It Started With a Swing Set and Battlestar Galactica...

Was anyone else that kid?

The one who didn't just watch a TV show...

...you lived it?

For me, it was the original Battlestar Galactica.

When I was in fifth grade, my best friend and I weren't pretending to be Sheba and Serena.

We were Sheba and Serena.

At school, we were undercover as students (obviously). The swings were Colonial Vipers. Her house—with its amazing bar—was the Battlestar Galactica. (Her dad worked for Hostess, so between the snacks and the bar, it was clearly the superior headquarters.) My house was the Battlestar Pegasus, and after school, our bikes instantly transformed into Colonial Vipers.

If another kid wandered over and asked what we were doing, my friend would quickly say, "Just swinging."

Me?

"Playing Battlestar Galactica! Wanna play?"

I never understood why that was supposed to be embarrassing. Looking back, those are still some of my favorite childhood memories.

Here's another fun fact.

Apollo had a younger brother named Zac, played by a very young Rick Springfield.

Naturally, Zac was my boyfriend.

My friend's boyfriend was Apollo.

It all made perfect sense to two ten-year-old girls.

Life has a funny way of coming full circle.

Decades later, my husband surprised me with VIP tickets to see Rick Springfield in concert. Fifth-grade Terri would have been absolutely convinced she'd won at life.

Looking back, though, this story isn't really about Battlestar Galactica.

It's about imagination.

It's about throwing yourself completely into something you loved without worrying whether anyone else thought it was weird.

I've realized that's never really changed.

Whether it's writing as Terri Rainer, researching Scottish history, paranormal investigating, diving into AI, or learning something completely new, I've always been the person who goes all in.

Maybe we don't outgrow the things that spark our imagination.

Maybe they quietly become part of who we are.

So...what was your Battlestar Galactica?

What captured your imagination so completely that you couldn't help but jump in with both feet?

Just for fun!

Here's a meme within a meme from Atomic Zebra's blog.

Instructions:
1. Open your music library (iTunes, winamp, media player, iPod, whatever) [I made an empty playlist in Windows Media Player, then drug the entire "My Music" folder into it.}
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question below, type the song that’s playing
5. New question — press the next button
6. Don’t lie and try to pretend you’re cool

* Opening credits: Last of the Mohicans Theme song...OMG I LOVE that music!!!!! I recently added it to my library for writing. It sounds so Celtic, and evokes such strong emotion.

* Waking up: Somewhere in Time Theme song...That is the absolute BEST romantic movie! If you haven't seen it, you MUST! I cry every time I see it...a lot! It is the one time that I can tell you that a movie was better than the book.

* First day at school:Louie Louie by The Kingsmen! How appropriate for the first day of school! I burned a CD for my oldest daughter's 6th grade graduation (moving on to Jr High...had to have a PARTY) celebration to play during their "beach party/cook-out" at school....you should have seen the teachers (some younger than I am) dancing and acting silly when I played this song!

* Falling in love: Love Song by Sara Bareilles...NOW that's funny! This is also one of my daughter's songs...a bit too pop/teeny bopper for me, but the title made me laugh when it started on this category!

* Breaking up: Look Me in the Eyes by the Jonas Brothers...I SWEAR I DON'T LISTEN TO THEM! How horribly embarrassing, this started out so well, and has now taken a turn to the absurd! (okay, as I listen, it's really not THAT bad)

* Prom: Broken by Chris Daughtry (on American Idol)... I was certainly BROKE after my proms, I had to have this ridiculously expensive full sequins dress my senior year.

* Life’s okay: The Pretender by Foo Fighters...pretending life's okay your first thought? NOT me...my first thought was, hmmm Bonnie Prince Charlie, he was called The Pretender (to the throne)...Scottish history...always right there on the surface begging to come out!

* Mental breakdown: Don't Talk to Strangers by Rick Springfield...Okay, I'll admit to this one, when I was about 13, HE WAS HOT (okay, so I'm sure I used the word CUTE back then)! Here's a bit of Rick Springfield trivia...He was in the first 15 minutes of the MOVIE Battlestar Galactica. He played Zack, Commander Adama's son, and Apollo's brother, then Cylons killed him...shot his rocket ship thingy! It was SAD for me back then!

* Driving: *sigh* Caruso by Josh Groban, he sings it in Italian...OMG, I LOVE him!!! His voice is like BUTTAH! I write while listening to Josh Groban often.

* Flashback: Just a Girl by No Doubt...hmmm a flashback called "I'm Just a Girl"...I supposed it could work, I'm certainly past the stage of anyone calling me a "little girl".

* Getting back together: Wake Me Up by Evanescence...GOOOOD song!

* Wedding: HAHAHAHA Nobody's Fool by Cinderella! I'm not even gonna go there with this one, other than to say that when you have a good man, you hang on to him!

* Birth of child: The Dance by Garth Brooks...If you listen to the words, it makes me sad thinking some day my kids will leave me (okay, so I actually PRAY for that day, but I'm sure it'll be bittersweet).

* Final battle: Oh Come All Ye Faithful by Josh Groban...I was hoping for something a bit more PUNCHY for my final battle scene...seems a tad wussy!

* Death scene: Back for More by RATT...Back for more death? WTF?!?! Why couldn't I gotten this one for my final battle? UGH! Good song though!

* End credits: I'm Going Home by Daughtry...I guess for ending credits, American Idol certainly had something with this song, huh?

This was time consuming, but really fun. Thanks Skeeter for the idea!

:) Terri