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When I say that I've been a longtime fan of Snoop Dogg, I really mean it. I vividly remember the time he and Dr. Dre came to Detroit's Club International around the time "Deep Cover" and The Chronic came out; it was 1992 or 1993. I desperately tried to scrape together the money to go, but it was something like $40 and just not happening at the time. It's one of my bigger musical regrets, right up there with (but not quite as bad as) blowing off Nirvana at the tiny St. Andrew's Hall, where I practically grew up, in favor of going to my sophomore Homecoming game. Moron.

In 1994, I was lucky enough to win a scholarship to Presidential Classroom, which is this program where high schoolers get to go to Washington, DC, to see how government works. It was really cool except for the fact that girls were not allowed to wear pants (we had to wear skirts, not nothing, you perv). Anyway, I couldn't believe my luck when I discovered that my trip coincided with the Congressional hearings on gangsta rap! Snoop wasn't there himself, but big ol' blowups of the dirty cartoon album art for Doggystyle were, and man oh Manischewitz, was that awesome to see in that environment. 2 Live Crew's Luther Campbell was supposed to speak but ended up being a no-show, and it was quite hilarious to watch Senator Carol Mosley Braun walk around going, "Where's Luke?" Dionne Warwick, resplendent in a purple pantsuit, gave a long speech about how Snoop's work was destroying our children's future; it gave my 18-year-old self great joy to corner her afterwards to deliver a sarcastic monologue about how the Psychic Friends Network changed my life. She was not pleased.

I finally met Snoop in 2002 at the Dylan Hotel in New York City when doing an interview for TeenPeople.com. I was going to see Jay-Z out at Jones Beach later that night, so I was in hip-hop heaven that day (I had so much fun at that show. Beanie Sigel came riding out onto the stage on a tricked out tricyle. How could you not have fun?).

After keeping us waiting for quite some time, Snoop eventually sauntered into the room where our video crew was set up accompanied by several members of his entourage, all loudly complaining about the Southern comfort food joint, Nyla, that Britney Spears had just opened in the hotel. Evidently, the establishment served "wack-ass cornbread" that was not to their liking. Unsurprisingly, it shut down soon thereafter.

We were introduced, and Snoop couldn't have been nicer. He had a pet carrier with him that he promptly opened up to introduce me to his new cat, Frank Sinatra. I thought the kitty was pretty cute until he bit me, hard, mid-interview. I didn't want to ruin the video by crying out in pain, so I just sucked it up. He kept biting throughout the interview. By the end of the day, I hated that cat.

When we wrapped the interview, I whipped out the DAT machine to have Snoop record drops for our online radio station (and yeah, I weasled in some Deadly Dragon Sound System drops for my friend Jeremy's mix tapes. I won't lie). When Snoop was in the middle of recording the drops, all of a sudden the microphone was grabbed by the sassy senior in his crew, Uncle Junebug. I was fascinated by Uncle June; he looked to be in his mid-60s, yet seemed more interested in partying than any other member of Snoop's entourage. He was drinking from what appeared to be a large glass of Hennessy and was cracking jokes with the rest of Snoop's crew throughout the interview to spare them from the boredom of listening to Snoop answering the same questions for the umpteenth time that day. I couldn't blame him.

So why did Uncle Junebug decide to rock the mic? Well, I was wearing a shirt with a large eagle on it, which didn't seem like such a conversation piece to me, but it sure was to Uncle June. He put the microphone close to his lips, stared me right in the eyes and said, "Girrrrrrl, you thick, you fat and you fine! You betta not let that bird fly up into my house, 'cause I'm gonna lock him up and not LET him fly away!" With that, Uncle Junebug licked his lips and walked away. And let me tell you, there's nothing like a drunken complement from an old man to make you feel like a real woman.

The next time I saw Uncle Junebug was the following year in Atlanta at the NBA All Star Game. He was walking around with a young hardbody on his arm. God bless.

Snoop passed by me at the Teen Choice Awards a couple years ago, and I asked where Uncle Junebug was. Without missing a beat, he said, "Dancin'. Shakin'." And when I saw Snoop at a Grammy afterparty this year, I had half a mind to ask him about my beloved, but now that Uncle Junebug has become a star on Snoop's E! show, I didn't want him to think I was a bandwagon-jumping groupie. Hell nah! I've always loved Uncle June.

I'm watching Uncle Junebug on Snoop Dogg's Father Hood (on demand, natch) right now. He's trying to holla at some girls on the set of Snoop's "Sensual Seduction" video (have I mentioned that I'm obsessed with it?). In a way, Uncle Junebug is kind of my hero. Granted, I really hope that I'm not trying to holla at young guys in my 60s, but that man clearly lives life to the fullest every single day. I think we can all take a page from Uncle Junebug's playbook.

Carpe diem. Chuuuch.