Wilt's Home Town

[Kay]

In "Good Wilt Hunting", Wilt leaves Foster's to find his creator...can anyone tell me the town he ends up in to find Jordan Michaels his creator?
Thank you.
Kay

[pitbulllady]

While it has never been "officially" stated as to the whereabouts of the town, there is a LOT of evidence that it's Charleston, South Carolina, aka "The Holy City" to those of us who live in SC. We DO know, from official word, that Foster's home is located in the Pacific Northwest. The map that traces the first part of Wilt's journey shows what appears to be a trek that is primarily in a southeasterly direction, except when he more or less backtracks, to the confusion of the group trying to find him(they did not know, of course, about him having to take Foofie Woogums to her home, which was apparently back the way he'd just arrived from). The map also appears to show Interstate 20, which runs east-west between California and Florence, South Carolina, and includes what also appears to be US Hwy 49, which crosses I-20 and runs north-south from N'awlins to Chicago, and the roads fade out as they progress east, indicating that this is just part of Wilt's journey. Knowing that Foster's in the Pacific Northwest, that statement from Frankie that Wilt's destination is "all the way across the country" indicates that it's on the east(Atlantic)coast. During his journey, once he's back on track, you can see signs that he's traveling through the southwestern US in an easterly direction, including a Texas-sized oil pumping rig in the background of the train station. The accents and landscape in that little town where Wilt mows everyone's lawn and is arrested, only to be released as the "Lawn Ranger", looks a LOT like one of those ubiquitous Atlanta suburbs. That would make sense, since Wilt most likely would have taken I-20 east to the outskirts of Atlanta, then taken one of the "loops" around that traffic nightmare to I-85, and taken that north to Spartenburg, SC, then picked up I-26 and taken it straight south to Charleston; this is the usual route, being the quickest, if not the shortest, way to get from Atlanta to Charleston while avoiding most of Atlanta's infamous traffic gridlocks.

We know that Jordan Michaels is based on Michael Jordan, just more or less in opposites;Michael Jordan played for the BULLS and Jordan Michaels plays for the COWS(though I have to wonder if that couldn't also indicate that Jordan's alma mater was Clemson University...inside joke there that probably only a native Sandlapper would get); Michael Jordan is from Wilmington, NORTH Carolina, and it's counterpart port city in SOUTH Carolina is Charleston. The buildings themselves in Wilt's hometown even look just like the area around Meeting Street in that city, outside the touristy areas, in the predominately Black part of that city(I was there in March, and was amazed by the resemblence myself). Many buildings in Charleston have some form of a pineapple motiff, which I found out is due to that fruit being featured on a famous wrought iron gate that was actually made by the great-grandfather of an acquaintance of mine. Those pineapples appear in the fanlights above the doors of the buildings in the background of the basketball court where Wilt and Larry duke it out, hoops-style. There is also a shot in which appears an earthquake bolt, a square metal end of a large bolt literally through the walls of the building, designed to keep it from falling apart when the next "Big One" hits(Charleston got nearly wiped out by a huge quake in the late 1800's and experiences over 200 smaller quakes per year). Wilt's accent is probably the biggest clue, though; long before Good Wilt Hunting, I'd had that accent pegged as either SC Low-Country "Geechee"(the dialect commonly heard in and around Charleston, usually associated with African-Americans, though not always), or New Orleans Creole, which is similar. Wilt sounds more Geechee(though Foul Larry sounds even more Geechee than Wilt, probably 'cause he's lived there all his life), though, since the N'awlins accent has an almost-Brooklynesque tinge to it that Wilt lacks. Charleston also has the distinction of being voted "The Most Polite City in American" for two years in a row, more than any other town-a fitting place for a very polite Imaginary Friend! One of my fifth grade students even spotted one particular building with a very ornate top facade, and that building actually is part of "Rainbow Row" in Charleston(along with those pineapples).

So, we know that Wilt is from the East coast, from the South, and most likely from an old port city that has lots of pineapples on buildings and lots of wrought iron railings around windows, etc. Charleston is as good a candidate as there is, since the architecture and the accents both fit, as well as the geography.

Actually, though, Wilt wasn't trying to find his creator. He knew where Jordan was-all he would have had to do was pick up a sports magazine, or go online, like Mac did. Wilt was going home to take on Foul Larry, to find some final redemption by beating Larry or by literally dying trying to do so, in the hopes that he could at least go out knowing that he was not a loser, after all. Wilt was seeking forgiveness more from HIMSELF than from anyone else, since he'd blamed himself all those 30 years for ruining Jordan's childhood dream.

pitbulllady

[Sparky]

I'm declaring pbl's post the Official Never Forgotten "Where Is Wilt From" fantheory.

[Ub3rD4n]

That's a crazy amount of thought you put into that post. The good kind of crazy, though. It's nice to have a definitive answer, too. Even if you don't have an actual city name, you've conclusively pinned down the area, which could only be conradicted, as far as I can see, with a full retcon.

So, basically, I'm in something approaching awe.

[WiltsAKGirl17]

Originally Posted by Ub3rD4n

That's a crazy amount of thought you put into that post. The good kind of crazy, though. It's nice to have a definitive answer, too. Even if you don't have an actual city name, you've conclusively pinned down the area, which could only be conradicted, as far as I can see, with a full retcon.

So, basically, I'm in something approaching awe.

