable television, then I agree the sister is the pretty one.

Or Tia, and all the Tia's out there in the world (you know one too). Taking care of her family. Moving her mother-in-law into her home when she needed it. Working hard. Dreaming of the slinky black dress that she looked drop dead gorgeous in. Treating her classmates with respect. Those are the beautiful people.

Barbed wire will stab you, but you expect it to.


The Frozen Burrito

Okay, this is just a stupid story. It is the only other time I know of that NIU has ever been mentioned on national network television.

One night a guy was arrested for leaving 7-11 with a stolen frozen burrito stuffed down his pants. The story "guy arrested with frozen burrito stuffed down pants" makes the blotter in the campus paper. Someone sends the article in to David Letterman. Letterman reads it on late night television.

Funny, we always thought that would be NIU's legacy.