I contemplated the possibilities, pondered on it for a while, mulled it over, prayed about it and even made a list of ten reasons I could be the newest member of that famous musical group kids seem to love. As a show of good faith if offered the job, I promised to reunite the group with one of it's founding members, Phillip Wilcher. (Wilcher has been called "The 5th Wiggle" --ala Pete Best--after leaving the group soon after it's first album.)
Sadly, no one I know thought my applying was such a good idea.
"Yellow isn't your color" I was informed by my oldest daughter.
"You can't really sing" piped in one of her siblings.
"Uh...There is something seriously wrong with you!" said Mrs. Film Geek.
Haters!
Just about the time I gave up on the idea and tossed my crumpled-up resume into the trash can, I received a note in the Comments section of the blog post. It read, in part:
"Your commitment to bring back Phillip Wilcher , as well intended or tongue-in-cheek as it may be, is novel. Nil in eodem statu permanet - nothing stays the same....
But thank you for the mention in your pages - I mean that sincerely!
Have a Merry Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous New Year!
PHILLIP WILCHER
Uh oh... Google did it again!
I was worried. Did my attempt-at-a-humerous post upset him? Did it make him angry? I hoped he didn't think I was making a mockery of him. I wasn't. Really. I was making fun of me. I do that much better, anyway.
So I wrote back.
We exhanged comments on the blog post for a short time, then began regularly exchanging emails. I soon became convinced he was who he said he was, (it is cyberspace, after all) and we settled into as friendly a relationship as can be had on this magical network of tubes that is the Internet. I found Phillip to be passionate about music and art, highly reflective, thoughtful and intellectually curious. And he had a terrific sense of humor (he got my Wiggles joke!). Over time he shared with me his love for classical piano, his respect for and devotion to his mother and his fondness for all-things-Liberace.
He even sent me some recordings of his music, and an autographed picture of Johnny Depp.
Check out Phillip's web page here. It's an interesting read, and contains some recorded music he's composed. You'll enjoy it.
Tell him The Film Geek sent you.
3 comments:
That's really cool...someone quasi-famous that you've blogged about stopped by!
It's my theory that things like blogs and myspace blow that whole "Six Degrees of Separation" right out of the water. Turns it into three degrees, tops.
I can't get too excited about the Wiggles though....I deprive my kids of massive amounts of children's programming because I simply can't stand most of it. We stick to Blues Clues (only the originals with Steve, not Joe) and movies. With an occasional Dora or Diego thrown in.
I like that 3 degrees theory, Rebecca. That might make a good game!
I don't think he got all that excited about The Wiggles, either. I think he's a very gifted and very serious composer who lives for art rather than about the commerce of art.
So did you check the return address to make sure it wasn't one of our fine correctional institutions? Are you sure it wasn't actually Johnny Depp you were writing to ... I mean he'd be more likely to have a picture of himself than the other guy.
:-)
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