Note: This blog is being written without the consent of “The Elite 1E”, “Dustberg”, or the other members of the status-currently-unknown “Elite Wrestling Federation” once based in Howland/Warren, Ohio… Except “The Wildman”, AKA the author/blogger himself. (I did seek it from the others, but was unable to get a response in time.)
I’ve done some quick mental Math about an hour ago, and discovered that I apparently started my Freshman Year of high school in 1997. While that was after some claim to have “invented the Internet” (Google tells me “WebTV” was invented the year before), my immediate family was behind a lot of my friends in areas related to several media & other things. (The top 2 of my All-Time 3 favorite bands in order are also chronologically in order of their conception; 1 & 2 both released albums before I was born; & While 1 member of #1 is deceased, only #3 has publically called it quits.)
Anyhow, let me “break away” from that part of things for a minute, & just state the fact that I spent much of my high school career attending what I’ve long called “alternative schooling”. Due to health issues that may still remain partially-undefined (over a decade since graduation), I attended some of Freshman Year, most of Sophomore Year, & all of Junior Year away from the actual school buildings. (Makes me laugh to think of it now; I went to the same “primary school” my nephew does, & the elementary school I attended still exists, named after the street it’s on, the same street that contains the apartment complex where I now live & type this blog.)
My relationship with my father has changed a lot over the years, even though I estimate half of the county knows me primarily due to my connection with him. Regardless, it’s a simple statement of fact that a lot of what I’ve gotten from him over the years has cost either/both of us $0.00. (He bought me my first-ever CD, “Fairweather Johnson” by Hootie & The Blowfish. I also got a “Greatest Hits” CD by Elton John from him, which I begged him for due to “Rocket Man” being stuck in my head for days before he mentioned receiving it from his Columbia House membership.)
The reason I mention this is for quite some time, though my parents were divorced & he lived in another residence, he regularly brought over copies of Entertainment Weekly. I would read much of them before they were eventually tossed. One of my favorite parts (which they seem to have stopped including) was something I believe was called, “Opening Lines”. In it, they would include staff favorites of the opening lines of new books.
One night, I was sitting on my bed & watching TV, with a laptop I’d received from Dad on my lap. (I don’t think he ever told me how he’d gotten it.) As some show on MTV ended, I told myself I was going to try & write a fictional story, beginning by attempting one of those “Opening Lines”. I did it, altering my own first name only slightly into “Tom” mid-sentence, & thinking I had created the real-sounding surname McGowan. (Imagine my shock a few years later watching the credits at the end of “Frasier”, & seeing this man’s name; I still shudder & get taken from the story for a few minutes when I see him in anything.)
Since my “alternative schooling” left me with plenty of open time, I spent a lot of the next few years writing fictional stories. [If you have the time, & feel like it, you can find my online history all over, much of it written under the name "TJChurch". This was/is my original self-given pseudonym, simply combining my first 2 initials (with one period after the grouping) with my real last name.]
After taking so much of a “Summer vacation” when I left school Sophomore Year, I convinced myself that (actual) Summer I was going to try to go back to Howland High School. (No big feat, really; I had taken two “Acting For Teens” Classes recently at Packard Music Hall, & had been at the school many evenings to hear my older sister in the band/choir.) I was further convinced I could do this by the fact the aforementioned sister had convinced me to join her in trying out for the local “Summer Stock” program that year. (She had also done so the previous year, resulting that time in me playing numerous parts in a traveling show.)
I indeed went back, in essence replacing my now-alumnus sister in the Band, Choir, & Speech-&-Debate Team. (I also attempted some “one-upsmanship” by adding the school paper & “Pep Band”.) In retrospect, I consider my return easier due to the facts that the Seniors (often considered Kings/Queens of the school) were mostly longtime friends of mine, & nobody else had any prior memories of me to think about/compare to what they now saw.
It was my Senior Year in band that brought me into a group I learned was called “the EWF”. It included then-Freshmen Eric Baker (referred to as “the Elite 1E”), Dustin Dickerson (called “Dustberg”), & Jason Valenti (forget what his name was now), among a few others.
As I recall, the ”Federation” was some sort of “backyard wrestling” group. [As I said, lack of memories of me made things easier; I still believe I left the school largely due to being blocked from sports (& Marching Band) by Cleveland Clinic doctors in the Spring of Freshman Year. Local cardiologists allowed me to return prior to Senior Year starting.] I’m not sure if they ever actually had matches, but we all had fictional biographies on its Website. (It was on Angelfire, & I still recall the address, but attempts to go there now tell me, “We couldn’t find the page you requested. Please check the URL and try again.”)
When I left high school again, this time with my diploma, I aimed for a way to continue doing what I had done in the EWF. (It’s now popularly called “role-playing” or “RPing” for short, though it was far before “World of Warcraft” & the like, & honestly, not much similar in comparison.) Since I was out of school (college plans fell through due to further health issues), it shocked me when the next Fall came, & the people I had been RPing with online all Summer seemed to be doing it far less often. (It finally hit me that school had begun again nationwide.)
I therefore went back to having a ton of open time, & continued writing fictional stories. I found (or so I recall/believe) that my creativity being accessed for my “E-fed” RPing led to better work in my other writing. [By now, this also included lyrics to songs (though I still have trouble writing the songs note-wise on a staff), fully-realized when I completed my first original musical just over 12 years ago. It remains my hope to perform it on the same Summer Stock stage my sister & I co-starred on right before my Senior Year.]
Any day now, I hope to buy a new computer. (No guarantees; I’ve said that for months, & Ma says “frostbite” warnings won’t even allow me to get out for grocery-shopping today.) When I do, I then hope to continue several writing projects that I have (both in my head & physically “lying around”), many of which I have delayed actually starting until I am able to type them in full. (My current cell phone, now within arm’s reach, has one text message on it saved in my “Drafts” folder which will never be sent to anyone, but is to/for myself about a character in my next-to-be-written musical project.)
Also, if my writing largely remains unpublished in 5-6 years, I am recently trying to contact Angelfire to regain control & update it, but here is the old page for the career I will be attempting then. (Note the URL/address; It was originally used for something similar to “blogging” & other things, & created not long after I left HHS & the EWF.)
Note: The "good people" at Angelfire/Lycos were very quick & kind in their response to me, so I have regained control of my old page, & updated it. (Feel free to simply take the link; It has a link right back to this page!)
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