Trendy Nerds

At the gas pumps, the red BMW sportscar next to me was a childhood acquaintance. Married five times, looking young for her mid fifties, she started gabbing about Dragon-Con. Getting in touch with her inner nerd.

On Facebook, the purveyor of what is really trending, I found this link

Prairie Nerds

It's fascinating to read what nerds are and what fun they can be.

Especially when you were one. You never outgrow being a nerd. Yes, you may have money, clothes, haircut, etc. but nerd just whispers out of every corner. When I mentioned trading email address, acquaintance gave a wry face. She was still too damn cool for me. Of course I was driving a beat-up Toyota with a bulldog in the backseat and an elderly toy poodle riding sidekick.

I'm still that kid in high school that just wants everyone to like me. The truth about being a nerd is you are just wallpaper. You had time to watch Star Trek reruns and think about the Utopian ideals of Gene Roddenberry.

I read a great deal of science fiction. More from having a boyfriend who loved Bradbury and Frank  Herbert. I read the entire Dune series and Tolkien books. I tried to read Silmarillion but it never held my attention past the first 40 to 100 pages. I sincerely tried to read it many times.

What I learned most from these books is be careful picking up long books. They are hard to put down and you don't need to stay up half the night reading when you have a job to go to the next day. I read "And Ladies of the Club" by Helen Hooven Santmeyer which was a 1800 plus page Northern "Gone With the Wind" when I was sick with the flu over Christmas holidays about 20 years ago.

What you do learn as a nerd if you live long enough is to have patience with other people and yourself. You notice little details. Afterall, you had to do something as you sat quietly while everyone else was dancing.

I plan to go to Dragon-Con for the party atmosphere. I may make it this year or in ten years. If I never make it, I have participated in something just as absorbing, Real Life.

I understand my acquaintance is the still the hot chick. Fairytales and Hollywood sometimes get it right. The happy ending never looks like it should in reality. I putter down the road in my Toyota still happy after all these years. Live long and prosper folks.