To: Luke
From: Owen
Re: The Weekend is Made for Comic-Con
This week is pretty special in my family. Dad's birthday is July 20, an easy one to remember, as he watched Apollo 11 reach the moon on a black and white TV on his 20th birthday, knowing the world would never be the same again. A year and five days later he married Mom, on the first Saturday after his 21st birthday, when they could do it officially and for themselves and with no one else's approval or consent.
Mom was a sorority girl at UNC in 1968 when she strolled into The Daily Tar Heel offices, looking for a gig. Dad was the lecherous managing editor who "interviewed" her, said he liked "women who knew how to use big words," and hired her. Wayne Herder was the editor-in-chief who vowed to fire both their asses if Dad wouldn't stop looking up Mom's skirt while a live edition was on the floor.
We routinely sentimentalize dates like birthdays; there are paper hats and cake and candles and any number of poignant motifs. But for me, the day that has the most to do with my existence, and my brother's, and the 35 years of memories I am blessed to have, is when Mom and Dad got hitched in Washington D.C., 39 years ago Saturday. Since then the family has lived in different houses and across different states, done different jobs and led different lives. I'm not sure that where we are, right now - what we do and how we get by and whatever we can hope for - is anything we ever imagined. I do know the last remaining permanence in my life, from the first day of it, is their marriage.
Evie Stevenson and Rebel Good are today 60 years old. But whenever I think of them together, I always imagine them as college sweethearts. Young forever. Kids, really.
Some highlights while you were out:
Booth Babe Hauls Off on Dante's Fiasco
Marvel Super Hero Sackboys Coming To LittleBigPlanet
Insert Kopeks to Enjoy This Goat-Carcass Polo Game
Comic-Con Cosplay Stories
A Visit To Flynn's Arcade, The Home of Tron
Wii Sports Resort Review: More Motion in the Ocean
Valve's User Forum Foreshadowed "Spitter" Months Ago
EA Apologizes for 'Sin to Win' Booth Babe Promo
Confused about commenting on Kotaku? Read our FAQ.