How much love?

I was very sorry to hear that Justin Bieber had a concussion. I hope he's feeling better.  The truth is that I hadn't really heard of him until the movie about him came out.  I actually watched it one night with my husband (our kids are too young for him, the youngest is seven, and they're all boys, not his demographic)  and I was impressed by how much talent the kid seems to have.

I am always shocked every day by just how many times Justin Bieber seems to be trending on Twitter.  His fans go out of their way to start phrases that end up trending world-wide.  Things like "Real Girls Always Love Justin."  Its amazing.  It is said over and over again enough times that it becomes a twitter trend world wide.

Wow.  That is love.

In college, for a short period of time because I was just slightly too old, I really started to love NSYNC.  I went to one of their concerts after spending so much time thinking about them that I wonder if some of my grades couldn't have been better Junior year.  I paid a fortune for the tickets and they were far back from the stage. It was like looking at five little figures running around. I could see them on a large screen that made me wish I'd stayed home and watched them on HBO.  It would have cost less.

And I remember realizing that it was sort of sad that I really really liked those guys (well. Lance.) and I would never be any closer to any of them than the far distance from the stage.  I'd devoted so much time to them and I would never know them, not really.

I think that is why books are so fulfilling for us. We can have a fantasy and we can really know that fantasy.  We can read about them any time we want.  Which is why a character like Edward Cullen can become so consuming to its audience.  Somehow, it just seems healthier.  You do know that the character. The author gave you the chance to really be part of their lives.

Unlike NSYNC, who took a few months of time when I didn't want to contemplate the rest of my life because it seemed to scary, or Justin Bieber who will never know those girls who chase him around endlessly.

What do you think? How much love is too much love for people we'll never know?