Where Is "Where I Fell"?

In the words of Alan Jackson, “Where were you when the world stopped turning?”.

OK; So I don’t really know if it ever has. (In an aim to make my life seem more worth-living to me, I have often spent the day simply trying to find a way/reason to be moving somewhere, in a vehicle or on foot.) However, I didn’t want the first sentence of this blog to be as upsetting as my real starting question might be…

“Where were you on the morning of ’9-11′?”

Growing up (as some may claim I am still doing), I heard a ton of people say there were moments of history during their lives that everyone in the country would remember where they were: The JFK assassination (about Negative-Twenty Years Old) was the big one, but the first I recall happening in my lifetime was “9-11″. Yes, I remember precisely where I was when the 2nd plane hit: I was sitting in a chair in my original home, getting mad at Matt Lauer. It was nothing personal, nor did it have anything to do with what he was saying, doing, or wearing; I had started a very-regular routine of waking at the same time, checking my blood-sugar, & watching “Judge Mathis”. I turned-on the channel, & it was Matt, continuing the “Today Show” due to the (apparently) “shocking events…”.

Twenty years later (doesn’t seem that long to me), I don’t recall what Matt said verbatim, nor many other major details. I do recall, however, what I continue to call “My One Good Thing To Come Out Of ’9-11′”…Or rather, “who”. Due to filming at that time in the New York area, Conan O’Brien had a lot of bands coming on & performing optimistic tunes. One night, he brought out a group I had never heard of (he did that a lot, & still does) called “Fountains Of Wayne”. They performed what I later learned was a Kinks cover they had recorded before called, “Better Things”.

Lyric-wise, the song sounded to me like it belonged in a Disney film. (Covered in sugar, it seemed, as it was from “Mary Poppins”, long my sister’s favorite Disney flick.) But I liked something I still can’t specify about the group’s sound. I went soon to the local secondhand-disc store, & bought the only FOW disc I found. Over the next few years, they became one of my favorite groups. (I will always claim this was before they hit it big on the radio with “Stacy’s Mom”, or they were nominated for a Grammy for “Best New Artist”… For their THIRD ALBUM?!)

I’m (again) not sure why or how, but being a fan of theirs eventually led me to a song called, “Fountains Of Wayne Hotline”. It was performed by a singer-songwriter named Robbie Fulks. If you can find it, I suggest you get it. It’s a hilarious song I’m shocked he ever actually recorded (on no albums I can find, nor available anywhere in “MP3″ format.), as written by a wannabe artist who has trouble writing songs, so he calls the “Hotline” & talks to a few employees (none of them sharing names with actual FOW group members) who give him tips, ideas, etc…

Anyhow, I was watching TV last week, trying to transfer files from my still-problematic PC to 1 of a few external hard-drives (if not remove them permanently) before sending it off again to the local “Geek Squad”. (“Once more unto the geeks, my friends!” says a voice in my head that prefers mocking Shakespeare to the anger this often fills me with.) The show had a few live performances of other songs by Robbie, which I watched. Afterward, I looked for versions of those same songs in my Windows Media Player library. One of them is a song called, “Where I Fell”. Both verses end with him referring to a specific spot (different in 1 verse than the other) “…Where I Fell”.

The songwriter in myself (who has spent much, but not all of the past dozen years silent) wondered if one (or maybe both) of those places (as well as a few other places/things) he refers to in the song truly exist in his case. Unsure about him, but knowing I myself have fallen more than my share of places over the years, I decided I would spend 1 day this week heading to one of them, standing on/in it (the chosen spot was a pothole at the time of the fall, which is the reason I think I fell on/near there), & proclaiming (like Robbie in the song), “Now I dwell where I fell”.

I mentioned it to Mom briefly last night, being rather vague on purpose. (Mom has no mask, costume, or comic book, but I have long thought-&-said she feels great when she knows of someone who needs her help at any time; In fact, I am borrowing her PC right now while she is out-of-town, taking an Aunt to Cleveland Clinic.) She woke me this afternoon right before she left, & seconds after she left, I grabbed my necessary items (& a few “perhaps-I’ll-need/use” things), & headed out.

Side-note: I was ready to discuss my plan with anyone, since my destination was not indoors, which may lead/have led to questions. Also, I kept a “running log” on my Twitter account, going as far as to invite people to come & ask questions while I was having Lunch near my planned destination.

