On September 22, 2004 my life was forever changed with the premiere of Lost. Correction, that is not true, my life wasn’t changed that day. No, it was actually changed 6 weeks from that date when I realized during “House of the Rising Son” that I was completely and irretrievably hooked on a show that centered around a bunch of castaways stranded on a strange island. I first came to know Lost because of my love for Lord of the Rings and one hobbit by the name of Meriadoc Brandybuck played by Dominic Monaghan. Damn, I am lying again. I actually preferred Peregin “Pippen” Took, but I did love and was obsessed with LotR so I would be damned if I wasn’t going to watch a show that featured one of the hobbits I had come to love so much.
During the years that Lost was on I would watch the show live faithfully each week while sitting with my legs crossed on the middle cushion of my couch hanging on every word. I was there when we discovered there were “Others” (I still heart Ethan and think the fight scene between William Mapother & Matthew Fox was one of the best on television). I was there when Henry Gale dropped in to say hello and reek havoc. I was there and cried hysterically when it seemed certain that Charlie was swimming to his certain death. I cheered when the writers realized their mistake in bringing on Nikki & Paolo and then proceeded to give them one of the best send-offs I have ever seen. I adored Rose and Bernard and jumped out of my skin when Artz was carrying the dynamite back from the Black Rock and ended up blowing himself up in the process.
So yeah I loved the show, but what I also loved about Lost was that through the show I met others who geeked out over television shows, movies, books, games, and so forth and so on. We started by rehashing what we loved about that week’s episode or what we hated and we finished by being friends who accepts each other for our nerdy ways. When the series finale aired on May 23, 2010 I for one was satisfied that my favorite characters were finally able to go home together. I didn’t care if all the mysteries weren’t answered, for me the show was never about the mysteries. It was about Locke, Jack, Kate, Charlie, Juliet, Hurley, Boone, Shannon, Sayid, Michael, Walt, Jin, Sun, Sawyer, Claire, and all the other characters that brought the island to life.
Now once it was over I knew the show would live on in my heart forever and that I would remember it fondly, but I didn’t know how much I would come to think about the show. Oddly, and probably fittingly, enough I became obsessed with putting together a Lost bag. What is a Lost bag you ask? Well I will tell you. A Lost bag is a bag full of stuff you would like to have with you in case you ever get stranded on a strange island or perhaps stuck in a traffic jam or some place equally isolating. Now why I would ever need a Lost bag is not the point. The point is that I feel I must have one. Even if it just sits in the trunk of my car, I will feel better knowing that it is there.
At first I thought a backpack would be the perfect bag to hold my supplies, but I was basing that off of what if I really was stranded on a deserted island and lets get real the chance of that ever happening is nil. So I have had to be a little bit more practical. And to that I give you:
Is that not the most perfect bag? Yeah I thought so too. It will fit perfectly in the trunk of my car. Plus I can very easily take it with me on a plane or a train. It could probably go on a ship as well, but considering I get very sea sick I won’t have the chance to test that theory out. So now that I have the bag picked out (and yes it really did take me all this time to settle on this bag) I can start thinking of stuff that I want to put in my Lost bag. Which as we all know is the hardest part of all. Hopefully I will be able to fill it in less time than it took me to find the bag.
Do you know anyone that talks about stuff they want to do or places they want to go, but they never do them or go there? I think I am turning in to one of those people and it scares the hell out of me. I have this huge mental list of all these goals I want to accomplish and I haven’t done any of them. I keep finding excuse after excuse to not do something. Well I’m sick of it. I’m sick of waiting for life to begin. I mean what in the hell am I waiting for? There is no such thing as the perfect time, place, or circumstance. I know that. Here are just a few goals I want to accomplish in my lifetime*:
My Long Walk to Nowhere 