Indiana Jones Made Me Who I Am Today

A man in a fedora traipses through the jungle, being led by a native guide. Unsure of what they are searching for your eyes follow as they trek ahead. One of the men screams; another runs away. They are at their intended destination, a wide open cave. In your gut you know that there is something sinister lurking in the darkness, you plead with the handsome man; you don't want him to enter. There is danger, but he doesn't listen to you, he is oblivious to your cries and his plight.

He rushes head long into the cave, crosses a gaping crack in the floor, and enters a large cavernous room. In the center of the room is a golden figure. It smiles knowingly, but keeps its secret behind voided eyes. The man in the fedora presses forward, revealing a bag of sand. Carefully, he measures the bag's weight and eyes the idol statue. You see confidence and sweat roll off of his body as he lifts the idol from its perch. He quickly replaces the idol with the bag of sand and turns. He thinks he is successful, but from your vantage point, you know he needs to run. A soundless scream pours from your throat as the room starts to shake. He runs, dodging falling objects...You are hooked, enraptured by the scene on the silver screen and you cannot turn away. No matter the man's fate your eyes are going to follow, you are sucked into his world, and you to, are searching for buried treasure, evading Nazis and falling in love.

I would be surprised, if you had never seen "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark." Most everyone who has ever seen a movie is at least vaguely familiar with Indiana Jones. I don't actually remember the day the movie was released, but I do know that my mother would never have taken me to see it. In fact, I was not allowed to watch this "scary" movie.

My uncle had sent a beta tape of "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark" to my granny during the time he was stationed in Germany. I still remember how I would beg to watch that movie, and how my parents refused. Then one day, they weren't there. They were outside. My dad played guitar during those days, and there was a large crowd gathered on the lawn. He was picking, and my mom was singing. I crept to the door, and watched for a few minutes. I was about to turn the knob and go sing with my parents when I glanced at the television. It was unguarded, and I had figured out how to work the movie player. It was in that instant that I decided I was going to watch Indiana Jones, no matter the consequences.

I placed the tape in the player, turned on the television and grabbed the afghan that my granny had made. I crawled into her orange recliner, wrapped the blanket around my small body, kicked my feet up and fell in love with Indiana Jones; it was a long time before I realized that Indiana Jones was a character played by Harrison Ford.

That movie made me want to be a different person, as I mentioned, my uncle was stationed in Germany and I was young. In some way, I related Indiana Jones' adventures to my uncle's life, after all he was half way around the world in a place I couldn't see, a place that had men record words onto magnetic tape so they could speak to you. (My uncle always made recordings for my gran, so she could hear his voice while he was away.)

There were two things I knew, Indiana Jones was real, thank God that he was saving us from the Nazis, and that in some way my uncle was doing something similar to Indiana Jones somewhere else in Germany. Honestly, I was a little worried about the Nazis, I was afraid that he might be in danger, but at 6'4 I thought my uncle could handle himself. After all Indiana Jones could.

I remember watching Indiana Jones ever time that my parents were away, but I didn't just love the incredible action that the movie is known for. I loved the historical references, the art, and the archeology. I began to read National Geographic magazine so I could read more about the fantastic places Indiana Jones had visited. I hungerly read through the pages of every art book, history book and archaeology book that I could find in the library. I was not only an Indiana Jones addict, I was going to grow up and be like him.

That movie shaped my life in so many ways, and really the best movies do have a huge impact on people. I grew up to be a woman who loves archaeology. I took several archaeology classes in college, and even designed a flyer to encourage other students to enter the archaeology field. My professor plastered that flyer all over campus.

I also fell in love with art and art history. I became a painter, creating my own worlds, my own images and interpreting my visions for others to see, and appreciate.

Then something else happened, I realized that the written word is a powerful tool, and I became a writer. I know firsthand how someone else's words shaped my life, and I wanted that power, too. I wanted to create, dream big and touch the stars through my own writings, as well as help other people to reach for their own dreams. Perhaps I will never reach someone the way Indiana Jones reached out to me, but I have a voice, a perspective uniquely mine, and one that is formed by my own experiences. It's funny to think that "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark" is partly responsible, at least in some small way, for the way that my life has turned out, but I swear it's true.

A few years ago, I had a dream come true. I had the opportunity to go hear Harrison Ford speak about "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" at a business meeting. The business meeting didn't start until 7:00 am, but I got my husband up at 4:00am. I wanted to make sure we could actually get seats. Not only did we get seats, but we sat about 10-feet from my childhood hero. The entire experience was amazing.

When the crowd was allowed to speak to Harrison Ford, many people thanked him for influencing their lives through his film work. There were so many people in the audience that studied history, archaeology and art because of his portrayal of Indiana Jones. I know this was a side effect of his movies that no one could have predicted when the films were released. I didn't work up the courage to speak to Harrison Ford, I had the opportunity, but seeing him was enough for me. For just a few moments I got to be a child again in the same room with my childhood hero. After all, I always knew Indiana Jones was real.