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By James Gardner

Clark County Public Library

Who do you picture when you think of the 38th governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger, an American icon celebrating his birthday on July 30th?

Do you picture the sword-swinging barbarian Conan from the films “Conan the Barbarian” and “Conan the Destroyer” (Both can be found under the call number DVD SciFi/Fantasy CONA)? Do you remember what Conan finds best in life? You might be picturing Arnold as Conan, his face stern as he sits cross-legged and recites that fairly famous quote about crushing enemies, even if that quote is not as memorable as Darth Vader’s “I am your father” (According to IMDB, Conan thinks that what is best in life “to crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women”).

Perhaps you remember Arnold as the T-800 robot in the movie “The Terminator”(DVD SciFi/Fantasy TERM)? You might be picturing Arnold with half his face being a metal skull since he is a machine covered by a layer of living tissue? Or you might just be thinking of him wearing shades that cover his cybernetics as he looks into the camera and delivers the line “I’ll be back.” 

For me, when I think of Arnold, my mind goes to the South American jungle where Arnold is wearing camo paint on his face, staring off into the distance like he hears a noise in the undergrowth or sees what could be a trick of the sunlight or something actually moving in the trees. Even as he’s vigilant, however, his image on the video cassette box is standing in the middle of crosshairs, marking him as the prey in the movie “Predator”(DVD Action PRED).

I remember watching Predator with my brother on videocassette, seeing heat signatures through the eyes of the Predator, realizing that what I’d gotten wasn’t a straight-up action film. It had machine guns blazing, explosions everywhere and several examples of one liners that could only happen in an action movie. (Arnold tells a guy to “stick around” after hitting him with a thrown knife that looked as long as Arnold’s forearm). 

Then I saw the true antagonist of the movie, the Predator. I’d look through the creature’s eyes as it watched Arnold and his fellow commandos with infrared vision that rendered everything in angry reds and oranges. I watched as, like Jason Voorhees or Freddy Krueger, he eliminated Arnold’s soldiers until it was just the creature and Arnold. Honestly, I remember “Predator” so fondly because it was one of my gateway films into horror, my favorite genre.  

But perhaps there are others who remember Arnold as a twin in the comedy “Twins” (DVD Comedy TWIN) or as a workaholic father who wanted to buy his kid that one great Christmas gift in the holiday comedy “Jingle All the Way” (DVD Comedy JING). An over six foot bodybuilder doesn’t seem like the kind of guy that could be an everyman, but Arnold has evolved both as an actor and as a person (as I understand, “evolving as a person” is a supposed side effect of getting older). Arnold might have been a big part of my pop culture diet, but on the cusp of 77, he’s becoming a role model for what it means to be older and to be comfortable in your skin. He might not be the massive slab of muscle that he was in his youth, but I happen to think that he has only grown stronger because of his life experience. Accumulating life experience is something we can all aspire to, even if we never visit a gym.

We also have some library programs that can help you grow and find out what is truly best in life: 

• On Wednesday, July 31, at 2 p.m., the Kentucky Picture Show presents a comedy from 1959 starring Cary Grant and Tony Curtis. During World War II, a commander (Grant) finds himself stuck with a decrepit (and pink) submarine, a con man executive officer (Curtis), and a group of army nurses. Popcorn and snacks provided. 
• On Thursday, August 1, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., the library will be having Adult Storytime. Sit, enjoy some snacks, have some fun, and listen to some classic and contemporary stories being read aloud. Feel free to bring your favorite short story to read and share with others. Napping is not allowed because you won’t be able to get to sleep later.
• On Sunday, August 4, at 2 p.m., come to the library for Adult Crafternoon! We provide a variety of craft supplies including paint, hot glue guns, embroidery floss, stamps and more.