Kindred Spirits

I suppose I have my friend, Susan, to thank for much of what happened. We would frequently compare which media and geeky (as in pop culture enthusiasm) podcasts we listened to and check out each others' recommendations. One day on our way to lunch, she mentioned once again that I needed to listen to one of her favorite podcasts, GeeksOn (as in Geeks On: Moral Rights of Superheroes...Geeks On: Police States in Sci-Fi, etc.). I kept meaning to listen, but hadn't yet. As she was again trying to sell me on the podcast, I realized that the subjects would actually have high appeal for my then-11 year old son.

"So, I could let Thomas listen?"

Susan turned to me, veering slightly on the street as she drove, "Oh, no...you couldn't just let him listen without being there to edit it."

"Why?"

"Well, some language and some comments would be very funny to us, but are not really right for someone Thomas' age."

So, Thomas and I began listening to GeeksOn. We became fans. The hosts came from different areas in the entertainment industry and it was always interesting to hear their take on things. Thomas felt like he'd found people who researched their favorite movies, tv shows, and video games with the same passion he did. And, when he was faced with staggering disappointment in a video game rental, he was determined to email the hosts to let them know about his outrage.

"Um, I understand why you want to do this, but I really don't think those guys have the time to write to you just because you felt misled by advertising."

No matter. The email was sent and, soon after, Thomas received a thoughtful, helpful reply from one of the GeeksOn hosts, screenwriter and director, Peter Robinson. Not only did he empathize with Thomas, he wisely encouraged Thomas to continue to speak out against injustice all his life. Very impressive.

Shortly after, I was going for a walk, listening to a GeeksOn episode in which Peter Robinson's mother was being interviewed about "raising a geek". As I listened, I was almost unaware of my surroundings as I became more and more startled by the very specific ways in which Peter and Thomas were so similar as children. Same strengths, same quirks, same creative way of seeing the world. It was uncanny.

More emails were exchanged. Phone conversations followed with suggestions about film schools and early steps towards filmmaking. And, last July, we made our first trip to the geek mecca of San Diego's Comic-Con. We knew Peter and some of the other GeeksOn hosts were going to attend and hoped we'd have the chance to meet up.

We did get to meet. I'm glad that in spite of my doubt that he'd ever get a response, Thomas followed his instinct to send that first email. And I will always love the picture we took when Thomas met Peter Robinson for the first time. Whenever I look at it, two words come to mind: kindred spirits.