Celebrity must be a strange thing.

Celebrity must be a strange thing.
Last night I was at the swanky Cincinnati nightclub Bang to support my good friend Justin Jeffre's run for city council. Jeffre, perhaps most famous for his role in the popular music group 98 Degrees, called in his old friend Nick Lachey to drum up some support (and money) for his campaign.

Let me back up before a make a point here… Living in the Midwest "celebrity" is a rare thing to come by. Justin is recognized and fawned over by his old fans from time to time, but other than those aging boy-band fans I don't see the interaction between celebrity and "normal person" in my daily life.

Last night was an entirely different story. The setting was so not Cincinnati: Soft red lights, velvet ropes and girls dressed in their most expensive, least covering clothing and the constant drone of house music in the background to make it more "LAish."

Eventually Lachey arrived to support his friend and band mate. The "classy" looking girls flocked quickly armed with their camera phones and digital cameras.

And the whole time poor Nick had to act like he was happy to be posing in picture. A fresh new smile for every girl (actually grown women) with her 10-year-old star crushes… It must be tiresome.

Now I know most people consider me a pretty big celebrity, but I don't usually have to deal with that kind of attention. If I did I'd go crazy. Or not. Who really knows? Maybe it's just a small price to pay for the love of a nation?

Or maybe celebrity isn't actually all it's cracked up to be.

What always surprises me most is the way women (and men) treat celebrities like higher beings. It's a shame that people think so little of their everyday friends, lovers and companions that they get giddy over a stranger they heard on a CD when they were 13 or 14. Why don't you have that excitement for the woman who makes you dinner every night? Why not the man who buys you flowers on Valentine's Day… or even just because?

Like usual, just some thoughts… But let me leave you with this. Put down people magazine. Tear down the Justin Timberlake poster from your wall. Start appreciating the real people in your life. Start appreciating yourself. There are people who deserve your excitement and giddiness more than strangers.