Post by James Gilmore on Feb 16, 2019 4:58:34 GMT
”MY HEART WILL GO ON”
Five minutes later, after James received the letter from Fiona...
“JJ...you made it!,” Dr. Sharon Hostetler, the overly-eccentric professor of theatre known affectionately as “Doc,” exclaimed as she stepped out of her third-floor office at Bay Hall on the campus of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. “Oh...and Yulia, it’s nice to finally meet you! I've heard a lot of great things about you...”
After a short five-minute trek down Ocean Drive, James Gilmore and Yulia Malakova found themselves sharing hugs with the fun-loving professor before taking their seats. Yulia marveled at all of the posters and memorabilia that Doc had collected throughout her ten-year tenure, including a large poster of what appeared to be Fiona McFly--under the stage name “Lara Croft”--starring in a recent Broadway revival of Gypsy as Rose. On this day, the Doc’s desk was cluttered with graded papers and notes from her upcoming show for the TAMUCC Theatre Department.
“I appreciate ya lettin’ us see ya on such short notice. I understand ya got a ton on your plate, with Urinetown and all that mess.”
“Just doing a favor for the always-gracious James Gilmore! What can I help you with this afternoon?!”
“Have a look-see at this stuff my friend sent me,” James said, handing Doc the letter and photograph Fiona had sent him. As Yulia watched with curious content, the lovable native of the Queens borough of New York City put on her reading glasses and looked at the document. The reality around everyone in the office had changed drastically over the past couple of months, and even the hardest of cynics that would be inclined to NOT believe in James’ story would have been hard-pressed to change their tunes, even as the name “Lara Croft” began to spread everywhere.
Even into the annals of 21st century popular culture.
“HA!,” Doc laughed skeptically. Yet in spite of how she came off as on the surface, on the inside was a Trump-supporting Civil Libertarian who believed in things like conspiracy theories, the supernatural, and of course, time travel. “So you’re thinkin’ that, according to this letter and photograph, your friend Fiona...has traveled back in time to 1994?!”
“That’s exactly what I’m thinkin’,” James piped. “You don’t…believe me, right?!”
“Oh…keep your shirt on!,” Doc giggled. “I’m not suggestin’ what you’re thinkin’ is false, but...perhaps your mind is goin’ bonkers from all this touring you’ve done.”
“At first, that’s what Yulia was tellin’ me when we was watchin’ Mortal Kombat,” the Islander alum countered. “Then the end credits happened, and...”
His voice trailed off, noting the first instance of seeing Fiona in the movie in question. It spooked him to no end, for he thought that nobody could replace the stunningly beautiful Talisa Soto to begin with. Yet it was, at that moment, when he began suspecting that the world around him had been altered.
He had more proof forthcoming.
“Here’s a copy of a pic my wrestlin’ colleague had in his memorabilia case,” James said as he pulled out an image of Spike Kane standing next to Fiona during the former’s early in-ring days in the late-1990s.
“Hrmm...that bearded guy sure is cute,” Doc chuckled upon gazing at the photo. “And...the chica standin’ next to him is Fiona, I would assume.”
James nodded, observing as Hostetler logged onto her computer.
“You know...let’s assume for a moment that you’re right,” the professor intoned as she pulled up her extensive music playlist. “The other day, I noticed a little somethin’ suspicious in my music library. Here, have a listen!”
Yulia looked on, staying relatively quiet as James took a deep breath and stretched his arms. A few seconds later, the critically-acclaimed ballad “My Heart Will Go On”--the theme to the 1997 blockbuster Titanic--began to play. As he listened to the opening bars of the James Horner-composed showtune, the Islander alum immediately began to suspect that something wasn’t right at all.
It was NOT the angelic voice of Celine Dion...
”Every night in my dreams
I see you, I feel you,
That is how I know you go on
Far across the distance
And spaces between us
You have come to show you go on
Near, far, wherever you are
I believe that the heart does go on
Once more you open the door
And you're here in my heart
And my heart will go on and on…”
...but rather, a voice that was more emotive, more pained in every sense.
While in recent years, the tune in question had become somewhat of an overplayed staple of movie cheesiness, James couldnt deny that songs like this had a sobering effect on people. Yet the biggest thing he took from the woman who was performing was something far deeper than just listening to the Will Jennings-written lyrics.
