MV Tetris 98

A friend of mine came across my senior picture. Thus, the image above.

Braces. Poofy hair. Clean-shaven. Sparkling eyes. A black tie. There is so much life ahead of young Sam Tanner, circa 1998.

I’m not sure why this picture is black and white. We had color photographs in the late 90’s.

Do you know what we didn’t have in the late 90’s? iPhones. Look at the distrinct sparkle in my eyes. This is an image of a young man whose mind hasn’t been infected by staring into screens.

Who am I kidding? I had a computer in my bedroom. And a Nintendo 64. No, I didn’t have an iPhone. But I did have the internet, a big blocky monitor, and an enormous television. There were plenty of screens to get lost in. And got lost I did.

***

I’m loathe to share what I’m about to share. But, here in 2026, I’m committed to transparency. Honesty beyond anything else, because love requires honesty.

In 1998, seniors at Mounds View High School were given the opportunity to share where they were going to college in the yearbook. We were also given a limited number of characters to offer a farewell. Twitter before Twitter. My friend sent me a picture of my yearbook Tweet before Twitter after sending me the picture above. It hasn’t aged well. Here it is:

The blurb above requires some explanation.

MV Tetris 98: 43963. This was my high score on the Tetris game many of us played on our TI-85 calculators. I led the league. Well, the school. On the second day of Calculus, the teacher approached my desk where I was playing Tetris.

“Maybe this isn’t the right class for you,” he said.

Maybe it wasn’t. I walked down to the counselor’s office, dropped the class, and TA’d for my German teacher. I played a lot of Tetris at her desk.

What a Pimp. This is the most unfortunate part of my message. I suspect I was making fun of the fact that I wasn’t what the kids at Mounds View in the late 90’s might have referred to as a pimp. The gendered and racial aspects of this phrase were lost on me at the time. They aren’t anymore. I wasn’t a ladies man, by the way. Lay-days man. I was devoted to my high school girlfriend. Poor thing. Ultimately, this was a sarcastic and poorly phrased message.

Popularity was hard but I did it. This line is still funny.

I like cookies. A timeless truth. Who doesn’t like cookies?

What a strange message to receive from myself through my friend on my iPhone over twenty-five years later.

***

I didn’t play sports in high school. I wasn’t a popular, lay-days man. But I was still there. Playing Tetris. Claiming space. Liking cookies. My sarcasm is a defense mechanism, sure. But it is also a way for me to name some things. It doesn’t matter if I play sports, if I’m popular, or if I’m surrounded by adoring girls. I’m still worth something. And I like cookies and so do you.

Such a funny, strange little message. So funny to see my senior picture again. To wonder what that Sam would have made of the Sam writing this sentence.

I still like cookies. I’m still good at Tetris. I don’t care if people think I’m popular. I want to be love and be loved, but I’m not insecure about it. I still write sarcastic sentences, but I’m less defensive. I’m more honest, I think. I hope I keep becoming more honest. I hope I keep becoming more loving.

Oh, and one more thing. Adam Templeton was a great kid. His message is much better than mine. Keep it cool. Peace and love and honesty forever.