Pop Quiz Hot Shot: What do you do when Keanu Reeves changes your life?

Alright its time for the truth to come out: I have a secret love for Keanu Reeves. He changed my life. Yes I saw The Lake House. Yes I loved it. Yes I am finally ready to discuss my affection for this man. Oh I know the judgment going through your mind right now. You're saying, "Really Laura? Come on, I followed you through the Mason Jar thing, then through the no crusts thing (you're a little neurotic but still lovable), the chair that wouldn't fold up (frustrating I understand we've all been there and I can understand how WD-40 changed things for you), but really, Keanu Reeves??? You're getting a little redic," (yea, I used "redic" right there) but please, hear me out.


(See even Keanu himself is curious)

Main question: Why?
I believe the origin of the Keanu love began when I had a chance encounter with him at Jerry's Famous Deli in Sherman Oaks.

Now I didn't always get the Keanu thing as I feel most don't. I would even say I wasn't just neutral in my feelings toward Keanu, he kind of bugged. Not on a daily basis but in the back of my mind he was there. He would have probably been 50 on a top 50 things that bug. Lets face it between him as Ted "Theodore" Logan in Bill and Ted, and Sean Penn as Spicolli in Fast Times, people will forever think that surfers speak as though they may be slightly special needs.

Now don't get me wrong Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure..Loved it. (Loved Fast Times at Ridgemont High too, Spicolli and I are totally cool) Even loved Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey. Who doesn't believe that the Wyld Stallyns are going to be the saving grace of all mankind? If President Lincoln thinks so than I'm on board.



Of course if you were going to travel through time AND to hell in your telephone booth you would want George Carlin as a guide. And in what other movie could a person say "Dude, I've got a full on robot chubby"? (inappropriate but great) or "I totally luggied on the dead, good me"? I don't think you will find one.

Then there's Point Break... Maybe one of my favorite movies of all time. Keanu is a special FBI agent partnered with Gary Busey (worth the price of admission right there) who must go undercover and work his way into the tight-knit ring of bank robbing, sky diving, surfers known as the ex-presidents. Their goal? rebel against the system that "kills the human spirit ". Their leader? None other than the great Patrick Swayze.



Why do I love this movie so much you ask? Is it because of the incredible story line and dialogue? Is it because it is "100% PURE ADRENALINE"? Is it because of the secret thing I have for Keanu Reeves? Is it because of the not so secret thing I have for Patrick Swayze? Is it because Gary Busey might be the most entertaining, intense human being one could watch? (The show I'm With Busey when it was on... QUALITY) Is it because one of the actual lines from the movie is, "Surfing's the source man. It'll change your life. Swear to God"? The answer is YES. Yes to all of it.


("They only live to get radical. They'll never truly get the spiritual side of it" - Bohdi)

Enter 1994 and Speed.
.


Well if we all thought that Point Break was 100% PURE ADRENALINE then Speed has to be at least 237% UNSURPASSABLE ADRENALINE, fitting for 1994. Bombs on elevators, bombs on buses, bombs on subways. Things..speeding, maniacal Dennis Hopper laughter.. It all equals up to some seriously solid action from explosive start to explosive end.

Then comes The Matrix...And The Matrix Reloaded...And The Matrix Revolutions. We do have these movies to thank for countless "parodies" in many movies with people bending backward in slow motion as bullets streamed past (remember that time they did it in Scary Movie? Oh and that time they did it again in Shrek? And that time they did it again in Deuce Bigelow: Male Giggelo? And that time they did it again in Spy Kids?). And we once again get to see Keanu as the savior for all mankind (that's right think back to Bill and Ted). Really did any one think that was going to happen twice?

Of course some where in there is:

A Walk In The Clouds (romantic Keanu)



Chain Reaction (Science technician Keanu)



The Devils Advocate (Lawyer/I'm the Devil's son Keanu)



My Own Private Idaho (Hustler Keanu)



Hardball (Inspiring the kids Keanu)



The Replacements (down on his luck athlete gets another chance Keanu)



Constantine (exorcist Keanu and P.S. Yes that's Gavin Rossdale trying to act)



and Feeling Minnesota.



So now you are saying, "Gee Laura, thanks for the Keanu Education, really, but what's the point?"

Well the real story is this: On an early afternoon at Jerry's INFAMOUS deli I met my friend Nicole for some lunch. Upon the arrival of my pancakes (I love pancakes any time..noon, midnight, in a house, with a mouse, here and there, anywhere. Of course though I don't eat the crusts.) I look up and in the distance I see a man walking toward me in a long black coat, and sunglasses, looking suspiciously like Neo from the Matrix. WAIT IT IS NEO FROM THE MATRIX.

