I found a link to this page about former Erie media personality Jim Cook via Jack's Erie Media Go Round post on the site.
{Sophia of the Golden Girls mode:} Picture it! Erie. Early 1980's. I was the president of the local comic book club Comic Acropolis. (Wow. Me being a nerd/geek. Is anyone surprised by that? I didn't think so.) My friend Terri was the vice president. Jim Cook hosted a late night horror movie show at the time on WJET TV 24. One time, we got to go on to promote the club. I think Terri made some kind of certificate or something to present to Jim.
So, we walked onto the set, and Jim as host asked us who we were. I replied "Terri and Mike." He shot back with "Oh, YOU are both Terri and Mike??" Not to be outdone, I said, "Yes. I am Terri and Mike, except for Terri. And she is Terri and Mike, except for Mike. So, we are each both of us, except for the other one." I think I had read something like this from a British series called The Goon Squad, but I was pretty thrilled that I was able to recall it and apply it spontaneities. I forget if I got a reaction from Jim.
The other experience was a few years later. I was about 20, and still had 2 or 3 morning newspaper routes. My baby brother had the afternoon equivalent. I was out delivering the paper along Chestnut Street, and I heard an old woman's voice calling for help. I panicked and knocked on the door of her next door neighbor, and asked them to call the police. (I had no idea if there was an intruder in the house.) I got into the old woman's house, and what had happened was that she had been raped before and had fallen. She had some mobility issues, so she had basically laid on the floor for a few days. How awful! I recall that when I was trying to help her to sit up, that her wig came off. (She also hadn't gotten a chance to make it to the bathroom, so there was some sanitary issues. Again, how awful for her.) Eventually, the police showed up, and she got some help. I forget if the neighbor told the police my name, but I did get a call from Debbie McQuade (I think that was the name at the time), who wanted to do a story about it. I remember feeling silly about the possibility of being in the paper, and quipped to my mom: "Mater! The media are coming!" I forget if they just did a story, or if they used a photo.
Oddly enough, I was doing an internship for my psychology degree a few months later at a live-in shelter for juvenile delinquents. They caught the woman's assailant. I found out that he was the older brother of one of the guys who was at the shelter. Another bit of weird synchronicity.
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