I Am Sneaky With My Geeky

Recently, my sister Natasha and I were trying to decide which of us was the bigger geek. We certainly have the pedigree for it. Back in the late 70’s, we were the first family that I knew of to have a computer. Two, actually, if you include the one our dad built with parts from Radio Shack and mail order catalogs. There were also the Star Wars t-shirts and the visits to the Space Flight Center and the Air and Space Museum. Plus, uh, some other stuff.

Natasha: “There is no way you were a bigger geek than me. I was the homecoming candidate for the computer club.”

Ramona: “I’m not denying your superior qualities. I’m just saying - I was a big geek, only better at hiding it.”

Natasha: “Fine. I’ll be needing some evidence then. What would make you worthy of becoming Queen of the Geek Prom?”

Ramona: “Well, I always carry a notebook* around with me, in case I think of something and have to write it down. Sometimes I’ll even write something on a to-do list that I’ve already done, just so I can cross if off. There was also the incident in my 9th grade English class, when the teacher was encouraging us to carry notebooks around to become better writers. She called me out as an example to the class saying, ‘I bet Ramona already carries around a journal’”.

Natasha: “Big deal. Lots of people do that.”

Ramona: “Okay. The next year, again in English class, we had a test on March 15th. For days beforehand, I was excited that we’d be taking an English test on the Ides of March. We weren’t even studying Julius Caesar that year. But the opportunity to impress my teacher proved too irresistible, and I COULD NOT stop myself. Instead of writing March 15th as the date, I wrote out ‘The Ides of March’”.

Natasha: “You never told me that before. What else have you been holding out on?”

Ramona: “Alright, this happened the first year I transferred from Catholic school into public school and I hadn’t made any friends yet. During basketball season, the kids who cared about sports and had $2 bucks for a ticket could go watch the game. The kids who didn’t have the cash got consolidated into one classroom and had study hall. I chose study hall over the basketball games so I could read books by myself. This happily happened about twice, and then the teacher wanted to be released from the obligatory baby-sitting and sent us all to the basketball game. The other kids were grateful, but I sulked. Not knowing how to behave at a sports event, and refusing to miss out on the one thing I liked doing at school, I opened my book and resumed reading. At a junior high school basketball game. And ... wait for it ... I was reading Gone With the Wind.”

Natasha: “I had no idea.”
Ramona: “Exactly.”



*The notebook is mostly for random lists such as books I want to read, gift ideas for friends, and groceries. Sometimes I use it to take down notes of what people are doing at parties and bars, and things I’ve overheard strangers say.