Being a Geek for 30 years

I am often asked what is really important to me. It often seems like an odd question…important to me now? last year? 5 years ago? when i was 10 years old?  I have tried to really live in the here and now the last few years. So my answer usually revolves around my son, Alex, and my family. I’ll throw work in here in case my boss reads this too. But this month has managed to get me thinking about my life 30 years ago. I was 5 years old (going on 18) and my brother and I were in the middle of a long, nasty divorce between our parents. There was very little that was making us happy at the time – EXCEPT the anticipation of a space movie hitting movie theaters at the end of May. When each Saturday your Dad takes you to whatever movie you want to see, you become highly familiar with what is playing – unlike now since I have a 22 month old at home.

30 years ago right now, we were waiting for the May 25th release of Star Wars. My brother was fascinated with the heavy breathing of Darth Vader…I thought that the lightsabers were pretty cool. But nothing – not popcorn or candy – prepared us for the technical and special effects feast that our mind would experience in 1977 (btw – at the time, George Lucas really was making leaps and bounds in the special effects world)!  That summer, we made our Dad take us to see it each weekend. We must have seen it 12 times that year in the theater so that we could learn all the lines, pick up on anything that we might have missed, and just stare in awe at the screen.  My Dad must have been a good sport about this b/c we have lived and breathed Star Wars to this day. This movie definitely led to our need to have a computer, video game console, various toys that light up and make noise.  And with the release of each episode, my brother and I stood in line on opening day to be there first – with the exception of Revenge of the Sith which came out after my move to Indiana so my husband and I (I was 9 months pregnant too!) took a day off of work to see it 3 times – and then we saw it again the following week. But hey, my movie days were numbered!  I also had the pleasure of attending the Star Wars Celebration III here in Indianapolis in April 2005. It was really one of my most memorable experiences being immersed in Star Wars for a full weekend and getting to see alot of the costumes, original props, and models used in the movies. Unfortunately Celebration IV this year is in LA because it needed a bigger venue. However, in our recent newsletter from the Indianapolis Children’s Musuem (where I spend alot of time now), they will have an exhibit of Star Wars toys and collectors items on display for TWO HOURS ONLY on June 24th. Guess that Alex will not get a bath that night….

My husband and I enjoy sitting down on a Saturday (or really any night!) and watching Star Wars movies on DVD or even on regular TV! It’s even better now with our surround sound system that we invested in many years ago mainly with the thought of how Star Wars movies would sound.  We also keep handy Darth Vader’s lightsaber and helmut with voice box as well as the Ask Yoda doll who has solved many, many issues we encounter.  Alex even now loves to make the “lightsaber noise” while waving an empty wrapping paper roll around the house. He has also taken part in many battles around his train table.  We do plan to buy him his own lightsaber when he is old enough.

It amazes me that something has stayed in my life actively for 30 years and is truly shaped my interest in anything and everything digital – from the two Roombas that clean my floors 3 times a week or the 3 tivos that I have actively recording to how I store my memories and pay my bills.  And when times are calling for inner guidance, I’m really not afraid to sit in my office and say “Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi; you’re my only hope.” 

 Posted by Jen Webb