#Yearof50. Entry 4: In a galaxy far, far away...

Without a doubt, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg were largely responsible for the architecture of my childhood imagination. So when LEGO Space came along, it was a match made in, well, outer space.

This scene is yours truly with one of the original classic sets. It was either me in my bedroom with my LEGO, or you could find me running through the tall ferns of the forest pretending it was the moon of Endor. The sands of shoreline by our home was Tatooine. The marsh in front was Dagoba.

As I grew older, I realized that the best sci fi is not really about space and aliens, but rather about us very messy and especially complicated humans on Earth. My imagination was always a constant companion as a child. I have tried to nurture it and to dream up better worlds.