For several years, I experienced an ongoing and peculiar mental block that prevented me from ever remembering the name of the actor, Elliott Gould. It was truly uncanny.
A typical scene: Upon resignedly googling, “ross father friends” {or “M*A*S*H cast” if I was feeling adventurous – (yeah, as if you’re googling fucking asteriskseses)}, I quietly mouth the elusive name to myself over and over again, urging my brain to cop on…
Elliott Gould, Elliott Gould, Elliott Gould, Elliott Gould, Elliott Gould, Elliott Gould, Elliott Gould, Elliott Gould, Elliott Gould, Elliott Gould, okay, come on brain, please don’t forget this name again, why brain, why do you keep forgetting this name…
And then I move on and go about my day.
But, an hour later, the face of Gould enters my mind and, again, I just cannot attach a name to it. It is damn near disturbing.
I think Evan was about as close as I’d ever get. Evan… Evan… Evandy… Evander… fuck this!!! What the fuck is wrong with me!!??
I have increasing problems remembering many names, but I imagine it’s all pretty standard age-related amnesia/alcohol abuse etc. I was having problems with Bill Hader’s name for a good while but I seem to have overcome that since watching Barry. I never had anything come remotely close to my Elliott Gould problem.
Oh and a problem that is no longer! For these days, Gould’s name just trips off the tongue. Check this out — Elliott Gould, Elliott Gould, Elliott Gould — I didn’t even have to check the previous lines of this blog. So, I guess my point is, people change. And so can you.