Thoughts... When Life Gives You a Jeffrey, Stroke the Furry Wall

For a comedy about an up-and-coming talent rep and train-wreck fictional has-been rockstar, there are some amazingly deep thoughts in Get Him to the Greek. I don’t know if you’ve seen the movie and if you’re under a certain age or have ... delicate... sensibilities it may not be the right movie for you, nor would I recommend the soundtrack without one helluva sense of humor, but there’s one particular song on that soundtrack -- which directly relates to some mayhem our heroes get into, as most do -- that has stuck with me pretty firmly.

 

More like a lyric.

 

When the world slips you a Jeffrey, stroke the furry wall.

 

 

 

See, there are going to be things in your life that are going to seriously fuck you up (pardon my language). Some you’ll see coming. Their very names reveal their potential to cause harm and proverbial shitstorms. Something called a “Superstorm,” “Stormageddon,” “meltdown,” “dodgeball,” “monster,” or “collision” will not be made of fuzzy kittens and rainbows. They are going to cause damage. They might just break you.

 

But then there are the things you don’t or can’t see coming. Things that have innocuous names. Like Jeffrey. Or Miranda. Or Liam. Or Evita. Princess, sweetheart, or munchkin, even. They seem nice. Friendly, even. Possibly diminutive and/or delicate. Poofy. Then *pow* and you never saw it coming. As someone in the movie says: “No one is going to be scared of something named Jeffrey.” (or a Geoffrey, whichever spelling you prefer. I kept writing Geoffrey, but IMDB tells me I’m wrong.)

Sure, he looks cute now, but just you wait until he's chasing you down.
Those claws and fangs aren't just for show.

 

There are great examples of this. My cat -- a super poofy little thing named Hobbes with a tiny meow and a sudden and ferocious temper. I’m sure you’ve seen those lists of “cute as a baby, nasty as a grown up” pictures of animals circulating the interwebs. Sometimes, it’s a five-foot-nothing blond chick with china doll looks named Karrin (which, by the way I fear as I have read nearly all of Jim Butcher’s novels and the five-foot-nothing blond Karen I know is former military. And, I dare you to tell me it isn’t a healthy fear).

 

It is in those times, when you’re blindsided and the world is upside-down you need a furry wall. You need something comforting to focus on. Something hopeful and happy that maybe takes you back to something good in the past -- a childhood memory or an adult one. A security blanket. A good friend. A literal furry wall (since some of us are more tactile than others). Something solid and real to keep you standing upright.

 

 

 

Of course, a shot of adrenaline might be needed, too. You never know.

 

All of us get hit by Jeffreys, whether of our own choosing or not. And the immediate aftermath leaves us in need of our furry walls. But we also need to keep going. Because whether or not we realize it, we’re on a mission. In the case of the movie, it was getting the Rockstar to the Greek Theater which would, in theory, revitalize his whole career. And in spite of Jeffrey, they still get there.

 

So wherever you are, whomever you are, if you’re rocked, reach out. Grab hold. Get through the storm. Move on.