Little Dumb Lie

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman were two of Hollywood’s brightest stars that just so happened to be married to each other. They even starred in three movies together during the 90s. You would have thought they had it all.

That is, until February of 2001 when Tom Cruise filed for divorce from his wife Nicole, and then in August of 2001, when they were officially no longer together.

At the time, Tom Cruise said he wanted out of his marriage to Nicole Kidman due to “irreconcilable differences” between the two of them. Over the last two decades, pop culture, the internet, and “conspiracy theorists” have come up with various other beliefs about their public split.

Today, I am going to tell you a story about why these two celebrities split, and though it is 100% not true, it just so happens to involve yours truly.

It was only mere days before 9/11/2001. I was in the 6th grade in middle school in New Castle, CO. My family and I had just moved there from Louisiana. We were in a new town, a new state, and a new culture, that felt completely foreign, accents and all.

One day, during lunch, I was outside with everyone, when a group of kids approached me, “the new kid.” I didn’t have a whole lot in common with them. I didn’t like sports. I didn’t really play video games that much. I was not even social at all and had no friends.

Yet, I did know a lot about celebrities, including which ones were married and which ones were divorced.

For reasons that astound me even now, after I told them my name was Jacob, I proceeeded to tell a huge lie and said, “I’m the reason Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman are divorced.”

I am sure the group of 6th to 8th graders laughed and chuckled to themselves as I spoke. “That big-headed guy is crazy,” is probably one of thoughts they had while I rambled. At the time, I was in the early stages of developing schizophrenia, so I did not notice or remember everything that happened. Yet, I was painfully awkward as I displayed my total lack of social skills.

Yet, I kept on with my story. While I don’t remember it word for word, it went something like this. I told the kids in the circle outside that I snuck into a movie theater in Los Angeles about a year or so before Tom and Nicole divorced. I then described how I sat behind them during the movie and whispered lies in their ears, saying to Nicole, “Tom thinks you’re an awful actress”, and to Tom, “Nicole thinks Mission: Impossible II is the worst film you’ve ever made.” After that happened, I claimed they left the theater and fought. In conclusion, I said, “So, that is why they really divorced.”

After the bell rang, I felt confident in my lie. I thought I was getting accepted. Yet, I had no idea how ridiculous my story sounded and how irrational it was in so many ways. I had never been to LA or Hollywood. With bodyguards, red carpets, and high ticket prices, I could never, ever see a movie in a theater while being in the presence of A-list stars. I also had no idea, that in just over 4 years, I would begin to believe a lot more irrational ideas, many stirred up by voices within my mind.

However, none of mine could compare to the scale of those magnfied and shared during this pandemic era, or to the debate over whether or not they all are true.

Over the past two years, during the pandemic, there have been many people who have tried to make sense of what has gone on, what is going on, and what is going to happen in the future. Some believe the world is run by reptillians, or “lizard people.” Some even believe that Princess Diana and Michael Jackson are alive. Some also believe the world is being controlled by the Illuminati, reffered to also as the Cabal, and that the Coronavirus was created as a bioweapon, made to bring the world into a globalist New World Order system.

I don’t believe in “lizard people.” I don’t believe certain dead celebrities like Michael Jackson or Princess Diana are still alive. I most definitely do not believe in aliens.

Yet, I like many of you during this pandemic journey, have come to discover the hardships of life, the brokenness of this world, and the fact that there is rampant evil threatening all that is good, “right, pure, and praiseworthy.” Just the fact that numerous politicians and celebrities have hypocritically gone maskless and partied while telling us not to alone begs the question, “What is really going on? Do they know something we don’t know?”

We may not know the real reason why Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman divorced, but they did. We may not know what really went on in the conservatorship of Britney Spears, the “suicide” of Jeffrey Epstein, or the truth about the evil deeds of our world leaders. Yet, divorce, pain, suicide, murder, sin, and wickedness can be found on Main Street, in the mansions of Beverly Hills, on the streets of Washington, D.C. and on every corner of this Earth. We are all capable of good and bad decisions.

However, there is a solution, found in Someone, who can offer healing and salvation, to all races, all nationalities, those with disabilites, addictions, and pains of all kinds. His name is Jesus, and one day He will return and make all things right. Every lie will be revealed and every dark deed will be exposed. All will then make sense in the light of eternity, as we move about in new bodies, free of all sickness, including Covid, with no masks at all. We won’t have to tell any lies to try to get accepted by others anymore, live under mandates or restricitons, or search for truth amongst the many “theories” in our world today.

“When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus, We’ll sing and shout the victory!”

– “When We All Get to Heaven,” Eliza E. Hewitt, pub. 1898.

Until Next Time,

Jacob McGowen