The Sunglasses come off.

As does the long black coat.

Then I am sure of it. It's Ted "Theodore" Logan. It's Agent Johnny Utah. It's Officer Jack Traven. IT IS KEANU.

As the waitress leads him across the restaurant he walks by my table in what feels like slow motion. Something about him had me in an odd trance. First of all, the man is incredibly good looking. Stunning. I could not believe it. Secondly though there was something beyond that. To this day I cannot describe why I was so struck by this man. Living in LA its not uncommon to run into people all the time especially living in the Valley (porn capitol of the U.S. I kid you not), where often actors past their prime go to die. You get used to it, avoid eye contact when you see them, and then later talk about how you saw them with your friends. Its an interesting part of LA's character. But there was something different about it this time. Slowly my head looked upward as his neck bent down and our eyes met. Now usually if this happens either you or the other person will quickly turn away out of a certain coolness of neither person wanting to acknowledge that somebody's privacy has just been breached. Not this time. The eyes stayed locked. Then it happened: a moment of serious connection. Obviously in no way do I feel he would remember this but for whatever reason it had an effect on me. Connection usually does.. those small moments in life across a room. As he passed our moment did too. He was seated by the waitress.

Throughout the rest of my meal, I witnessed him be incredibly gracious to a man (obviously an out of towner or an incredibly huge sci-fi fan) who just could not leave him alone. As I left I felt oddly good, not that I don't usually feel good but this was different. It was comforting. I cant explain it and now I sound like I should have been on MTV's Fanatic: Keanu Reeves Edition, but what I think I am trying to get at and describe is human connection. Why it manifested itself in my life in Keanu Reeves who knows.

Alright I'm about to get a little serious on you, but don't worry I'll pull it all back through in the end. Sometime after this chance encounter, I would read a small article in People Magazine (another sign I live in LA) that Keanu Reeves' girlfriend had died in a car accident, and that there were some other tragic events tied in with this. My heart went heavy. Not because this is something that has never happened in the world before, not because I felt a moment of sympathy that would subside by the time I had turned to the story about Julia Roberts' dress at the Oscars, but because there was that moment of connection again. It was the time, the month, the year, that created this moment in my life. It was personal experience dredged up from deep inside of me. It was the connection that comes through loss. Loss is different for all, it is processed differently by all, and in no way does it ever leave. Ever. That may be the one universal factor of loss. It can hurt us, and help us, and heal us, but never does it leave. However, there is a connectivity in it. That is the one gracious gift it gives us if we are willing to accept. It makes certain dates, certain times, certain objects, and certain details important. It can give them more meaning than ever before and through these dates, times, objects, details we are given the means to connect with something or someone, I believe unconsciously as well as consciously.

Standing there, reading my magazine, I suddenly found empathy pouring out every orifice of my body. It came through this connection. Well what is the point of that? Its not as though this man had anything to do with my life except for these two key moments and in what way would he ever be aware of them? What difference did it make? I made a decision in that moment. I decided to believe that the emotionality I was experiencing was important in the world and that the possibility to feel another person expressing emotion and empathy for you in life is there. That however their connection to you comes about, whether its for a second or a lifetime, the connection sends a surge of something new into them and then out into the world from there.

So I'm not saying I suddenly become a huge Keanu Reeves fan because people in his life died. I'm not even saying I'm a huge Keanu Reeves fan. What I am saying is that a single moment of human connection, a single moment of small noticed detail, is enough to spark an epiphany in the brain. It is enough to spark comfort when one is lost. It is enough to spark light in the deep dark places of ourselves and it is enough to make us question the questions we have.

Its a little paradoxical that for me in my life, what seems to be such a serious life changing moment would occur from something so silly like seeing Keanu Reeves while cutting off the crusts of my pancakes but I guess that is just the humor of the universe. Its what makes those moments while being intrinsically serious, as light as a feather.

So that's it. Johnny Mnemonic, Kevin Lomax, Eddie Kasalivich, John Constantine, Bassist of Dogstar, you changed my life. Thanks.


Mason Jar Tip of the Day:
When having a party, grab a case of Mason Jars (usually very inexpensive at your local grocery or OSH store) put some sand in the bottom and them put in some tealight or short, stout, little candles and light your pathway with them (Tip is courtesy of my mother, Martha).
Lisa I'm working on the Mason Jar Hot Cup for you.



Jack Warden
1920-2006