Do I even need to explain this one? I\u2019ve documented on here my thoughts about small town Iowa more than once.<\/p>\n
Well\u2026 it\u2019s David Lynch. So yes, I suppose I do, even if only superficially. I owe him one after all, since he was the key to unlocking much of my recent discoveries of what it is that I actually do and am.<\/p>\n
So\u2026 for many years, well, decades, actually, I would make the trek to and fro Illinois to one of the smallest of the small towns in Iowa to visit my Grandparent(s). I would visit at least once a year, and sometimes two or more times. It was these trips and the experiences I had on them that are the obvious basis for this Lynch classic.<\/p>\n
I missed this one in theaters. I was in college at the time and was intrigued but otherwise busy.<\/p>\n
I caught it on the internet back in December, after Christmas, while I was trying to detox from the fentanyl. I guess it carried me through when I needed it. Consider this post a \u201cthanks\u201d to everyone involved with the production of this great film.<\/p>\n
But\u2026 wow, was I utterly blown away. It was so\u2026 surreal, watching this movie. I mean, the main plot here obviously has nothing to do with me but everything else\u2026 wow. It\u2019s utterly insane how many memories this movie brought back to me.<\/p>\n
I mean, I won\u2019t even list them, since there\u2019s just\u2026 so many<\/i>. I mean, memories, and situations, and places. The streets, the people, the\u2026 environment, the culture, the roads and hills, the farms, the hot sun. Even the chairs people sat on, and what they talked about. The houses, down to the details. The way the kitchens were laid out and just\u2026 everything<\/i>. It was incredible. <\/p>\n
And I mean just everything. I did some calculating on google maps and the journey of the protagonist was basically the same length in miles as the journey that I made every year. Of course, he was going from Iowa to Wisconsin, and not from Illinois to Iowa. And apparently the film is based on a true story. But I mean\u2026 wow.<\/p>\n
I mean, I actually recognized the hero\u2019s house. Literally. Like, I did a double take and legitimately wondered if I had been in that actual house, lol. I mean, it\u2019s built so very closely<\/i> to my grandparent\u2019s old house that I kinda didn\u2019t believe what it was that I was even seeing while watching the flick.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s kinda\u2026 amazing. <\/p>\n
And yeah, I was looking for the key and I found it. The guy who sells our hero the tractor that he needs to make the trip is a man named \u201cTom\u201d. IMDB lists him as \u201cTom the John Deere Dealer\u201d. Special emphasis is placed on his name \u201cTom\u201d when he is around. And he sells John Deere tractors, in a lot not unlike the Caterpillar tractor dealer located around my own small town experiences. Note that at the time this movie was made, I was also a salesman, selling computer stuff retail during the summer months, in much the same way as \u201cTom\u201d sells the tractor in this film, which is not coincidentally the action that kick starts the whole process of his journey and the main arc of the movie.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not going to bother listing the myriad other similarities and minor keys in this film that tie it back to me. I\u2019ve already proven myself with all the stuff I\u2019ve already listed, I think. And I\u2019ve done these exercises enough, honestly.<\/p>\n
But\u2026 yeah, there you go.<\/p>\n
And I see that the Iowa parts of the new Superman<\/i> show seem to be based on these memories as well, if the clips I saw on YouTube are indicative of the whole show.<\/p>\n
And come to think of it, how much do you want to bet that ALL of the recent depictions of Smallville are based on my own memories of small town Iowa? By recent I mean anything from the early 90\u2019s on.<\/p>\n
Honestly, I don\u2019t know this one myself. I\u2019ve not seen one complete episode of Smallville<\/i> or Lois and Clark<\/i>. I was always more a kind of a Justice League Unlimited<\/i> kinda guy when it came to my DC fix. But I mean\u2026 seriously. Anyone wanna bet against my hunch on this one? Because personally I wouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
I mean, well\u2026 there you go.<\/p>\n
But… wow, though. It literally just doesn’t end, does it? I mean, I can see mirrors of my own experiences there even in stuff like old Leo DiCaprio flicks, which of course could just be mere coincidence of course. I will need to investigate further when I have time.<\/p>\n
But… wow. This is kinda crazy, isn’t it? And kinda… dispiriting. Like, I really am different, and I mean very, very different. I’m not even remotely close to “normal”.<\/p>\n
And yeah I will need to go back now into Lynch’s earlier works, like Twin Peaks<\/i> and Blue Velvet<\/i>, which is kinda disconcerting since I was like 5 years old when Blue Velvet<\/i> was made, lol. but I mean… I think I’ll need to.<\/p>\n
Well… IDK. I suppose I will dedicate my involvement in The Straight Story<\/i> to my old life, the experiences I had, and the people I left behind there after my Nana passed on. And to the way things were, before all of the recent insanities on the national stage. <\/p>\n
Well… there it is.<\/p>\n
Sigh…<\/p>\n
Thanks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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