Space Nerds on a Mission? - Week Three

Once again, the crew gathered; and once again, it was nothing short of great.

This time, Joe hosted the evening, so we hung out at his place in Valley Stream. In three short weeks, we've already made trips all over the Island. Oakdale, Farmingdale, Valley Stream... The variety in meeting places really adds to the experience. To all our members & potential members, if you ever want to host, just say the word. All you need is a room for us to sit in.

We really should call ourselves, "Pizza Crew," since that's been a staple at every gathering, and this time was no exception. Many thanks to our host for supplying a great spread of tasty Italian food.

Because of a next-day 4 AM wake up call, our regular Susanna had to sit this one out, and we missed her, but the show went on, and in a big way. In addition to the regular stuff—more great contributions from Rich (a piece of published sci-fi commentary) and Joe (more from his really terrific fantasy piece), as well as my usual nonsense—we had some "new blood," too...

For starters, we were thrilled to have Linda along for her first meeting, and she was a tremendous sport about hangin' out with us and being part of the madness. It was great having her aboard.

Also, Diana, who was unable to physically attend, attended in spirit by contributing an autobiographical piece that we read for her. It was clever, touching, and engaging all at the same time. We can't wait to hear more.

I must say, the variety of stuff this crew churns out is quite a trip, and it tends to have universal appeal. I dig it.

While we sat in Joe's "media" room—surrounded by an astounding collection of music, movies, and books—you couldn't help but notice that this guy has one heck of an impressive Star Wars literary library. So, perhaps predictably, the spirit of the "swamp and space underground" was truly present, and we found ourselves—as the night grew late—becoming absolutely giddy with Star Wars conversation. Doesn't it seem to always come back to that? We had to explain to Linda that it usually doesn't get that "space nerd-ish" at our gatherings, but in the end, would it matter if it did? Two things that seem to be consistent with anything the "crew" does are engaging observational commentary and big laughs. I'll take those things anyway I can get them.

Thanks to everyone for another good evening. I need those evenings. And to everyone—whether you were there or not—feel free to get involved! This group, including this blog, is open to all. We're only as good as our participants. "For the people, by the people."