Neil Sedaka was four years older than me. We grew up in neighboring areas of Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach in Brooklyn, New York. We both went to Lincoln High School though Neil graduated before I entered my freshman year so we never really knew each other.

In 1957, Neil Sedaka launched his professional solo music career as a singer-songwriter and pianist, marking the beginning of a prolific career that defined the early pop-rock era. Neil Sedaka was an original member of the group that became known as The Tokens. He formed the group in 1955 at Brooklyn's Abraham Lincoln High School, initially known as the Linc-Tones, before leaving in 1957 to pursue a solo career, prior to their 1961 hit "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". Following the success of his group he signed as a solo artist and released his debut recordings, including "Laura Lee" and "Snowtime" on Decca Records in 1957. Neil Sedaka was on his way to becoming a superstar.

The spring of 1957 brought major changes for me as I finished my freshman year and destiny began to unfold on many levels. That spring Lincoln High had a dance - possibly a freshman dance. Neil returned to play piano and judge the dance contest, which I entered. To this day I can still see him sitting at the piano playing and singing.

When the music stopped, there was that suspended moment before the winning couple was announced. You got it! My dance partner and I had won.

But what stayed with me far longer than the applause were Neil's words. In front of everyone, he looked at me and said, "You're beautiful. You're destined to fame." Of course I was faltered but it was a moment that catalyzed my destiny - one of many that would follow - and the beginning of my journey as told to me on the UFO three years earlier.

With Neil's passing today, I find myself returning to that spring night in Brooklyn - to the music, the applause, and the quiet knowing that sometimes destiny announces itself in the most extraordinary ways.