Lately, if I’m not in “Bannister World,” I’m in “Lannister World.” These are two new Worlds that I’ve discovered this past year. Bannister or Banister World is my suspected birth mother’s family, and a genealogical tree that I’ve constructed for my Jerry Lee Bannister birth name. (See Post #619). With her adamant denial of any connection to me, I have only been able to verify any relationship to the Banister family through DNA testing.

I spent several months entering data into my Ancestry.com tree, and described the tedious process as causing “Bannister Butt,” after sitting for hours at my computer researching family history. What started as a chart of mysterious names arranged in branches, has led to actually meeting two Banisters face-to-face, as well as other DNA relatives through phone calls and e-mails. Currently, I’m at a dead-end on my “tree trimming,” and needed another another retirement project. This is where I discovered “Lannister World.”

I’ve binge-watched numerous television series starting with Breaking Bad and Boardwalk Empire. This was before I had mornings and afternoons alone in retirement. I have my writing, collecting, friends, dogs, running, exercises, travel planning, organizing, reading, radio, home-improvement projects, poetry, phone apps, and computer games to keep me plenty busy. The TV is always on in the background tuned to sports, documentaries, shows, music, and must-see series. The one series that I had put-off for some time now was Game of Thrones (GOT) that started airing ten years ago. I remember work associates who were hooked on the show that now extends for 7-seasons, but I knew that with my addictive personality that I would fall for it too. To be quite honest though, I wasn’t sure if I was enough of a Geek to appreciate its fantastical plot. There are over 530 cast members involved in the production, so it can be a difficult story line to follow, keeping track of names and faces. There are seven families to learn: Stark, Lannister, Tully, Arryn, Baratheon, Tyrell, and Lannister. Viewers need a genealogical chart to understand all the relationships.

Rather than Game of Thrones, or GOT, I now call it “Lannister World,” because the name so closely resembles the Banister family that I’m also getting to know. I’m also developing “Lannister Butt” from the 100 or so hours it will take to finish. It’s an award-winning program, with many intriguing twists, but as difficult to comprehend as any college history course. I find myself frequently rewinding to understand some of the quick cuts, unique accents, and ever-changing locations. GOT is NOT something I can follow while multi-tasking and requires my full attention. In fact, I had to turn it off to finish this post. I’ve also watched Billionaire, Sneaky Pete, Tin Star, Big Little Lies, Bosch, The Deuce, Ozark, Westworld, and The Handmaid’s Tale, among others, but none of them require taking notes and studying like GOT. It took a trip to Croatia where it is filmed to get me to take the first-step to the Kingdom of Geek-dom. Now that I have, I’ll probably be in “Lannister World” the next two weeks if you need me.