Category: writing

Even though my sister and I refer to ourselves as “Trekkies,” we are actually “Trekkers.” Why, yes, there is a difference! Trekkies have the reputation of being slightly off-balance in their devotion to Star Trek, while Trekkers are more rational and just have fun with their Star Trek fandom.

Our devotion to Star Trek began back in the 70’s and can be blamed on our father. I remember watching countless episodes of the original series with Dad. They were all reruns, of course, and it was so exciting to see a rerun airing on TV that was rarely shown!

We’ve never attended a Star Trek Convention or put on pointy ears. But we have played Star Trek Trivia and have bought Dad all the Star Trek spaceship Christmas tree ornaments, much to the dismay of our mother!

Of course, I also watched every episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Voyager, but I never got into Deep Space Nine or Enterprise. Even though I’m a die hard original Star Trek fan, however, I really enjoyed the newest Star Trek movies. Chris Pine plays Captain Kirk brilliantly!

Alas, I have not spread my enjoyment of Star Trek to my children. I have the original Star Wars movies on video tape, and they enjoy watching Princess Leia stare down Darth Vader. I’m okay with that.

So that takes care of my T.V. show inner geek, but I am actually even geekier when it comes to books. I also blame this on my father! There was a huge bookshelf packed full of Dad’s books in our house when we were growing up. Most of the books did not look interesting to me, but the ones I did grab off the shelf soon became favorites. Growing up in a small town meant that we didn’t have access to a public library, and our school library was very small. Dad and Mom helped us build our own collection of books, buying us the Little House on the Prairie and Nancy Drew series one book at a time. My sister and I cherished those books, and reread them over and over. In 6th grade, I developed a new book obsession; I grabbed my dad’s copy of The Lord of the Rings. It must have taken me forever to read, and I’m sure I didn’t understand some of what Tolkien wrote, but I was hooked! I found that when I reread those books, I discovered new points to the plot that I had missed before. On my last rereading, about a year ago, I made sure to actually read the words to all the songs and poems that I had always skipped over when I was younger. You know that question that asks what book would you bring with you to a deserted island? My answer has always been The Lord of the Rings. (This may be cheating a little bit, since it’s actually three books, but that’s my final answer!)

What brings out your inner geek? Is it a television show or a movie? What book would you bring if you were stranded on a deserted island? Share your inner geek here!