Red flag warnings in Eugene – Time for another edition of Weird Nerdy Kid Stories while I pack my go-bag and prepare to evacuate the author cats with my landlord. In 8th grade, I discovered a new talent that would go on to drive my academic experience for years to come. If you’re a Gen X or Baby Boomer kid, you knew the best day of the week after chicken nuggets day:

Movie time!

That’s right, put away the books and watch the teacher slip away to the lounge for a cigarette and a cup of coffee. It’s time for a teachable moment courtesy your friendly neighborhood 16mm Bell & Howell movie projector. I know you know what I’m talking about – many of these short films have been re-visited on Mystery Science Theater 3000 – here’s one of them:

That’s not really the point – the point of the story is ‘who were the people who actually knew how to make the movies work?’ That’s where this story begins – settle down, kids and then we’ll begin:

Being the A/V geek meant you were sent out to the library to grab either a TV/VCR cart or a projector and a movie. Sometimes the teacher had a specific film they wanted, other times you got to pick. Naturally, you picked the LONGEST film you could find because who wanted to watch movies for ONLY half the period? Bigger film platters meant longer films.

Into the back room of the library, opposite the school kitchen, that smelled of tater tots and stale milk. Back to the room with a projector to thread the film through the pickup and into the takeup reel. ‘How do you know how to do that?’ they’d whisper. ‘Dunno, it’s not that hard,’ you’d smile – feeling like you belonged, like you mattered, for the first time in your life.

Then it was time to watch the movie. Remember how the teacher liked to slip out for a smoke? Normally, we wouldn’t care. Except this time was different. Me and another A/V kid – Roddy – were hanging out in the back while the biology class watched ‘how to dissect a frog’ or something. Then somebody tugged on my sleeve.

“Max fell down,” this tiny Asian girl whispered, thick glasses and center-parted hair.

“So, tell him to get up.”

“No, like … he’s shaking. Something’s wrong.”

Roddy and I looked over. There was a seventh grader down between the desks, vibrating? Was he pulling a prank? Was he trying to break dance? What was going on? Then somebody whispered ‘seizure.’

Oh, snap. It was the first time I’d seen someone experience a seizure. None of us knew what to do. I froze there, panicked, in the middle of the floor.

Let me tell you something about Roddy. He wasn’t just an A/V geek; he was on his way to becoming an Eagle Scout, and that meant he had some basic first aid training. “Get a backpack under his head,” he ordered. Then Roddy pointed to one of the kids at the front of the room. “Go down to the office, tell them Max had a seizure and to come quick.” Max was fine, but that wasn’t the end of the story.

What was weird was, no one ever talked about what happened. I mean, we all thought Roddy was a hero. Aren’t they supposed to give the kid an award or put his picture in the newspaper? Nothing ever came of it. Max came back the next day, life went on. The teachers acted like it was just another Tuesday.

Looking back on it, I think the school was worried about lawsuits. Why was the teacher gone? Why were we in charge? No one wanted to admit to negligence, so all the adults were like ‘yup, thanks … where’s your homework?’ Roddy shrugged, already used to being ignored as part of the A/V geek life. We never talked about it again.

One thing I’m grateful for, watching the kids of 2025 navigate videos and technology. No more TV/VCR combo setups on trolleys, no more film strips, and no more negligent teachers. I just miss those days, and to some extent, I think today’s kids are a little poorer for that experience.

Yes, I was a weird, nerdy kid and yes, I was one of the A/V geeks. These are some of my stories. Don’t look at me like that. At least I don’t have a sexist dog.

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