Myrna Is Not a Real Person or A Tail of Two Cities -You Decide, Part I

Something is at work in the universe, pulling little bits of this and pieces of that together. Call it destiny, chance, fate, God or whatever you like. I’m leaning towards synchronicity. Long before Jung began his journey into the concept, people pondered the seemingly unrelated ‘coincidences’ that pop up throughout life. These things happen to me so often that my husband jokes that nothing is real, and the world around us is my own virtual reality game. Every event and person is a twist of my unconscious mind, and I lie comatose, plugged into a Wii-like life support system. I’m not a real person. More and more often these events connect too perfectly to be random, and I’m left with the feeling of being led along by the nose. 

Synchronicity seems to have derailed my recent writing project. I began my blog as a project to illustrate how the human connections we make in our lives, one at a time, change and shape us. I laid a loose plan of the individuals I would start with, but decided to let the project lead the way once I got started. My third post was meant to highlight how my husband and I met while trying to one-up each other with our useless knowledge of pop-culture trivia (see Damon, Carlton & a Polar Bear Meet Sundeep, Myrna & Betty Jean McBricker for the full ‘back story). I closed that post by including my husband’s final one-up of me, some sought after Lost Alternate Reality Game information. Since that post, I’ve spiraled into a Lost universe. Maybe I was supposed to be here all along, maybe I was meant to push that button! The synchronicities of the events that follow were pointed out by Lost fans after visiting my site; none were intentional (or even controllable) on my part. Although, I and other Lost fans may find these ‘coincidences’ more interesting, anyone can enjoy the story.  The initials of my name spell out my life-long nickname, Mib, also the fan-name of a mysterious black clad character on Lost. Apparently, my blog post titles are very similar to Lost episode titles, and I’ll be damned; I do kind of look like an older/younger Emily Locke (another character on Lost). Isn’t this odd? There are some people in that Lost universe who think, ‘Myrna is not a real person.’ Dude, you might want to fasten your seatbelt.

~~Flash Backward: July 1984, Centennial Park ~~

I’m a loud mouth, new-wave punk of a teenage girl sitting at a picnic table with some friends. We sit, shadowed by the Parthenon, the only full scale replica of the original. We aren’t in Athens, Greece.

Our Parthenon is in the heart of uptown Nashville, Tennessee. My friends and I, a community of social outcasts, meet in the park every day. As if taking shifts to protect our turf, some groups hang out here during the day, and others gather in the evening. This is where we do the things teenagers and young adults do when they get together. We use the Parthenon for our giant playhouse! Endless games of hide and seek ensue since we fit into the indentions of the colossal columns. Brown-bagged bottles of cheap wine and broken park curfews highlight our summers. We continue to rotate and stand watch. Some groups never meet other groups, but there is constant talk of what each is up to. It is the forum message board of the ‘80s. One day, waiting for my group to arrive, I borrow a tiny pocket knife from my friend Joe. I scratch on the hard pine of the picnic table: Myrna I Brown. The letters are straight and deep, perfect. Happy with my work, I move on. The next day, sitting at my table, I look down to admire my handiwork. It now reads: Myrna I Brown IS NOT A REAL PERSON. I was angry that my graffiti had been defaced. Apparently, someone from a different group decided the stories circulating at the park about Mib were just too sensational to be true. My anger melted into amusement at the thought of being infamous at sixteen years old.  ~~To be continued~~ Hope you'll come back for Part II, very soon.