I love science fiction. I have since childhood... third grade, I believe. My oldest sister came home from visiting our dad in Florida with a copy of Robert Heinlein's "The Star Beast" and tried to get my other older sister to read it. She wouldn't. I would (then my other sister read it just to keep up).

I was hooked.

It didn't take long to find that some people consider loving scifi a little, or even a lot, strange. I've talked to people who just don't understand science fiction at all, or picture it to be like the stuff printed in the old pulps; you know, all blasters and bug eyed monsters, mad scientists and beautiful daughters.

And then there are the people who flat out disapprove of it. How dare anyone speculate on such a level! My inlaws think my husband and I need to clean out our selection of scifi and just read the standard bestsellers, or better yet, nonfiction! Yawn! Just not my style.

I see nothing wrong with enjoying being a scifi fan. If you're reading this, you probably don't either.

It's fun seeing science fiction hit more and more of the mainstream. You see it on television. You see it in top movies. You see it on the bestseller lists.

And yet to many there's still that stigma. Being a geek is more fashionable now, but it doesn't necessarily mean becoming popular. Loving science fiction to many is just plain weird.

Thank goodness there are so many of us who love the weirdness. Dressing up for conventions, waiting in long lines to see the movie the first night... in costume, no less, is just a part of the fun. It's to be embraced.

I love introducing people to science fiction. I've talked people into reading science fiction novels who were shocked that it included themes they love in whichever brand of fiction they already loved. To them, the idea that it could have a great storyline, romance, adventure, whatever, was truly astonishing.

Sharing your favorite science fiction television shows, movies and novels with people who think they have no interest in it is fun. I urge all of you to try it. Some will appreciate the experience and you might end up with a new friend to drag to conventions, or at least talk about favorite stories with.

Also make sure you share your favorites with your fellow fans. How else are they to hear about the great books, movies or television shows that somehow escaped their notice. How else are you going to drive the people who still don't understand loving science fiction utterly nuts?