He didn’t need to say anymore as he listened to the second verse.
”Love can touch us one time
And last for a lifetime
And never let go 'til we're gone
Love was when I loved you
One true time I hold to
In my life we'll always go on
Near, far, wherever you are
I believe that the heart does go on
Once more you open the door
And you're here in my heart
And my heart will go on and on...”
For the Doc’s suspicions were correct: it was, truly, Fiona’s voice.
James nodded affirmatively, his face turning into a deep and humble frown. He realized, at that moment in time, that this wasn’t the case of a dear friend of his singing a song for the mere sake of having it featured on a movie soundtrack. Deep in his soul, he felt as if he was listening to a woman who was opening her heart about someone she had lost, who was only searching for a way to express how she really felt about her loss.
In this instance, he thought, Fiona...was singing about Jack.
It was, indeed, the indicator that made James’ imagination swirl: that he was living in an altered timeline.
“Doc...given how powerful her voice is in this tune, I’d say this song is extremely personal,” James said, his lips quivering as he listened to his friend’s voice. “She’s...she’s had a very, very rough goin’ of it for a whole year after Jack died. Truth is, and I ain’t supposed to divulge this, but Fi’s been sufferin’ from depression, the kind that can drive a person to suicide; that’s why her mindset ain’t so focused on wrestlin’ as it used to be...at least, that’s what I’m guessin’.”
Yulia gave James a loving pat on the back of his neck, understanding what he meant.
“Yet seein’ all this stuff changin’ around me makes me wanna believe that she’s fightin’ this with all her heart, and I’m thinkin’...maybe she was only lookin’ for a way to express herself, searchin’ for that bit of love she’s lost. Still, it scares me about her. It really does...and I fear that she’s gonna be comin’ to a point when she can’t fight no more without seekin’ help from someone--anyone.”
Doc nodded, taking a sip from a bottle of Diet Pepsi.
“An ancestor of mine maintained,” she spoke in her best Christopher Lloyd inflection. “That if you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”
“So...ya do believe me then?!,” Gilmore quizzed--while trying to muster a slight smirk, getting the joke and, more importantly, her own piece of logic. Doc wasn't buying the smirk.
“I can tell you’re worried about your friend Fiona,” Doc replied, noting her former student’s frightened body language. “For now, let’s just assume you have a working theory which fits the facts you’ve described. Even so, it’s a prime example of why the concept of time travel should never be used for personal benefit, even if it is to express lost love. I can only postulate...that her presence in 1994 has created a new temporal event sequence that has, in effect, resulted in an alternate reality that we are living in right now.”
Yulia perked up her left brow, then politely raised her hand.
“Doctor Hostetler, with great respect, can you explain that in simpler terms? I do not have an understanding on this 'reality' you speak of,” the Chechen native chimed.
“Sure Miss Yulia! Here, lemme do a little drawin’ to help ya understand,” the professor spoke as she pulled out a small dry-erase board and drew a horizontal line in the middle. “Close your eyes...and imagine that this line represents the fabric of time. You’ve got the past, the present, and the future. At some point in the past, in 1994 to be precise, the timeline skewed into this tangent, creating an alternate 2019.”
James watched intently as Doc marked a spot on the board and labeled it as “2019-A.”
“Alternate to you, your closest friends and associates, and to me, BUT...it’s reality for everyone else!”
Suddenly, Dr. Hostetler’s watch began to beep. That cued her to stand up and grab her large white notebook; James and Yulia stood as well, knowing that it was time to leave.
“Welp, I gotta get goin’ so I can prep for Urinetown this weekend. Got so much time and so little to do....wait! Strike that, reverse it,” the professor smirked as James and Yulia followed her out of the office. “It looks as if you got some work to do in straightening things out and bring reality back to how it was prior to January.”
“Thanks Doc. I’ll have to figure out when she auditioned for that movie. That might be the best place to start,” the ex-Islander said before giving his mentor a high-five. “Break a leg with the shows this weekend!”
James and Yulia watched as Dr. Hostetler made her exit through an auxiliary stairwell. As they approached the elevator, the latter spoke to the former in her native tongue; for James, her tone and sincerety of the statement could only mean one thing:
She was worried about him...
