This is the one I’ve been waiting for. It’s been a long 19 years and finally, Indiana Jones comes out this week. While Back to the Future remains my favorite movie, Indiana Jones — the 3 movies together — have always been my favorite trilogy. Visiting the Indy ride at Disneyland last December was the right kind of teaser for me. I can’t wait until our company outing this Friday to see it.

Even those that know me very well, those that understand my continuing aspirations to be a film maker, may not know the following about my appreciation for the Indiana Jones movies…

– At 12 years old, inspired by the Indiana Jones movies, I wrote/produced/directed an Indiana Jones movie in my backyard using a VHS-C camera and a bunch of G.I.Joe figures and vehicles. For the ‘temple’, I used the castle Grayskull from He-man. It was awesome! Unfortunately, the little video is as lost as the grail itself.

– When I traveled to Europe in 1998, my hotel in Venice was nextdoor to the library where Indy found the ‘first marker’ in the knight’s tomb. Truth is, I wasn’t even expecting to see any of the scenes in Venice when we booked the trip. It wasn’t until the 3rd day of our trip there that I happened upon the location and it was so thrilling.

– The very reason I ended up in Europe that summer was to make up some credits I lost when transferring from Colby-Sawyer (my first college) to BU, as a sophomore. My original plan for the summer was to intern at ILM (Industrial Light & Magic), the premiere special effects studio behind all of my favorite movies, including BTTF, Jurassic Park and, of course, Indiana Jones. I still have the internship information in the envelope as a memento.

– While I majored in Film & Television at BU’s College of Communication, I took almost all of my electives in the Archeology department. I actually came within 4 credits of earning a Minor in Archeology. Being a huge fan of all sciences, I found that Archeology represented aspects of every science. The courses I took included Ancient Egyptian, Syria-Palestinian, Greek-Roman and Underwater Archeology. To this day, I’ve kept almost all my books. Watching an Indiana Jones special this weekend on the History channel, my Ancient Egyptian Archeology teach, Professor Kathryn Bard, was interviewed. What a way to gear up for the movie ahead!

Finally, it’s Indy time! I’m not one to get annoyed by the over-hyping of a summer blockbuster movie. While I don’t understand the commercial link between Indiana Jones and AT&T, breakfast cereal, Burger King and others, I actually don’t mind it. It was a little weird to see a rack full of Indy-branded fedora hats in the grocery store, but in the end, it was kind of cool. I’m simply too excited for this movie.

It’s been a long time coming. You can probably see why…