My birthday is coming up in about 6 weeks No big deal at my age. However, it is the billing cycle for my Mensa membership, also.
I joined Mensa in 1978, and my acceptance is one of the memories of that year that are most vivid. Although I qualified through previous testing (in Jr. High School), I could not get the test results to send in. So I took the proctored test — driving 2.5 hours from small town Kansas to the big city of Wichita.
When the results came in the mail, I was surprised. Not that I thought I did bad on the tests, but the usual self-doubts we all feel at various points in our lives.
My father, not the most supportive person in the world, was there when I opened the letter. I didn’t exactly do handstands, but I exclaimed something like, “Wow, I made it.”
Dad looked over at me and said, “Did they send you a membrership card?”
Puzzled, I answered in the affirmative.
“Let me see it,” he said, as if wanting proof I wasn’t lying. And yes, that is how he treated me, even at age 22.
After he glanced at the card, he said, “Well – that and a dime will get you a cup of coffee.” and handed it back to me.
And yes — a cup of coffee was only a dime at many places in 1978 rural Kansas.
Back then, membership was $20 per year. They also offered a package — $200 for a Lifetime Membership! Had I the financial resources then, I would have taken it. But that was a week’s salary for me and I lived paycheck-to-paycheck.
Today I bought a 5 year package that cost half again as much as that Lifetime Membership, but I don’t regret the money I’ve spent on Mensa Membership over my 42 years of participation.
Mensa was my entire social life for many years, and I gave back by serving in various capacities — LocSec, newsletter editor, program chairman … and helped in other activities. I met a lot of great people that played a great role in my life. I dated some of them, even, and have fond memories still.
But I am sure I will remain a lifetime member even if I have to pay for it year-by-year. Mensa has been an important part of my life — it has given me purpose and cemented a part of my identity.