I have to agree. Even though pbl explained this to me in a reveiw for a fanfic I put in fanfiction.net, I'm still amazed at how she was able to take something as simple as a few details from GWH other people would have missed or blown off and develop a theory like that. I'd sorta assumed that the series took place in the Midwest, but I was pinning it down somewhere I knew-- I'm orignally from Ohio. I know that if I tried to do something like this, I'd get confused and frustrated and have to quit. Yeah, I too am blown away by the detail put into this theory.

[Invader Bloo]

Wow, PBL that's amazing!

[pitbulllady]

I found out the meaning of the pineapples that are all over the place in Charleston from a relative who lives there. They represent hospitality and willingness to help others(irony?), and this is a tradition that has been passed down from the settlers from the Caribbean, especially Barbados and Jamaica. Giving a needy or hungry person, especially a traveler, a pineapple was considered an ultimate act of kindness, since pineapples were an expensive sought-after luxery. Pineapples could provide both water and a source of energy(fructose) to weary and hungry travelers, and were a source of Vitamin C to ward off scurvy. It's part of Charleston's seafaring history and traditions.

pitbulllady

[Lynnie]

Fascinating! I like historical facts like that, thanks for sharing PBL. Charleston sounds like a friendly city. I know I've been to SC many times, but don't remember if I've ever been to Charleston. It must be one of the reasons Wilt is such a nice guy.

[KazooBloo]

Originally Posted by pitbulllady

While it has never been "officially" stated as to the whereabouts of the town, there is a LOT of evidence that it's Charleston, South Carolina, aka "The Holy City" to those of us who live in SC. We DO know, from official word, that Foster's home is located in the Pacific Northwest. The map that traces the first part of Wilt's journey shows what appears to be a trek that is primarily in a southeasterly direction, except when he more or less backtracks, to the confusion of the group trying to find him(they did not know, of course, about him having to take Foofie Woogums to her home, which was apparently back the way he'd just arrived from). The map also appears to show Interstate 20, which runs east-west between California and Florence, South Carolina, and includes what also appears to be US Hwy 49, which crosses I-20 and runs north-south from N'awlins to Chicago, and the roads fade out as they progress east, indicating that this is just part of Wilt's journey. Knowing that Foster's in the Pacific Northwest, that statement from Frankie that Wilt's destination is "all the way across the country" indicates that it's on the east(Atlantic)coast. During his journey, once he's back on track, you can see signs that he's traveling through the southwestern US in an easterly direction, including a Texas-sized oil pumping rig in the background of the train station. The accents and landscape in that little town where Wilt mows everyone's lawn and is arrested, only to be released as the "Lawn Ranger", looks a LOT like one of those ubiquitous Atlanta suburbs. That would make sense, since Wilt most likely would have taken I-20 east to the outskirts of Atlanta, then taken one of the "loops" around that traffic nightmare to I-85, and taken that north to Spartenburg, SC, then picked up I-26 and taken it straight south to Charleston; this is the usual route, being the quickest, if not the shortest, way to get from Atlanta to Charleston while avoiding most of Atlanta's infamous traffic gridlocks.

We know that Jordan Michaels is based on Michael Jordan, just more or less in opposites;Michael Jordan played for the BULLS and Jordan Michaels plays for the COWS(though I have to wonder if that couldn't also indicate that Jordan's alma mater was Clemson University...inside joke there that probably only a native Sandlapper would get); Michael Jordan is from Wilmington, NORTH Carolina, and it's counterpart port city in SOUTH Carolina is Charleston. The buildings themselves in Wilt's hometown even look just like the area around Meeting Street in that city, outside the touristy areas, in the predominately Black part of that city(I was there in March, and was amazed by the resemblence myself). Many buildings in Charleston have some form of a pineapple motiff, which I found out is due to that fruit being featured on a famous wrought iron gate that was actually made by the great-grandfather of an acquaintance of mine. Those pineapples appear in the fanlights above the doors of the buildings in the background of the basketball court where Wilt and Larry duke it out, hoops-style. There is also a shot in which appears an earthquake bolt, a square metal end of a large bolt literally through the walls of the building, designed to keep it from falling apart when the next "Big One" hits(Charleston got nearly wiped out by a huge quake in the late 1800's and experiences over 200 smaller quakes per year). Wilt's accent is probably the biggest clue, though; long before Good Wilt Hunting, I'd had that accent pegged as either SC Low-Country "Geechee"(the dialect commonly heard in and around Charleston, usually associated with African-Americans, though not always), or New Orleans Creole, which is similar. Wilt sounds more Geechee(though Foul Larry sounds even more Geechee than Wilt, probably 'cause he's lived there all his life), though, since the N'awlins accent has an almost-Brooklynesque tinge to it that Wilt lacks. Charleston also has the distinction of being voted "The Most Polite City in American" for two years in a row, more than any other town-a fitting place for a very polite Imaginary Friend! One of my fifth grade students even spotted one particular building with a very ornate top facade, and that building actually is part of "Rainbow Row" in Charleston(along with those pineapples).

So, we know that Wilt is from the East coast, from the South, and most likely from an old port city that has lots of pineapples on buildings and lots of wrought iron railings around windows, etc. Charleston is as good a candidate as there is, since the architecture and the accents both fit, as well as the geography.

Actually, though, Wilt wasn't trying to find his creator. He knew where Jordan was-all he would have had to do was pick up a sports magazine, or go online, like Mac did. Wilt was going home to take on Foul Larry, to find some final redemption by beating Larry or by literally dying trying to do so, in the hopes that he could at least go out knowing that he was not a loser, after all. Wilt was seeking forgiveness more from HIMSELF than from anyone else, since he'd blamed himself all those 30 years for ruining Jordan's childhood dream.

pitbulllady

Speechless. Well thought out!