Monday, July 27, 2015

#nerdilemma

I'm in a
nerd dilemma:

I've read the studious articles 
and seen the impassioned chats
about the proper order for
nerd parents
to show their nerdlings
the Star Wars hexology,

but I realized yesterday
that a nerd father is faced with
oh so many more perplexities
than these 6 movies 
and the 720*
possible sequences
in which they could be watched.

For instance,
what's the best way 
to inculcate in one's
burgeoningly geeky offspring
a love for Weird Al?
Start with the earliest songs
to build context, 
or with the latest
to be most relevant?

And what about the 
cult classics of
Monty Python and the Holy Grail,
Dr. Strangelove, The Goonies,
Young Frankenstein, Princess Bride, & etc...?
How should these be presented such that
the geeklets might get
the inside jokes
and know the
token quotes -
those passwords and signs
which are requisite to enter geekdom?

And what of the larger question here about the
dangers of accidentally rendering such nerdifacts uncool
through the double-edged sword of
parental endorsement?

I need some sort of
theoretical framework,
proof,
researched argument, or
longitudinal study
to know the quick and easy path
for raising my son right!

I try in vain
to reason my way through this remote
yet immediate enigma
and see the solution.

Then, in a blue haze, Ben Kenobi speaks to me,
padawanizing me for my attempt to
think my way through this jedi's puzzle:
"Let go your conscious self
and act on instict."

"Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi,"
Indeed. This is my only
and new hope.



*Thanks are due to my brother-in-law David Jensen, a math teacher, for confirming this number. What a travesty it would've been to include an inaccurate calculation in such a nerdy poem. 

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