Raise your hand if you used to have a crush on MacGyver.

In case you've been living on another planet for the past twenty years, Richard Dean Anderson created the television character of secret agent Angus MacGyver (yes, Angus) in the 80s. If you watched the show, one of the first things you noticed about this character was his boyish smile and great hair. After that, it might dawn on you that he also had a knack for using common household items to get himself out of life-threatening dilemmas. In fact, the climax of every show involved watching MacGyver survive situations like getting trapped in a room with a ticking bomb with nothing on hand to save himself except, oh, I don't know, some dryer lint and a Bic pen.

Okay, I made up the part about the dryer lint. But the real storylines didn't sound any more plausible (although part of the fun of the show was the fact that MacGyver's inventions were scientifically possible even if they weren't very probable).

For example, in one episode he had to destroy a laser. Thank goodness he had cigarettes and binoculars on hand!

He plugged a sulfuric acid leak with chocolate.

He repaired a blown fuse using the aluminum wrapper of a stick of gum.

He smashed through a door (and took out two armed guards) using a slingshot made from bed springs.

He built a bomb from a fire extinguisher. He recharged a battery with wine. He fixed a broken fuel line with a ball point pen. And when his getaway car had a broken radiator, all he could find to save himself were egg whites but-wouldn't you know it?-that was actually exactly what he needed to do the job.

But back to the crush thing.

Not that I'm advocating having crushes on fictional TV characters or even celebrities. For one thing, these kinds of relationships can feel one-sided. This is because fictional characters and celebrities rarely return phone calls. The best you can hope for is that, after placing hundreds of phone calls, you might get a response in the form of a restraining order. So you can see that, for the amount of effort you have to expend in order to get any kind of response at all, you really are better off owning a fish.

Nevertheless, we've all done the celebrity crush thing.

And not just women, either. Guys have crushes, too.

Last week I attended a banquet for couples and singles in their forties and above.

At my table, eight acquaintances chatted politely about their careers, the ages of their children, the rising price of gas and the health of the economy. It was all very grownup and sedate and eventually I couldn't stand it one more minute.

I looked at the man across the table from me and said very seriously, "Dave, I have a very important question for you."

He said, "Sure."

I said, "Your answer may reveal more about you than you may intend, but I encourage you to consider your words carefully and to be as honest as possible. Are you ready?"

By now we had the attention of everyone at our table.

Dave sat up a little straighter and squared his jaw. I sensed he was as ready as he'd ever be.

I posed my question:

"Ginger or Mary Ann?"

I wish I could adequately describe for you what happened next. Turns out, among the men at our table, three'd had crushes on Mary Ann and one still carried a torch for Mrs. Howell. When the choice was between Jan and Marsha, I thought we'd have an even split until one man opted out and voted for Emma Peel of the Avengers. When someone brought up police women and the choice came down to Angie Dickenson or Sharon Gless as Chris Cagney, the boys at our table scoffed and said no contest: Angie won hands down.

By now, there wasn't a single grownup at our table. Oh, to the casual observer I imagine we still looked like men and women approaching fifty. But I knew differently. I knew that, at least for a moment, the year was 1969 and we were all in the throes of our first adolescent crushes.

For the rest of the evening, the memories and laughter flowed freely, and by the time we parted ways, there were promises to get together again, perhaps at someone's home, maybe for dinner, maybe to watch The Wizard of Oz with the sound off and Pink Floyd on the stereo.

We'd come a long way from casual acquaintances making grownup small talk.

And that's a feat even MacGyver could appreciate.

Karen Linamen is a motivational/inspirational speaker and author. Her books include Just Hand Over the Chocolate and No One Will Get Hurt and Chocolatherapy. Karen lives in the Springs and writes for a living. She will also write for chocolate.