Hometown Rankin - February & May 2015

You remember Lloyd, don’t you? He was that guy from
the late ‘80s movie, “Say Anything”. Absolutely nothing beats that
moment when he stood outside of Diane’s window, boom box over
his head blaring “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel. He was nobody
– just an average guy who took a chance and got Diane Court to
go out with him. It was a simple, honest, and a very real love story.
For years, I would search yard sales, flea markets and video
stores for a copy of that movie. Before iTunes and the internet, it
could be tough to find some titles. One random afternoon, about
15 years ago, I went into Brandon Discount Video. It was an old
“mom and pop” rental store and they were going out of business.
Unfortunately, the new Blockbuster down the road, along with
Kroger video, made it impossible for them to compete. But there
inside the dusty old trailer of a building, I found it. Sitting on the
shelf was a 1990 copy of “Say Anything” on VHS, still in its
original packaging.
It was an amazing find and it was definitely going home with
me. I binge-watched that movie like it was a season of “Walking
Dead” on Netflix. I loved it and longed for my own Lloyd Dobler
moment with my Diane Court. I’m sure I probably watched it too
much as I could quote every scene – but it was my favorite and it
never got old.
One day, I went to pull it from the shelf and it was gone. The
video had vanished.
I couldn’t imagine where it was or what had happened to it.
At the time, I was a media hoarder – so there were literally hundreds
of titles to sort through. I remember one afternoon hearing “In
Your Eyes” on the radio which prompted me to spend over an hour
scouring the shelves for my movie. It simply wasn’t there. I was
super bummed, but I eventually forgot about it as I had other
things to keep me busy. I had just started teaching fourth grade
at a new school and was bartending on the weekends.
Two years later…
I had planned to attend school in Hattiesburg in the fall and my
friend Stephanie had mentioned that Leah, her sister, would be
returning to Hattiesburg, too. She suggested that maybe we could be
roommates. I had always known Leah but never really talked to her
much or gotten to know her. I would sometimes go to Stephanie’s
house to hang out and Leah might be there or just be leaving.
So one evening, I called Leah to talk about it. The phone call led
to a movie and the movie led to dinner. She was really cool to hang
out with.
The first time I went to her apartment, she was showing me
around and there on her shelf was a 1990 VHS copy of “Say
Anything” in its original packaging. I told Leah that it was, without
a doubt, my all-time favorite movie. She said she had gotten it from
her sister’s house. And all of a sudden I remembered; Stephanie
had borrowed it from me.
Turns out, Leah loved it, too – and in that moment, I had found
my movie and had my very own Lloyd Dobler moment. Leah was
my Diane Court.
There’s a line in that same Peter Gabriel song that talks about
“In your eyes – the resolution of all my fruitless searches….” It’s
particularly poignant now, both literally and figuratively, given my
circumstances. When I think about all the little things that had to
fall into place that would lead me to that particular video store, it
baffles my mind. That movie was there for me to find, buy, love,
lose, find again, and eventually love even more. It led me to Leah,
whom I would marry.
I didn’t see it at the time, but God had me on the path that
He wanted me to be on. There’s just no other way to explain it.
My now thirteen-plus-year marriage started, in part, because
of a previously viewed ‘80s movie on VHS. Our first date was in
February of 2001. We got engaged on Valentine’s Day and were
married in July of the same year. It happened fast. People thought
we were crazy and that it would never work. In July of the
following year, we had the first of our three children.
Leah was my gift from God – and I know that there is nothing
else I would rather do than be with her. It was definitely meant
to be. “In your eyes – I am complete...”
Story told by Toby Price
and edited by Mary Ann Kirby
Hometown Rankin • 13