'fraid so.
About the time I was flunking out of high school, another young Portlander was having his psyche warped by the weirdness that is Portland.
Matt Groening. As in creator of the Simpsons, the longest running, most successful television show that no one ever watches. He attended Lincoln High School about the same time as I matriculated at Wilson. Yes, Woodrow Wilson High School in Portland, Oregon, is my almost mater.
Back to the Simpsons. Try this experiment. Casually mix some Simpson's references into your every day conversation. Note that everyone who hears them gets the allusions. Every. Freaking. One.
Now ask who watches the Simpsons.
Not me, says Henny Penny. Nor me, says Turkey Lurkey. I do, says Foxey Loxey, at which point everyone shuns him for admitting he watches such a popular show . Weird. Really weird.
Even though this is common knowledge around the world, we'll repeat it here.
The Simpsons is based in Portland. The show characters, Homer, Marge, Lisa and Maggie have the same names as Matt Greoning's father, mother and two sisters. The Simpsons' home is on Evergreen Terrace, the same street where Homer and Margerite Groening raised their family. Homer Groening's business was located on Flanders Street; Homer Simpson's next door neighbor is Ned Flanders. Characters have the last name Terwilliger: Sideshow Bob Terwilliger, Comic Book Guy Terwilliger. Portland's Terwilliger Boulevard sits atop the earth quake fault that is Portland's West Hills. It goes on and on.
How invasive is the Simpsons' phenomena?
Well, according to many, many polls Homer Simpson is better known around the world that any American President. For good reason. We all know that The President is a fictional character while Homer, well, Homer is every man.
I was in Lugano, Switizerland, a pleasant, up-scale resort city on the Swiss Riviera, wandering placidly through the downtown mall of overly-expensive tourist goods when I stumbled across a kiosk, right in the middle of Gucci, Pucci, Hootchie and Cootchie stores, selling nothing but Simpson's stuff. Post Cards. Dolls. Calendars. Books. Pens. Pencils. Nothing but Simpson's merchandise.
Nothing but.
Had been there for years, and is there to this day as far as I know.
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