I left this building wearing the following “outfit”:

Usual wristwatch

Shoes ordered by my podiatrist about a year ago

Dark jeans (still including an especially-dark spot caused by the Banana Cream Pie Blizzard I had while my nephew celebrated his team’s local Athletic Club Championship yesterday)

The black shirt I bought covered in shoes, themselves covered in a phrase regarding, “Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes.” (Needless to say, the whole saying is more humor than true suggestion, & I credit the late Mitch Hedberg as the first reason I heard it.)

Monkees sweatjacket I bought under a month ago (Largely b/c Mom had warned of predicted storms, another one of the reasons I originally fell in this spot)

—————

Long story short, I stopped at the local Taco Bell at the Mall’s Food Court (same menu, but I think a bit more cost, than the one up the block). I then walked through a bunch of the Mall, cutting through the JCPenney the way I had that original fall (for me; Summer for all others) day, & out the exit. I literally pointed with my index finger at the end of my fully-outstretched arm to the light-pole I recalled (perhaps incorrectly) falling near on that day. (I realize now I have not named/mentioned it. If you need to know, I can 95%-promise you it was June 19, 2007.)

I stopped within walking distance of the store I had just left & the local movie theatre I haven’t visited in I-literally-don’t-know-how-long. (I quietly debated amongst myself further steps, remembering I was headed from-movie-to-Mall the day of the fall… Did not mean for that to rhyme, I promise.) I then decided that specific didn’t matter, largely because repeating that detail would require me to cross a two-lane roadway of sorts between Mall parking & that of the nearby theater & “Expo Center”. (I specifically also recalled I believe myself to have tripped because I was looking at/for traffic on/in those lanes, & not paying attention to what awaited once I had crossed it.)

Finally, I shrugged, grumbled & mumbled a bit to myself, & started writing my own 3rd verse to the song, wondering “WTH?” (full words; Editing myself for content) happened to the pothole &/or rest of the area where I recall myself to have fallen. [Watching too much "NCIS: Los Angeles" makes me wonder who to call about them maybe still having the traffic/other surveillance tapes to prove what the reason(s) was/were I fell that day, & why it isn't/they aren't still there...I also laughed at the local Congressman I've longed disliked, with whom I share a first name & who I believe my Dad knows personally, perhaps causing me this issue/problem by actually (I believe) doing his job in this case/area.]

Hunting For Catfish In The Mahoning River = New Blog 6/4/14

I don't honestly know why (though I fully realize that means nobody does), but when I "steal" titles, I feel I need to start the blog explaining where I got it from. This time, I didn't steal it at all, but I did "derive" it from a few sources. (Is that even a word in that tense?!) I therefore, likewise, & "all that good jazz" (altering the term I once heard current "Fault In Our Stars" cast-member @birbigs use) feel the need to explain it.

I only think I've ever heard the word "catfish" 3 times, which totals about once a decade. The last was whenever the MTV show began; The second/middle was the movie that "started it all" (though the people behind it may claim the events "documented" in the movie truly did that). The first was several years ago, as that was the first fish I ever caught when intentionally going fishing. [My Uncle Bill, who ironically had a birthday only last week, & also himself built a boat since that intentional-fishing trip he later launched on local water (video of which is still on this computer), has never that I recall explained to me why we didn't keep it the way I understand most fishermen do the majority of their catches... But being I was rather young & it was the first one I ever caught, I still have some sort of "sense memory" of being very upset by that.]

Lastly, the Mahoning River is a real body of water that I have ridden past several times in the cars of either of my parents... That said, the last time I went fishing was MANY years ago, & the last time I went anywhere near that river for any honestly-worth-documenting amount of time was during my visits to the nearby courts for all the "legal guardian" stuff, which I have documented on this blog FAR more than enough. (I am still not entirely done separating myself from that experience & what I am now choosing to refer to as its "offshoots". While some might say I have one more step to complete, & will be finished when this week is, a long-existent part of my brain that prefers to expect the worst/least argues that I might have preferred serving a sentence the likes of which I've seen mentioned on recent airings of various "Law & Order" spinoffs, as it believes people serving such sentences can reform & live somewhat-normal-&-complete lives, whereas I will never be fully separated from that "guardian" or the "case", regardless of the Probate Court site listing it in all-CAPS as "CLOSED".)