“U menya ochen' plokhoye predchuvstviye… (I have a very bad feeling about this…)”
To be continued in “Songs About Life”…
Five minutes later, after James received the letter from Fiona...
“JJ...you made it!,” Dr. Sharon Hostetler, the overly-eccentric professor of theatre known affectionately as “Doc,” exclaimed as she stepped out of her third-floor office at Bay Hall on the campus of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. “Oh...and Yulia, it’s nice to finally meet you! I've heard a lot of great things about you...”
After a short five-minute trek down Ocean Drive, James Gilmore and Yulia Malakova found themselves sharing hugs with the fun-loving professor before taking their seats. Yulia marveled at all of the posters and memorabilia that Doc had collected throughout her ten-year tenure, including a large poster of what appeared to be Fiona McFly--under the stage name “Lara Croft”--starring in a recent Broadway revival of Gypsy as Rose. On this day, the Doc’s desk was cluttered with graded papers and notes from her upcoming show for the TAMUCC Theatre Department.
“I appreciate ya lettin’ us see ya on such short notice. I understand ya got a ton on your plate, with Urinetown and all that mess.”
“Just doing a favor for the always-gracious James Gilmore! What can I help you with this afternoon?!”
“Have a look-see at this stuff my friend sent me,” James said, handing Doc the letter and photograph Fiona had sent him. As Yulia watched with curious content, the lovable native of the Queens borough of New York City put on her reading glasses and looked at the document. The reality around everyone in the office had changed drastically over the past couple of months, and even the hardest of cynics that would be inclined to NOT believe in James’ story would have been hard-pressed to change their tunes, even as the name “Lara Croft” began to spread everywhere.
Even into the annals of 21st century popular culture.
“HA!,” Doc laughed skeptically. Yet in spite of how she came off as on the surface, on the inside was a Trump-supporting Civil Libertarian who believed in things like conspiracy theories, the supernatural, and of course, time travel. “So you’re thinkin’ that, according to this letter and photograph, your friend Fiona...has traveled back in time to 1994?!”
“That’s exactly what I’m thinkin’,” James piped. “You don’t…believe me, right?!”
“Oh…keep your shirt on!,” Doc giggled. “I’m not suggestin’ what you’re thinkin’ is false, but...perhaps your mind is goin’ bonkers from all this touring you’ve done.”
“At first, that’s what Yulia was tellin’ me when we was watchin’ Mortal Kombat,” the Islander alum countered. “Then the end credits happened, and...”
His voice trailed off, noting the first instance of seeing Fiona in the movie in question. It spooked him to no end, for he thought that nobody could replace the stunningly beautiful Talisa Soto to begin with. Yet it was, at that moment, when he began suspecting that the world around him had been altered.
He had more proof forthcoming.
“Here’s a copy of a pic my wrestlin’ colleague had in his memorabilia case,” James said as he pulled out an image of Spike Kane standing next to Fiona during the former’s early in-ring days in the late-1990s.
“Hrmm...that bearded guy sure is cute,” Doc chuckled upon gazing at the photo. “And...the chica standin’ next to him is Fiona, I would assume.”
James nodded, observing as Hostetler logged onto her computer.
“You know...let’s assume for a moment that you’re right,” the professor intoned as she pulled up her extensive music playlist. “The other day, I noticed a little somethin’ suspicious in my music library. Here, have a listen!”
Yulia looked on, staying relatively quiet as James took a deep breath and stretched his arms. A few seconds later, the critically-acclaimed ballad “My Heart Will Go On”--the theme to the 1997 blockbuster Titanic--began to play. As he listened to the opening bars of the James Horner-composed showtune, the Islander alum immediately began to suspect that something wasn’t right at all.
It was NOT the angelic voice of Celine Dion...
”Every night in my dreams
I see you, I feel you,
That is how I know you go on
Far across the distance
And spaces between us
You have come to show you go on
Near, far, wherever you are
I believe that the heart does go on
Once more you open the door
And you're here in my heart
And my heart will go on and on…”
...but rather, a voice that was more emotive, more pained in every sense.
While in recent years, the tune in question had become somewhat of an overplayed staple of movie cheesiness, James couldnt deny that songs like this had a sobering effect on people. Yet the biggest thing he took from the woman who was performing was something far deeper than just listening to the Will Jennings-written lyrics.
He didn’t need to say anymore as he listened to the second verse.
