Her name was Anna Marie.
Raven hair, ruby lips, she was my original “Witchy Woman”. From middle school through my sophomore year of high school, I was obsessed with her.
I had no chance.
I was an awkward nerd in my early teens (still am). She paid me occasional attention- a note in the hallway from time to time, but like most young high school girls, she had her sights on older guys- you know, those with a driver’s license, a job, and access to a car.
I thought of Anna during a recent afternoon radio show. My guest, Tom Moore, owns a local store called Trademark Coins and Currency. Tom is cool. A much-decorated pilot, Tom served 22 years In the Air Force flying F-15s.
And I thought driving a Corvette was cool. LOL.
I told Tom about being an avid coin collector as a kid. I filled volumes of navy-blue books of nickels, dimes, and quarters, constantly searching for the next fit for an open slot. While my friends were excited by The Beatles, I was hot for a 1943 steel quarter, minted when silver was needed for World War II (or “world war eleven” as a high school student recently called it during a Veteran’s Day celebration).
Those filled books would be worth a small fortune today. Anna Marie is the reason I am savings-challenged. Too young to get a job, those collector books filled with change became the bank I borrowed from to send Anna Marie flowers for Valentine’s Day or to finance a movie date on those rare occasions when she’d grant me her time.
It was during this sweet and innocent era that ABC launched a weekly sitcom called “That Girl”.
It starred Marlo Thomas as the raven-haired, ruby-lipped young woman trying to make it as an actress in New York City. The name of her character? Anne Marie!
I took it as a sign from God. Destiny. While my Anna Marie was busy ignoring me or brushing me off, I had Thursday nights to gaze at an acceptable substitute.
Such as it was for me, an awkward young teen, paralyzed by shyness while seeking the “cool factor” that would get me a second look that wasn’t meant to be. By junior year, I gave up on Anna Marie to find a sweet 16er who seemed to like me for who and what I was. We dated through the remaining years of high school.
Anna Marie continued to date the older guy with the sanitation department job, and she, upon graduation, took a clerical job with the Chicago Transit Authority. She never came to our high school reunions and kind of disappeared.
I lost interest in coin collecting and never filled the empty spaces in my collection books. My new friend Tom Moore estimates the lost coins would be worth about $12,000 dollars, all spent on flowers and banana splits, courting the woman who just wasn’t meant to be that girl.
Marlo Thomas would play That Girl on TV for 5 seasons and went on to marry Phil Donahue of all people!
Fast forward to 1992. By then, I’d moved to South Florida and built an impressive radio resume. My dream job was offered- a talk show on WLS AM & FM in Chicago, the station I idolized in high school! I couldn’t take it fast enough.
My Dad was still living in the family bungalow on 77th Place, so I took the upstairs bedrooms while looking for permanent quarters downtown. Late one afternoon, the phone rang as I was leaving for work on my nighttime show.
A petite, feminine voice said, “Hello, is this the Budell residence?”
“It is, Greg, speaking,” I replied. “How can I help you?”
I then heard the words: “I don’t know if you’ll remember me or not, but my name is Anna Marie.”
“Remember you?!? My first love! What a terrific surprise!”
“Is that really you on WLS?” she asked.
“Same dork you knew in high school,” I replied.
In the ensuing minutes, we chatted easily and agreed that a lunch date was the way to continue the conversation. During the call, I learned she was still married to the guy with the car and job from high school.
Anna Marie was in her 23rd year with the CTA.
We met two days later at a riverside café. She was still a beauty, too. Raven hair, ruby lips, and big dark Italian eyes that danced and sparkled. She was still crushworthy.
As we were seated, Anna Marie remarked, “You certainly turned out differently from high school”, looking at me the way I wished she had back in the day. She said even more with her eyes and body language. While I’m the guy who never believes any woman ever wants a physical relationship with me, Anna Marie was sending strong signals in that direction.
The woman I wanted first in my life now wanted me.
Dreams come true!
However, in an act of unprecedented maturity on my part, I declined to move on the unspoken invitation. We enjoyed a tremendous couple of hours and parted with no specific plans for another lunch or even a phone call.
As she walked away, she looked back at me with a face I will never forget but can’t truly describe. She seemed vexed.
I was satisfied with letting her see I’d built an interesting life and had grown out of that awkward, dorky teen who spent his coin collection wooing her all those years ago.
Life moved on, and I moved back to South Florida later that year.
Some years later, I did meet TV’s “That Girl”, Marlo Thomas, and thanked her for being my dream girl during the days of severe teen angst. “Glad I could help!” she said. Marlo was a great interview and beyond charming.
Life is many loves down the road now, but there can only be that one first love, the girl you pined for, and invested your precious coin collection to pursue.
Anna Marie, God rest her soul, was That Girl.
Happy Valentine’s Day, my friends!
Greg Budell has lived in Montgomery for 20 years. A 50+ year veteran of radio, TV and writing, Greg hosts the Newstalk 93.1FM Morning Show with Rich Thomas, Susan Woody, and Jay Scott, 6-9 AM Monday – Friday. He returns weekday afternoons from 3-6 PM for Happy Hour with Pamela Dubuque and a variety of sidekicks. His favorite topic is life!
Greg can be reached at gregbudell@aol.com.