Greg Partines can recall every “Big Bang Theory” episode by memory.
“I think my favorite is episode six, in season six,” Partines said. “It has everything. Video games, Stephen Hawking and love. It is the perfect episode of the perfect show.”
Partines is a self-described “megafan” of the show. He has “Big Bang”-themed bedsheets, dishware, wall hangings and even named his pet tarantula after Penny, a character on the show.
“I glued a small picture of Penny’s face to the back of my tarantula,” he said. “I love the ‘Big Bang Theory.’”
So when Partines, of Boise, Idaho, heard about the Sheldon Museum, located on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus, he packed his things and headed out for his “pilgrimage” the next day.
“I called my boss at Best Buy and told them the Geek Squad would be a man lighter for a few days,” Partines said. “With my tarantula on my shoulder, I hit the open road.”
Within the day, however, the Sheldon’s offerings disappointed Partines. He recalled walking out “furious about being deceived” by the museum, which contained no mention of Sheldon Cooper, a character from the “Big Bang Theory.”
“Why would they call it that,” Partines asked. “Who is the biggest Sheldon in the world? It’s my Sheldon. It’s everyone’s Sheldon. It’s the Sheldon that deserves to have a museum dedicated to him, instead of the dreck hanging in that godforsaken house of mirrors.”
Partines said that the lack of art dedicated to the “Big Bang Theory” as he walked into the museum didn’t throw him off, adding that he assumed they were hiding it in a back room.
“I kept walking through the museum, looking at paintings and photographs that had no right parading themselves as they did,” Partines said. “They’re not Sheldon. They’re nothing. Just drool falling from the mouths of neanderthals as they scrape rocks along their cave walls.”
Partines said the drive back to Boise was the hardest part of the trip.
“I didn’t speak to Penny the entire time,” he said. “We just sat in silence. No music or anything. I hated everything in that moment. My mom kept calling me and I kept ignoring it. Midway through the night, I made a stop near the outskirts of Denver. I stood there, staring at the stars, and thought about how generations of men have disappeared, and how an earthly existence can only leave us bitter.”
Partines said he took off the next week from work, electing instead to rewatch the entirety of his favorite show.
“And like that, everything was better,” he said. “Those hours of watching Penny, Sheldon and the crew live their lives hit me like a thunderbolt. I had hope again.”
When reached for comment, the Sheldon Museum staff told the Dailyer to leave them alone.
