I don’t own any Backstreet Boys albums. I don’t even know that much about them. I think one of the guys could walk by me in a crowd, and I wouldn’t recognize them. But I know what it’s like to be that little girl infatuated with a boy band – because that’s how I felt about New Kids on the Block. Yes, I’ll admit it. I once wallpapered my bedroom with NKOTB photos.

Maybe that’s why, when I heard one of the Backstreet Boys was in town, I wanted to meet him. In a way, I thought I owed it to my childhood boy band obsessions. Nick Carter is in Savannah this weekend for the off-shore powerboat races. He has a racing team, captained by his dad, Bob Carter. I ended up at the powerboat races for work, trying to find Nick. I almost did. I spoke on the phone with the team manager, even met his dad and dropped off my business card. But Nick, alas, was tired, and in his room.
At the end of the day, I was walking along the river where all the boats were. There was one boat docked there that wasn’t a powerboat – it was more like a really nice pleasure boat. I saw his little brother Aaron first. Then I saw him on the boat too. Briefly. That was close enough. After all, I’m not a Backstreet Boys fan. But had it been Donnie Wahlberg back in the day – that would’ve been a different story.