The Portland/Simpsons Nexus - Part 2

Anyone who calls themselves a Simpsons fan knows that they live on Evergreen Terrace. The diehard fans know that in the first few seasons the specific address jumped around. The same house has been shown as being 59, 94 and 1094 Evergreen Terrace. In “Kamp Krusty” there was a huge departure and they lived at 430 Spalding Way for some reason. However, since “Marge in Chains” in the 4th season the Simpsons address has been officially designated as 742 Evergreen Terrace. The funny thing is that address was used earlier in the season ("Homer's Triple Bypass") as the home of Snake.

The Portland connection comes from the fact that Matt Groening grew up living on SW Evergreen Terrace in Portland. Naturally, I had to visit this street myself and walk in Matt’s childhood footsteps. My map showed that this street was tucked away in the West Hills, just north of the Zoo. Turned out the roads in this area are extremely hilly, twisty and generally confusing. Even though I had printed out directions and a detailed map of the area, I was lost for a good half hour before turning up a street marked “Dead End” which eventually lead me to my destination. I parked my car at the intersection of Evergreen Lane and Evergreen Terrace and was surprised to find that the street was little more than a gravel road consisting of only six houses.

Even though the gentle spring showers we were experiencing that day was quickly transforming themselves into an all out downpour, I took my time walking up the deserted road carefully examining each house and wondering if this was the one that Matt grew up in. As it turns out, the inspiration for the names of the Simpsons characters were also inspired by the people in that house. Homer was the name of Matt’s dad. His mom was Margaret, and even though the mom in the show is Marjorie they both have the nickname of Marge. Lisa and Maggie were his sisters, although the full name of Lisa Marie Simpson was also inspired by Lisa Marie Presley. Abraham was Matt’s grandfather even though the writers clam they chose the name randomly and were unaware of the connection. The name of Bart is an anagram for “brat” which Matt used to describe himself even if Bart’s personality was based on his older brother Mark.

The “J” that seems to be so popular in characters names (Homer J. Simpson, Bartholomew J. Simpson, Abraham J. Simpson…) is a reference to Bullwinkle J. Moose. So it comes as no surprise that in “D'oh-in in the Wind” we find out that Homer’s middle initial stands for “Jay” since Jay Ward is Bullwinkle’s creator.

I realized it was time to leave when a woman who was working in her garden asked me what I was doing. It wasn’t until that point I realized that a strange, tall male in a black leather coat slowly making his way up this secluded street in the rain, examining the houses and using his phone to photograph each one at a time when everyone else was at work might seem just a little suspicious if not down right creepy. So, I’m probably on some neighborhood watch list now but I got what I was after. Unfortunately, I have yet to find the actual address of Matt’s childhood home. I was also disappointed that all address were in the 3000-s meaning that 742 Evergreen Terrace exists only in that fictional Springfield.

Ulysses Meandering - Part 4

Plaque #10 - “He entered Davy Byrne's. Moral pub. He doesn't chat.”

I only had to walk a few doors down from the previous stop before I found the 10th plaque. The 'moral pub' is still there and, like most places, there were several people eating on the tables just outside the pub. Sure enough one of those tables was sitting right on top of my plaque. Fortunately, I was in Ireland and not only was the group at this table nice enough to get up for a few seconds; they actually moved the table out of the way long enough for me to snap my picture. This particular pub is very popular on Bloomsday (June 16th) because it is where Bloom actually had his lunch. Apparently there is a line out the door of people in turn-of-the-century garb eagerly anticipating their gorgonzola cheese sandwiches and burgundy. I opted to pass on that meal.

Plaque #11 - “-- You're in Dawson street, Mr Bloom said. Molesworth street is opposite. Do you want to cross? There's nothing in the way.”

Feeling like I was walking around in circles, I once again stepped out on Duke Street and, once again, turned away from Grafton Street. I turned right on Dawson Street (instead of going strait on Dawson Lane) and I find my next plaque. Interestingly, at this point Joyce's Thom's Dublin Directory failed him due to a typo. There was an extra building at then end of the street and, while this might not seem like much, it did throw me off until I realized what had happened. Unlike Bloom, I didn't have a blind man to help across the road, but I crossed anyway and continued down Molesworth Street.

Plaque #12 - “Walking by Doran's public house he slid his hand between waistcoat and trousers and, pulling aside his shirt gently, felt a slack fold of his belly.”

Just past Frederick Street I found the spot were Bloom was trying to figure out if he cold feel colors. It is also the spot with the penultimate plaque. He decided that this wasn't really a good experiment since he already knew his stomach was "whitey yellow" and moved on.

Plaque #13 - “His hand looking for the where did I put found in his hip pocket soap lotion have to call tepid paper stuck, Ah, soap there I yes. Gate. Safe!"

As I walked up to Kildare Street, I couldn't see anyone around. In the book, however, Bloom sees Blazes Boylan. This makes Bloom uncomfortable (he know that in a few hours Boylan will be nailing his wife, many aspect of which are unabashedly described in chapter 18), so, while digging through is pockets, he scurried across the street and turned right on Kildare Street until he reached the gates of the National Museum...where the final plaque is.

I visited the museum early in the trip with Lk, so I didn't follow Bloom inside. It had a very impress and extensive collection of historical and archeological treasures from all over Ireland. My favorite part was seeing real bog bodies up-close. I tried to get into the Library (where the next chapter starts) directly across the lot, but it was closed. I then decided to take up the challenge posed by Joyce in chapter 4 (Calypso) and see if I could 'cross Dublin without passing a pub.' I didn't make it very far. However, I must admit, I wasn't trying very hard.