It's no secret that I have a Man-Crush on Keanu Reeves. If that was a secret then it isn't anymore. I have a very unnatural fondness for Keanu Reeves and the movies that he makes. The Matrix. Hardball. The Devil's Advocate. Sweet November. Constantine. The Lake House. Speed. Point Break. Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure was the movie that got me through college (on the night when I had to study for a big test or write a final paper, I'd put this movie on while I worked because my plight followed theirs... to lesser extremes of course). And even though I've always been a huge fan of The Replacements, it has now moved into my top 5 favorite movies of all time. It all started with the night that Shane Falco saved my cat Korben Dallas.
It was late on a Saturday night. May 18th to be exact. I took my Dad to see the movie Star Trek Into Darkness. We went to the 730pm show and got done around 10pm. Since I didn't have anything better to do that night, I decided to stick around and watch another movie. I walked into the 1020pm showing of Iron Man 3 only to find... not a single person in the theater on a Saturday night. Knowing that I would be caught dead red for sneaking into a movie where they didn't sell any tickets I decided to instead see the 10pm showing of Oblivion. It was alright. Nothing to write home about. Of course I wouldn't write home because I was just about to go there. So here I am getting home a little after midnight and thinking it's probably time to go to bed. But I turned on the TV and flipped through the channels and there on TBS was The Replacements. So I sat and watched it even though I have seen it enough times to be able to quote the entire movie from beginning to end. I live my life by this flick. I can't help but watch it every time it is on TV. I also watch it on my own a few times a week. I guess I'm just weird like that.
While I was in the living room watching The Replacements I heard a noise in the bedroom. Something I've never heard before. It was my cat crying like he was in pain. It was new and bit alarming. Who'd have ever thought that it could be? I quickly sprung up from the couch and ran into the room faster than Barry Allen. I searched all over the room but he was not to be found. I looked in the kitchen. Nothing. Not in the bath tub, not in the window, not in his favorite chair. I was freaking out. I had no idea where Korben Dallas was. And then I heard his cries coming from the one place that I didn't look - outside. My heart raced and my mind went to the worst possible scenario. I ran outside. I flew like the wind, with winged sandals on my feet. As I turned the corner I didn't know what to expect. Please be ok, I prayed to whoever was listening. And there he was in the 1st floor window, scratching at the screen trying to get back into his home probably unaware that he was not on the 2nd floor anymore.
Apparently he figured out a way to push the screen out and fell outside. He was terrified. He clung to me so hard as I carried him back inside and up the stairs. I can't imagine the fear that was running through his body. I joke all the time that he is from the streets and therefor badass enough to fend for himself. But even though he bites me sometimes like a little asshole to remind me that he's dangerous, I know that he's a little softy on the inside. I set him on the floor and watched him walk around. He had no visible limp or hesitation. He didn't cry or squirm when I squeezed parts of his body to see if there were any broken bones or bruises. He acted like nothing was wrong. I stayed up with him for the next hour or so to make sure he was ok. He was fine. Just fine. Someone out there took good care of him. He didn't get a scratch. I promise. Not a scratch. Someone out there is looking out for me.
If not for my love for The Replacements I might have gone to sleep that night. But something, someone even, told me to stay awake that night and watch a silly movie that I've seen more times than any sane person should admit to. You can call it fate, Karma paying me back, Divine Intervention or whatever kind of higher power you believe in. I don't know what to call it. I just know that something protected him as he tumbled out the window and cushioned his fall. Something made sure that I was awake when it happened around 1:30am. Something made sure that through all of this we would be OK. I often feel just like Shane Falco. I mean after all, he said it best, "You're playing and you think everything is going fine. Then one thing goes wrong. And then another. And another. You try to fight back, but the harder you fight, the deeper you sink. Until you can't move... you can't breathe... because you're in over your head. Like quicksand. " A lot of things have gone wrong in my life. I struggle and fight. And just when it seems like everything was going wrong, something went right. I know that I've been thanking Shane Falco for saving Korben Dallas but I'm thanking the wrong person. I know that it was you Timmy. Thanks for always being there for me. I don't know what I would do without you.
- pookon -
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