Would you believe I hung out with her in a van once?

I'm not entirely sure I believe it either. But one night at the record store where I worked in the 90s, a very sexy and cool young woman came in to buy some Prince CDs. We got to talking and she said that she was going up to Minneapolis to record some tracks with Prince and wanted to get more familiar with some of his deeper catalog.

Manic Prince fan that I was, I asked her all about how they met and what the plans were. She asked me if I wanted to hear her demo tape. I couldn't play it over the in-store player, so she invited me out to her van to listen to her music. I liked what I heard, but most of all I liked hanging out with this mesmerizing and luminous beauty. We talked about a lot of Prince's varied styles and I think I pretended to like some pop radio stuff a bit more than I really did. Tiny, white lies, but you should have seen her. The record shop on Nolensville Road didn't see magical eyes like this very often -- she seemed absolutely destined for photo shoots and videos. I have no idea what her name was or if she really did meet Prince or not, but a year or so later, someone who looked very familiar by the name of Carmen Electra started appearing with Prince and released an album on his Paisley Park Records.

What I didn't know until today was that Carmen is a Cincinnati native. The Cincinnati Enquirer has a story about her upcoming return home to promote her new book, "How to Be Sexy." In the interview, she speaks of her love for Skyline Chili and King's Island's famous rollercoaster, "The Beast." As a frequent visitor to Ohio's Queen City, I have a great love for both. In fact, if I had the time and money, I'd make a drive up to Cincy right this minute for some of that great chili.

Whether or not Carmen and I ever listened to music together in her van on Nolensville Road in Nashville, TN, I'd like her to know that if she ever wants to hang out with me, I'll be happy to oblige. You know...for old time's sake.

[Special note specifically for Carmen: The chances of my wife being cool with us hanging out will be much improved if you can arrange for a certain Mr. Bon Jovi to take her out for dinner. Thanks.]