New Kids on the Block!!

Anyone who knows my little sister even casually knows that she has a secret obsession that is, well, not actually a secret. It probably should be, but it’s not.

She’s had the obsession for most of her life. Her two older sisters are to blame. We introduced her to it and reinforced it daily. At the impressionable young age of six, what was a girl to do but follow in her big sisters’ footsteps?

Over the last 20 years, Julie and I have kept an interest in the obsession while Elizabeth’s interest has grown to a – I’ll just say it – cultish level. And for the last two months or so, she has been working overtime to keep us up to date with news. We’ve received emails from her late at night or during work hours, we’ve gotten frantically excited phone calls as she finds out new information, and we’ve laughed as we join her enthusiasm and delve into memories and feelings we’ve suppressed with time and age.

But this week all rational bets were off. The three of us turned into shrieking, giddy and anxious 10 year olds. I haven’t felt this unabashedly wildly excited in quite a long time.

If you’ve been under a block -er, rock- and haven’t heard, let me be the first to tell you – the New Kids on the Block are back together!!

1988: The Mummert girls were New Kids central – every magazine with New Kids on the cover was begged for at the grocery store; every poster inside the magazine was ripped out, fought over and pinned on our bedroom walls; every book was read cover to cover multiple times; every doll and big round pin had a special place in our rooms; every New Kid birthdate, height/weight, favorite color, favorite food, etc. was memorized; every day we watched either Hangin’ Tough Live or Hangin’ Tough or one of the clips we'd recorded from TV interviews or appearances…it’s how we learned to use the VCR; and every wish in our little hearts was to one day meet the New Kids on the Block.

2008: Elizabeth’s investigative work confirmed a rumor she’d been reporting for the better part of two months – the New Kids are reuniting, and they are doing so in Rockefeller Plaza on the Today Show! I had been away from my computer for several hours Monday when Elizabeth discovered the news. I returned to find a long stream of emails between Julie and Elizabeth, and the last one from Elizabeth read, “Somebody call Rebecca. She must not be at her desk. I’m calling her.” Sure enough, I had a breathless message from Elizabeth to call her about something very exciting – too exciting to say over a message (insert the squelched excitement in her voice because she was at work and having to contain her emotions!)

I called her back immediately, and as we discussed that not only are the New Kids getting back together, but that I have the chance to see them, our voices rose in shrieks and laughter as I walked the New York City streets, sometimes stopping to jump up and down in excitement, trying all the while to let the hugeness of this news sink in.

My excitement was quickly replaced by anxiousness because I had the task of capturing the event for both of my sisters, and I couldn’t let them down. And I certainly couldn’t mess up the opportunity to fulfill the one wish we had all those years ago.

I woke up at 5:15 Friday morning, piled on layers of clothes, pulled on my red rain boots, grabbed my umbrella and carefully placed my camera – that had been charged and readied the night before – in my bag. I did take the time to put on make up and fix my hair, I mean, I was going to be in the presence of Jordan Knight. I was waiting for the subway by 6 AM, and marveled in slightly disgusted fashion at how many homeless people were napping in the train at that hour. I got off the train at 51st Street and Lexington Avenue and briskly made my way the few blocks to Rockefeller Center, mumbling more than a few times that I would only be up at this hour in this rain and in this cold for the New Kids on the Block. And for my sisters. And for the millions of girls back in 1988 who would have given their eye teeth to be seeing the New Kids in person.

I approached the Plaza at 6:30 AM – right at the time I had planned. My heart sunk when I saw the set lights and crowd fence with no crowd around. My worst fear – and I’m sure the New Kids’ worst fear – is that I would be the only excited fan eagerly waiting to see them. I felt like an idiot. I decided maybe I should just hang around the area until I see others coming and then start waiting around the fence.

But as I turned the corner into the Plaza area, my feelings quickly reversed – there was already a huge throng on either side of the fence, the empty area I had seen was just the far end behind where the action was to take place. As I entered the area, I saw the line stretched almost the whole way down the other block. I was NOT the first person here! Girls – excuse me, women – were dressed in their old New Kids t-shirts and jean jackets, donning neon green and hot pink hats and big button pins that hadn’t seen the light of day since 1990. Those who weren’t dressed in New Kids gear had signs and posters. Crap! The paraphanelia made these people look like way bigger fans than me, and suddenly I wished I had made my mother dig through boxes in the attic for my Jordan Knight t-shirt!

We grown up girls in the crowd became quick friends over excited chatter and giddy screaming as we anticipated the reveal of the New Kids. I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story – see the Kodak link below – but just know a young girl’s wish came true today, and it was all she ever dreamed it would be!

Take a look through my pictures on the Kodak website for a complete recount of the morning's hysteria: http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=oef8sup.4m4enx6x&Uy=-yyc7qp&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&UV=121735569490_434338363209&localeid=en_US

But here are some of my favorites:

Mr. and Mrs. Jordan Knight. Can you believe this??


Donnie Wahlberg


Jonathan Knight

This moment is captured on the Today Show by the camera you can see to the right of the picture. I was oblivous to TV cameras, and only knew it had been televised when friends who I hadn't even told I was going to the show saw me on TV! You can't hear me, but you can read my mouth scream - "Jordan! I love you!"

Danny Wood

Joe McIntyre


She drove all night from upstate New York...I guess it was worth it though!

Here's a clip from the Today Show, but not one that I'm in! http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/23953971#23953971