Friday, January 25, 2013

It’s only make believe


I love Joan Jett.  Now to be clear-- she is not my girlfriend and I’ve never even met her—but I do love her music, songs and the songs of other artists she’s performed.  Her music is real.  And Joan Jett is real.

‘Fake Friends’ is one of my favorite short songs put out by this long time rock n roller.  It came to my mind when I heard about the Manti Te’o story last Wednesday and I’ve been humming many of her tunes for the past week.  

In case you are not aware of the Manti Te’o saga, it is a strange and lengthy story that was brought to light most notably on Deadspin.com here.  The ordeal begs many questions and offers few answers about the Notre Dame star linebacker’s fabricated sweetheart, Lennay Kekua, who was thought to have been in an automobile accident, slipped into a coma, then recovered to be diagnosed with leukemia and died the day after Te’o’s grandmother also died.

Problems arose when she turned up alive.  Evidently due to the contagiously high desire to attend the ball games played at South Bend, Indiana, and on the road, Te’o and seemingly no one else ever really visited her in the hospital or had ever really gone to her funeral services.  Whereas, I suppose, if they had made some trips they would have found out that she wasn’t in the hospital and she didn’t die.  It was a glitch that they figured out during an investigation a few months later, around the time the season was winding down.  

It’s pretty wild stuff…right? 

It got me to think that many of you who read my posts have never met me and may wonder if I am real.  After all some of you live in other states or other countries, so it’s plausible that ‘Christopher’ could be non-existent as well. 

But of course that is not the case, for I am Christopher, real and a realist.  All along I thought that fabricating someone’s existence and their death while deluding a large group of people was reserved nearly exclusively for sitcoms like Seinfeld.  Yet truth trumps fiction once again and we learn that such a grand hoax can be developed using electronic messages, a few pictures, the media and either an extremely clever or extremely inept target. 

Few in the media seem to know what questions to ask because the events are so bizarre it’s difficult to relate to or approach with sincerity.  I’ve only seen snippets from Katie Couric’s interview with Manti and from what I’ve seen Katie hasn’t uncovered much.  Making the headlines is that she asked him if he is gay.  

Forget about being gay or not I want to know how all the other people in his life were fooled down the line as well.  In my world, no matter who dies if I tell my mother she calls me back in two hours asking where she can send flowers and a donation.  Besides crying on Katie Couric’s set, what did Te’o’s parents do in the aftermath of Te’o’s and their loss?  There is more missing here than being presented.  

And the voice mails that have been released are ludicrous.  I genuinely hate to try to get inside the head of a person thinking irrationally.  But why, when Te’o himself is at least the one person who knows he never met Lennay, does he not run for the hills after Lennay leaves a crying message wrought with anxiety over another girl possibly being with him?  They had never met, she’s crying and jealous and he’s not scared?  And he’s willing to go back for more?  I vote guilty by reasons of insanity or guilty by come on already. 

If I were sitting across an armchair from Manti Te’o I would want to know why he waited until after the Crimson verse Clover BCS Title Game was played on Jan 7th to address any of this to the public when it had actually been known back in December, as reported here and he now admits. 

Does he hate himself for loving her? 

Or does he want us to believe he was just a victim of circumstance.
 
Will he need to keep ever more focused on football and not give a damn about his reputation?
  
Maybe he even needs a break from love, for love is pain.  

Would he have liked it if someone in the studio offered to provide him with a tour and remind him that love is all round, no need to fake it?  

I really did hope that writing would provide me the distraction needed to clear my head of the tunes, but still I feel the beat.  At least I can look forward to a fresh round of melodies between my ears as I set off to get some sleep.

Can you hear it too? 

I kiss and you kiss…and la de da de da de da…I’m in love but it’s only make believe to you…oh yeah…..

© 2013 Christopher’s Views

16 comments:

  1. You do get my attention. Interesting read, Christopher, Oh, yes, I can hear the music! Have a great weekend!

    Sylvia

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  2. Hello Daddy! Hello Mom! I'm your Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch Chery Bomb!
    Great one man! One of your best! Love the narrative voice you've picked up to navigaste through the turns of the piece!

