My friend Tahmi is looking for a man. She told me all about it over the phone last night while I was shopping for dinner at Von's.

The specific man she is looking for is named Matthew, last name unknown, and his most distinguishing characteristic is that he looks eerily like her. But in male form. They have the same long, dramatic curly hair, which is what initially caused our friend Barbara Ann to point him out. Tahmi and BA were at a charity ball, and BA exclaimed, "That guy has your hair! You should go make out with him!" Which, as it turns out, is exactly what happened.

Tahmi has been looking for this man for two months, with no luck. All she knows is that his name is Matthew, and he manages a musician, whose name she doesn't know.

The Weekly Reader ran a spread on the charity event, featuring grinning skeletal blondes in low-cut dresses, and a couple of guys. Based on Tahmi's description, I was pretty sure that one of the guys pictured had to be Matthew. My main clue was that he looked like he could be her twin brother. When I showed her the picture, she burst into ecstatic laughter and confirmed that it was he.

After much harrassment by me, Tahmi finally put an "I Saw You" ad in the Weekly Reader, which reads as follows: "Matthew at Black and Blue Ball. We owe each other hours of kisses." Now she is afraid he won't call. I think that any guy, were he to recognize himself in the "I Saw You" column, would call, especially if the ad promised making out. She's not so sure.

I am thinking of putting an "I Saw You" ad in myself. I haven't "seen" anyone interesting enough to write to, but I'll word it in a vague manner, something like: "Tall, gorgeous man with eyes. We passed each other in the supermarket. You were holding a canteloupe but your eyes were on me. Call me and let's make out." Like that, and then if anyone actually calls, I can kind of fudge the details, like, "Oh, right, it was a pepper you were holding," or whatever. "Oh, right--it was the gas station, not the supermarket." Would anyone ever call, I wonder.

Anyway, back to Tahmi, whose ad I believe comes out today. Let's look... Hey! It's there. Should I call her and leave a message? Probably.

Rob Brezsny's horoscope this week tells me to follow Mae West's lead, specifically her assertion that when she is good, she is very, very good, but when she's bad, she's better. I don't think she was speaking about prank phone calling her friends, but it's a start.

Star of the day. . .Steve Allen