Once upon a time, in a land . . . just a land, well not just a land, it was a pretty great land, but still, not too much different than any other land, not very far away and certainly not very far far away, there lived a boy . . . far more than just a boy, this boy was most excellent and may or may not be the author of this story or in fact the author of this very website, this report can be neither confirmed nor denied. The remarkable thing about this particular boy was that he just completed a pretty long sentence used to introduce a story that he was sure was quickly becoming a run-on, but somehow managed to clear Word’s Nazi grammar gods. Seriously, how cool am I? . . . er, him.
This boy, we’ll call him Luke just for fun . . . it is after all a very good name and a name carried by some of the greatest characters and men from the greatest tales in history, literature, popular media, and websites . . . grew up on a fabulous street dubbed by only the most gifted city planners, Megan Place Drive. This street was in the great city of Houston, Texas and housed some of the greatest adventures of the modern age. It was here that young Luke would ghost ride his Huffy Sonic 6 (with 6 speed shifter stick placed strategically behind the sporty dust guard) into various targets assigned by his closest comrades. It was on this very street that young Luke would hone his rollerblading skills by jumping over tipped trashcans and playing street hockey. And it was from this street that young Luke, at the tender age of 19, would depart on a journey whose destiny only the gods could have foreseen.
As young Luke left his childhood home to begin his journey to adulthood, he carried the spirit of Megan Place Drive within him, sharing it with all the world. He took it with him to San Jose, CA as he talked about religion with the Hispanic people of the area while on a mission for his church. He took it with him to Northern Virginia, where his family moved while he was gone, and shared it with his co-workers as he wired houses as a residential electrician. It accompanied him as he returned to college in Utah and earned a degree in film. He brought it with him as he visited his family at their new home near Boston and cheered on the Red Sox during his first visit to Fenway Park. He even carried it within him as he moved to Las Vegas to try a career in video production.
By the time he reached Las Vegas, young Luke had all but forgotten about the times shared on Megan Place Drive, and its spirit was beginning to dwindle, but just as the last glimmer of his past began to fade, he moved to New York, and things began to come full circle.
His first night in town, young Luke accompanied his new roommate to an activity held at the house of some members of the local branch of his church. This particular activity was a movie night of sorts, where each guest was asked to bring one of their favorite clips from a movie. He chose the classic, Coolhand Luke, thinking that it was not only a great movie, but would also help these new acquaintances remember his name. He tucked the DVD in his back pocket and headed out the door.
As he entered the living room and crossed the viewing area to find a seat on the floor, a cute little voice called from the couch, “I love that movie, can we be friends?” (EDIT: I have been informed from a reliable source that her actual words were “I love that movie, we’re going to be best friends.” There was no question, she was simply informing him of the facts.) He looked over and discovered, at the source of this wonderful voice, a cute little almost redhead smiling playfully in his direction. He thought to himself, “Not only does she know what this movie is, but she loves it! I must know more, I may want to be more than friends,” and smiled sheepishly. He soon found out that this cute little almost redhead was called Megan, a name that seemed oddly familiar.
As the weeks went on, he happened upon this cute little Megan many times, sometimes by accident, sometimes on purpose, and even worked for her a few times at the food photography studio she manages. She fascinated him, and he found himself drawn to her more and more each time he saw her.
Soon they started dating, and had blast after blast on their weekly date night as they watched movies, visited the Kwik E Mart, and braved the wait at Justin Timberlake’s New York restaurant (best fried green tomatoes he ever had, but still not worth the 2 hour wait . . . they didn’t even have the fried pickles!). He found himself missing her more and more every time they were apart and knew he had fallen into deep smit. There was something about her that was just very familiar. Everything just seemed to fit. Then, on August 11, 2007, young Luke decided take the next step in his Hero’s journey.
He took her to the park nearby his house (Fort Tryon) for a picnic. They hung out for a few hours taking pictures and relaxing (She had her polaroid – pictures posted on her blog, and he had his 35mm which he would set on timer to take pictures of the both of them). They walked around for a while (there’s great views of the G.W. Bridge from that park) and eventually ended up in some secluded benches under some trees. He pulled out his camera again, set up a shot, took one picture, said he didn’t think he smiled, then went over to his bag saying something about filters or something. Then he put his bag over by the camera, pushed the button, grabbed a ring, got down on one knee, asked her to marry him and she said yes. They then waited a few seconds frozen in that pose until the camera clicked, thus immortalizing the moment he decided to live in Megan Place for the rest of his life.
. . . and they lived happily ever after.
THE END