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  3. ok, not sure that one went through...i had a few joan jett albums in my day....so i can hear the music...the Te'o story is just ludicrous...i have always gone by my real name as when i started i never really thought about it...

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  4. So glad that you are real...
    and just in case you are wondering, so am I.
    Really, I could care less what has happened to this player
    I saw something on Doctor Phil ( yes, Dr. Phil ) about something called
    catfishing...where people fall for online loves that they never ever meet...the exact same MO ...Mostly women fall for this...so busy in their work lives, but so desperate to find love....they take it all in as if it were real......and their is much shame over it
    But it seems he was pranked by his friends.....they must have known something about him that led them to believe that he was vulnerable...But in the end...I don't care. He didn't commit a crime
    His friends didn't commit a crime......I wish that they would just drop it. Let the sportsworld figure it out...if they want him to represent them on their team....
    I just saw on TV that there are still tents up on Long Island...
    what a disgrace.......I thought the anointed one was going to cut the red tape...
    Hope you are doing fine

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  5. Great. Now I've got it stuck in my head too.

    The Te'o story is just too ridiculous. I try not to think about it. ;)

    Have a great weekend!

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  6. I like Joan Jett, too. She kicks it. Good post. Love the tone.

    I've known many people in real and digital life who just like drama. They get caught up in such bull shit they can't see the truth of a situation. What can you do but shake your head?

    Flash 55 - emit yna gnippots on

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  7. Christopher, I love your views!!!! It's a crazy world for sure these days. The truth is just not "dramatic" enough for some (though the truth can be pretty bizarre sometimes). Have a good weekend. Mickie :)

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  8. when I consider all that is going on and around the world, the media, social networks and so on I know I would rather have Joan Jett in my head than any of the other stuff

    I honestly don't care about Manti's whatever
    I don't even know what to call it - a scam, a joke, a tragedy

    I think I may be becoming one of those grumpy elders who shakes her head a lot and says "oh please!! get on with something important"

    stay warm kiddo

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  9. Hi Christopher: Real or not you left a comment on my newest blogpost that disappeared before I had a chance to approve it. As it was a measured response and not spam, I hope you'll visit again. Besides, we follow a number of the same blogs.

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  10. A crazy world. And sometimes crazy views seem to fit it admirably. This is a great shake-up. Fascinating stuff I shall keep an eye on.

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  11. What a bizarre story. You said, "But why, when Te’o himself is at least the one person who knows he never met Lennay, does he not run for the hills after Lennay leaves a crying message wrought with anxiety over another girl possibly being with him?" But the story you linked said they had indeed met - or the guy claimed they met - when she used to visit him in Hawaii. He knew the voice mails weren't real, so why would he run? It sounds like a full-on hoax, to me, perpetrated by Te'o and his football buddy.

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  12. Hi, Christopher. Saw you comment on my great blog pal California Girl's post and thought I'd drop by. So glad I did. While I didn't follow this particular scandel de jour, I enjoyed reading your take on it, though I still don't understand why it warranted the same coverage as the Benghazi hearings. I look forward to reading more of your views.

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  13. I find Joan Jett and Christopher--neither of whom I've met--to be the most interesting individuals in this post. With regards to the "catfishing" story, I have had to ignore it, as much as is possible, because I can't find a single person involved with it who makes any sense or who acted like human beings should. It's not just confusing or fascinating or bizarre to me. It's stupid.

    Unlike you and Joan Jett.

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  14. I'm afraid - or is that lucky? - that such events just do not get media coverage over here...

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  15. I'm afraid that I've never heard of her or any of these tales but it would seem many were deceived.
    Maggie x

    Nuts in May

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  16. I can't figure out why this is newsworthy. I've had an online life (IRC- trivia.. and of course, bloggging) for about 13 years now. I've been aware of two people who faked their deaths and came back to admit it within a matter of days or weeks. They're needy of attention and they are in need of help. Turning this into a news story is exactly what works for them. I don't understand why anyone cares beyond the initial "is that so?" response.

    I don't know about Joan Jett but the "love is all round, no need to fake it" made me think of the Mary Tyler Moore theme song. I feel like tossing my hat into the air. ;)

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