A friend once told me I was “an analog kind of guy lost in a digital world,” and that seems as good a thumbnail description for me as any. But if you’d like to know a bit more, here are a few factoids for the curious newcomer:
I was born at the end of the 1960s, enjoyed a happy childhood in the ’70s, and became a teenager during the Awesome ’80s, which means I remember the way things were Before the World Moved On. I have come to believe that the ’90s were the last best decade of our civilization.
I grew up and still live in the general vicinity of Salt Lake City, Utah, home of the LDS Church, the 2002 Olympics, and (according to our license plates) The Greatest Snow on Earth™. No, I am not Mormon myself.
I’m a curmudgeonly champion for all the pop culture of my Gen X youth: the original Star Trek series, the pre-Special Edition Star Wars, the version of Battlestar Galactica that featured a chimp in a robot-dog suit, and laid-back TV detectives with mustaches. In my view, Deckard is not a replicant, Connery was the best Bond, and Christopher Reeve will always be my Superman.
I miss the rural landscape of my youth far more than I ever would’ve imagined.
Back in middle school, I was placed in a specialized program for “gifted and talented” kids. I still struggle to live up to those expectations.
My first jobs were at movie theaters — projectionist, then usher, then projectionist again. In many ways, they’re still the best jobs I’ve ever had.
My fondest wish since I was a young boy has been to see the world. I love to travel and explore, and it depresses me to think I won’t live long enough to reach all the places on my wish list. I have a restless heart and identify with stories about wanderers.
I’m proud to call myself a liberal Democrat whose political heroes are FDR and RFK (Sr.). I don’t shop at Hobby Lobby and I don’t eat at Chik-Fil-A. I believe that Americans should have universal healthcare like every other advanced nation on Earth, and that this would do a lot more for personal freedom than gun ownership does. I absolutely believe in the separation of church and state, a woman’s right to choose, and that “E Pluribus Unum” is a better motto for our nation than “In God We Trust.”
I believe that Black Lives Matter; that same-sex marriage is just marriage; and that trans people are not after your kids, they just have to pee. Also, the electoral college should be abolished and it’s long past time to revise the Second Amendment.
I’m an advocate for the Oxford comma and no, that hyphen does not “look weird.”
I dig good books, pretty ladies, single-malt whiskey, old movies, antique cars, driving with the top down, classic rock and blues music, greasy cheeseburgers, neon signs, summer nights, fall afternoons, early MTV music videos, pin-up art, and mid-century-modern design. I’m interested in history, human space exploration, and creative writing.
And yes, I do like pina coladas and gettin’ caught in the rain.
Welcome to my mind. Such as it is.
NOTE: The thoughts and opinions expressed here are solely my own and do not reflect the views of my employer or its clients.