Gather Ye Acorns
Ok, the year is 1986 and I’m a very fat, nerdy, “just-turned-a” teenager.
An anthology series by Steven Speilberg called Amazing Stories, which was a bit like a (then) modern take on the Twilight Zone, is must-watch-tv.
Because this was in the time before cable and YouTube and you either watched what everyone else watched or you had to sit on the sidelines as the other kids talked about it.
Man, I loved that show as a kid.
One of the stories that really sticks out to me was Gather Ye Acorns, which starred Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hammill.
In it, Hamill’s a young man that meets a weird old dude – who’s actually a troll – that tells him to keep everything he’s ever loved, even if the world mocks or belittles him.
So, Hamill’s character does so and holds onto comic books, toys, and pop culture trinkets – for decades.
Just like me.
Unfortunately, like the rest of the world, the young man turns into an old man, and a poor old man at that.
What’s worse is that, the whole time, people either think he’s silly – which is the best-case scenario – or a complete idiot.
His parents eventually disown him and toss him out.
He ends up alone and, eventually, homeless.
Now an old man, Hamill’s character is frustrated and angry, cursing the fact that he met the old troll and ruined his life.
A bitter old man, he ends up just waiting to die.
Yet he somehow finds himself at a collector’s auction where he’s mobbed because everyone wants his “junk” – alla which is now super valuable.
The story ends with Hamill’s character wealthy, vindicated, and – perhaps best of – finally seen by those around him.
I did exactly that – yes, sometimes with actual stuff, like comic books, old electronics and the like – but also with things in my head.
I remember telling my college buddy, Crawford that, “One day, I’ll be a swordsman.”
He laughed and said, “Well, one day, I’m gonna live on a sunny island like Jimmy Buffet and play the guitar on the beach.”
Guess what? We both did exactly what we said we’d do.
Because neither of us gave up on our “childish” dreams.
What a difference that makes, not giving up on the things you love.
That’s the thing that makes me different from other people, I think: Like Hamill’s character, I rarely gave up the things I loved, like peanut butter, Spam, kali, comics, short stories, etc.
That can be a disserve at times, but – by-and-large – it’s served me well.
When everyone else quit kali, I kept it up. For almost 20 years, I would go. Usually twice a week and then once a week when the classes got more sparse.
But I’d always practice by my lonesome at night.
Likewise, many of my very well-meaning friends – like the one way above and even my own father-in-law, caution me about continuing to wrassle with 20-somethings.
But I know that if I stop, that’s moment I’ll truly become become an old man.
See, I know that I’m mathematically 52 years old, but as long as I can keep doing the things I love, I don’t believe it.
There’s an old saying I like that goes, Moving water doesn’t freeze.
So, I gotta keep moving.
Her: Why don’t you run with me?
Me: Sorry, I need to train.
Her: So, lemme get this straight – you’d rather roll around with a buncha sweaty men, than jog with your amazing fiancé.
Me: …yes?
Her: (slowly nods) Ok then…
On that note, we just did a crazy cool thing on Scenic Fights.
I’ll tell you all about it when it finally happens.
Location: home, cutting a box to make it a shipping cost go from $76 to $24
Mood: committed
Music: I survived. I’m still breathing. I’m alive (Spotify)
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