Anyway, I am not in any rush (to put it mildly) to go fishing again. (I will probably eat another "BK Big Fish" within the next 2 weeks, but I don't care to be or even know the person that catches it.) I also am not exactly in any rush to go near the Mahoning River, though I realize I have high odds whether I wish it or not, as it did flood during my lifetime, & I only today read a Rolling Stone article that discussed climate change leading to Miami & other coastal cities being placed underwater...
... That said, I am in the mood to go "hunting" for some sort of "catfish", by saying which I mean searching online for actual genetic connections to my actual self.

Understand when I write this that I have said/written beyond the point of being redundant on my blogs that I love both my nephews & my niece. (This computer is filled with pics & video of my eldest nephew, who I have probably called "buddy" more than his actual name. His younger brother literally runs to me, says my name, & grabs my leg when I arrive at his big brother's 'ball games over the past week. My niece, meanwhile, is not even a-half-year old, & so barely says any words... However, I expect my name to come soon, as she only recently stopped her mouth from smiling at me the second she sees me literally anywhere.)
I also love my sister (to the point we referred to each other on the phone tonight at the end of the conversation solely by each other's first initials, & this conversation happened only after she sent me 3 text-messages).

That all written, I have said rarely-but-repeatedly that if my doctor were to tell me at tomorrow's appointment that I were adopted, I would be surprised by it coming from this particular doctor (a specialist in an area other than my family/genetics), but not at all by the news. At least 3 of my teachers Freshman Year of high school knew the first name of the man I've grown-up thinking (he) was my father before they'd even seen my face. I went to my first party at another student's house when I was in high school due to my sister having invited someone via me, since they were my best friend for many years (many years prior, & to this very second); I wasn't physically spending any "school hours" in the school building.

On the opposite side of things, much of my family & friends still hold (& speak of) the belief I have Diabetes. (This is another thing I have covered on my blogs "FAR more than enough".) This is happening simultaneously with the same people (those who act towards it at all, anyway) seemingly refusing to believe or even have me tested for other diseases I verbally claim to believe I might have, despite my repeated claims/announcements of showing their symptoms. (One of my junior-high Health teachers was an old classmate of my mother's, so I wonder how she'd feel knowing Mom seems to steadfastly refuse testing for these things, despite the fact her old classmate who is now a teacher telling me at least once the better odds of survival that come from early detection.)

Maybe it's the way my also-oft-covered "living Improv" affects my memory, but I can't recall anything else (if it ever actually existed) I wanted to cover on this topic/idea. I realize, by the way, I haven't mentioned my Dad in a while. This was intentional... My Dad & I are actually taking a trip near the end of the week that would be right at the top of my "things to look forward to"/"things to live for" list that I believe I covered in a recent blog... I will be paying him back for my ticket to this event, which is ironic only because it was I who originally mentioned this event to him a few weeks ago, & in the time since, he said & did things that repeatedly upset me (not total; each individual one) to the point I was making myself OK with missing this event, deciding that attending was not worth the hour-or-so trip to-&-from with him.

Footnote Added At-Least-An-Hour Later: It hit me several minutes after typing the previous that I never mentioned the full title of this blog/entry was a "takeoff" of sorts on the film title, "Salmon Fishing In The Yemen". Admittedly, I've never seen a single second of the film, though I remain aware it stars (among others) one of my long-time favorite film actors, Ewan MacGregor. [I have "A Life Less Ordinary" on DVD, & the soundtrack on CD, as well as recalling his vocal performance of a song I honestly don't recall the title of in with Cameron Diaz in that film better than the original... But have never seen a single scene of "Moulin Rouge" or "Trainspotting", & recall having walked home in evening darkness years ago when my next-door neighbors invited me to watch "Star Wars: Episode One" with them. (That said, I picture him in the film any time I hear his character's name mentioned in the "Weird Al" song related to the film.)]

I would not have added this "Footnote" at all if I had not turned-on a cable repeat of "NCIS: Los Angeles", & heard "Hetty" mention helping break a character out of prison & sending him "all the way... to his family in Yemen." This remains one reason I refuse to watch the film, as I have otherwise only seen the location mentioned there & on the "Friends" episode half my immediate family has memorized verbatim, neither of which ever use a "The" prior to the name of the country.