"Lost" Fever

Guess what I will be watching tonight? The recap of last season's finale of "Lost"! I have been fascinated with "Lost" ever since I saw the first show. I'm afraid I have become one of those crazy "Lost" addicts. It's been three long months... and next week it's back!



Do you know "Lost"? Do you think it's silly, or do you love it? I was thinking about it this morning, trying to decide why I am so addicted to it. Usually, I don't even like made-up television shows that much. (I'm mostly a news hound.)

Then I started thinking about my dad. I wish he were still alive so I could know what he would think of this show. I think he would love it, too. My dad was a "geek" who loved math, science and computers. He died before computers were household items, but he had one in the basement and loved inventing games on it. For entertainment, he taught my sister and me little math games. Once he took me to work to show me his electron microscope and his spectrometer. He sparked an interest in science in me. Back then girls were not encouraged to study science... hard to believe now but it was true, and I was not enough of a rebel to defy convention.

In addition to hard science, he loved science fiction. He had a huge collection of science fiction paperbacks. One day my sister tried to count them all, but finally got tired and gave up. Whenever I was home from school on a sick day, I would spend the day reading science fiction. I think I inherited a love of science fiction and fantasy from him. Now I realize that he lived much of his life inside his own head. I do that too. I love to find authors who create other worlds that are fascinating and mysterious. I know that's why I love Tolkien so much. I have read "Lord of the Rings" three times.



"Lost" is very different from "Lord of the Rings" of course. But it evokes a similar response in me. It's mysterious and sparks the imagination. When my dad died, he left a mystery for the rest of us. The day of his funeral we went back to the house. In his bedroom, we found a little yellow Post-It on his dresser. On it he had written "Magic Number" and then a five-digit number. We have researched the possible meaning of this "magic number" but it remains a mystery. That reminds me of something that would happen on "Lost".

All "Lost" addicts have a favorite character. Guess who mine is? His picture is below... Daniel Faraday, the rumpled, seemingly absent-minded scientist, of course.