Since Souless didn’t care for the music in Forza Horizon 6 on Xbox Live, he muted the music and let some classic rock play in the background. He wasn’t doing well over the last few weeks, with the health issues he’s had kind of intensifying. To help pass the days we didn’t have anything set for (like watching Raw on Netflix), we sometimes used them to make our way through shows. Our recent watches were for an older show with Noah Wyle called “Falling Skies”, which he knew and was introducing me to. We’re in the second season of it, and it’s moving along well.
For the songs I kind of knew the words to, I sung along to (like the background vocals of Boston’s “More Than a Feeling”). Souless, however, knew most of them word for word. Every once in a while, he’d stumble on one I knew.
“What is this?”, he started laughing at one point. “And you can have it all, my empire of dirt…man, all he’s got is dirt?”
“Hey, I know that one!” I chirped, chuckling with surprise. When did he get a hold of The Downward Spiral? “You’re listening to Nine Inch Nails?!”
“No, I think it’s Cash.” he said.
“Oh!!” I replied, nodding. “That’s a classic. He covered the original so well, he made it his own song.” We both chuckled at that.
“Father and Son” was the next song on the list. Like everything in life, I associated it with a movie, Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2. He sung it all through, with me quietly listening.
Last night, I received an unexpected call from him from the hospital, the second in a span of a week. We traded phone numbers a long time ago, I believe sometime during the pandemic. It was mainly a just in case we were playing online and a medical issue arose on his side. He was keeping me updated on how he was doing and I was hopefully cheering him up.
“I just wanted to throw this at you, if not, that’s okay.”, he started after our greetings and check ins. “WWE Raw is about to start, did you want to catch it?” he said. I thought I heard “Do you want to have a catch?”, which reminded me of Field of Dreams.
“But you’re in the hospital, how would that even…” I asked, in the final landing stages of a helicopter Search & Rescue mission in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024.
“I have my tablet here with me.” he chuckled.
“Really?! What else have you smuggled into the hospital?” I laughed. “Sweet! Give me.a second to finish this landing, and we’ll get synched up.” Minutes later, we were laughing over Oba Femi telling Dirty Dom Mysterio he’ll make him his Daddy and the women’s 4 way “Queen of the Ring” match.
“It’s gonna be either Becky Lynch or Liv ‘I never have to ever defend my belt’ Morgan here. Chelsea’s good to see here, but I think she’s just there for the fight.” I said between spoonfuls of Bourbon & Praline ice cream.
“It better not be Liv.”, Souless laughed and scoffed. “She’s been back for like what, two months, and never has to defend the belt. I’m telling you, Triple H is running this into the ground.” And so the night went, between watching L.A. Knight talk up the stage to Penta (one of my favorites, other than Stephanie Vaquer) do his walk for the crowd to face Rey Mysterio. It was good fun.
3 hours later, Souless and I wished each other well. I told him to hang in there. If all goes well, he’d be back online by next week. He thanked me for watching along with him and ended the call. Turning everything off for the night to head to the bedroom, I thought it weird that he’d call me like that. I mean, in the hospital, wouldn’t you want family around? Then again, family can’t visit every hour of the day.
I then remembered the song and realized that our Monday Night Raw sessions were a Thing. A routine we picked up that for a short time, pulled us away from the craziness of the world. If it made things just a little easier for him that night, I’m thankful I could help.
Lyrics:
It’s not time to make a change
Just relax, take it easy
You’re still young, that’s your fault
There’s so much you have to know
Find a girl, settle down
If you want you can marry
Look at me, I am old but I’m happy
I was once like you are now and I know that it’s not easy
To be calm when you’ve found something going on
But take your time, think a lot
Think of everything you’ve got
For you will still be here tomorrow but your dreams may not
Oh, how can I try to explain?
‘Cause when I do he turns away again
It’s always been the same, same old story
From the moment I could talk I was ordered to listen
Now there’s a way and I know that I have to go away
I know I have to go
It’s not time to make a change
Just sit down, take it slowly
You’re still young, that’s your fault
There’s so much you have to go through
Find a girl, settle down
If you want you can marry
Look at me, I am old but I am happy
All the times that I’ve cried
Keepin’ all the things I knew inside
It’s hard but it’s harder to ignore it
If they were right I’d agree
But it’s them they know, not me
Now there’s a way and I know that I have to go away
I know I have to go