”Love can touch us one time
And last for a lifetime
And never let go 'til we're gone
Love was when I loved you
One true time I hold to
In my life we'll always go on
Near, far, wherever you are
I believe that the heart does go on
Once more you open the door
And you're here in my heart
And my heart will go on and on...”
For the Doc’s suspicions were correct: it was, truly, Fiona’s voice.
James nodded affirmatively, his face turning into a deep and humble frown. He realized, at that moment in time, that this wasn’t the case of a dear friend of his singing a song for the mere sake of having it featured on a movie soundtrack. Deep in his soul, he felt as if he was listening to a woman who was opening her heart about someone she had lost, who was only searching for a way to express how she really felt about her loss.
In this instance, he thought, Fiona...was singing about Jack.
It was, indeed, the indicator that made James’ imagination swirl: that he was living in an altered timeline.
“Doc...given how powerful her voice is in this tune, I’d say this song is extremely personal,” James said, his lips quivering as he listened to his friend’s voice. “She’s...she’s had a very, very rough goin’ of it for a whole year after Jack died. Truth is, and I ain’t supposed to divulge this, but Fi’s been sufferin’ from depression, the kind that can drive a person to suicide; that’s why her mindset ain’t so focused on wrestlin’ as it used to be...at least, that’s what I’m guessin’.”
Yulia gave James a loving pat on the back of his neck, understanding what he meant.
“Yet seein’ all this stuff changin’ around me makes me wanna believe that she’s fightin’ this with all her heart, and I’m thinkin’...maybe she was only lookin’ for a way to express herself, searchin’ for that bit of love she’s lost. Still, it scares me about her. It really does...and I fear that she’s gonna be comin’ to a point when she can’t fight no more without seekin’ help from someone--anyone.”
Doc nodded, taking a sip from a bottle of Diet Pepsi.
“An ancestor of mine maintained,” she spoke in her best Christopher Lloyd inflection. “That if you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”
“So...ya do believe me then?!,” Gilmore quizzed--while trying to muster a slight smirk, getting the joke and, more importantly, her own piece of logic. Doc wasn't buying the smirk.
“I can tell you’re worried about your friend Fiona,” Doc replied, noting her former student’s frightened body language. “For now, let’s just assume you have a working theory which fits the facts you’ve described. Even so, it’s a prime example of why the concept of time travel should never be used for personal benefit, even if it is to express lost love. I can only postulate...that her presence in 1994 has created a new temporal event sequence that has, in effect, resulted in an alternate reality that we are living in right now.”
Yulia perked up her left brow, then politely raised her hand.
“Doctor Hostetler, with great respect, can you explain that in simpler terms? I do not have an understanding on this 'reality' you speak of,” the Chechen native chimed.
“Sure Miss Yulia! Here, lemme do a little drawin’ to help ya understand,” the professor spoke as she pulled out a small dry-erase board and drew a horizontal line in the middle. “Close your eyes...and imagine that this line represents the fabric of time. You’ve got the past, the present, and the future. At some point in the past, in 1994 to be precise, the timeline skewed into this tangent, creating an alternate 2019.”
James watched intently as Doc marked a spot on the board and labeled it as “2019-A.”
“Alternate to you, your closest friends and associates, and to me, BUT...it’s reality for everyone else!”
Suddenly, Dr. Hostetler’s watch began to beep. That cued her to stand up and grab her large white notebook; James and Yulia stood as well, knowing that it was time to leave.
“Welp, I gotta get goin’ so I can prep for Urinetown this weekend. Got so much time and so little to do....wait! Strike that, reverse it,” the professor smirked as James and Yulia followed her out of the office. “It looks as if you got some work to do in straightening things out and bring reality back to how it was prior to January.”
“Thanks Doc. I’ll have to figure out when she auditioned for that movie. That might be the best place to start,” the ex-Islander said before giving his mentor a high-five. “Break a leg with the shows this weekend!”
James and Yulia watched as Dr. Hostetler made her exit through an auxiliary stairwell. As they approached the elevator, the latter spoke to the former in her native tongue; for James, her tone and sincerety of the statement could only mean one thing:
She was worried about him...
“U menya ochen' plokhoye predchuvstviye… (I have a very bad feeling about this…)”
To be continued in “Songs About Life”…
Well howdy there pardner.