  I just saw a free screening of the new quasi-independent release, Napoleon Dynamite . The show connected with and brought back many memories from a unique part of my adolescence; it took me back to my four years in Colorado.
From 1988-1992 I lived in Southern Colorado's San Luis Valley, a 60-mile wide valley home to the headwaters of the Rio Grande, numerous potato farms, the Great Sand Dunes National Monument, and the surrounding Sangre de Cristo and San Juan mountain ranges.
I lived in Colorado from my 4th through 7th grades, right at the height of Trapper-Keepers, Casio watches, and various 80's bands. I rode the bus to school. I wore space-shoe-looking snow boots. I rode my bike everywhere. My closest friend was an outcast from south of the border (Texas). I had crushes on girls who thought I was a geek. I was a geek, and I did not fit in. Oh, and I loved Ninjas. All of the above describe the life of Napoleon Dynamite, a social misfit living in rural Idaho with his Grandma and 30-year-old unemployed brother.
NApoleon struggles for accepptance, makes some new friends, and relives the late 80s/early 90s lingo perfectly ("You guys are retarded!"). Granted, my life was not exactly like Napoleon's, but it was eerily similar, and I can't help but think that if it hadn't been for a fortuitous return to Texas for my 8th grade and high school years, I very well could have turned out just like Napoleon.
Well, maybe I did, but I'll leave that for you to decide. There is a lot in Napoleon Dynamite for us Gen-Xers to identify with. (Mostly the Casio wrist watch and the ninjas). See the movie. It's funny, it will make you feel good, and it will take you back a few years. Napoleon Dynamite is probably coming to a theater near you very soon. (Check the urlLink web site for a list of free screening locations). 
