|
|
|
May 25, 2007 |
|
INTRODUCTION I wanted to reflect about what has transpired over the last thirty years, and how Star Wars is such a huge part of my life. Growing up with Star Wars in my life was a constant occurrence when I was a kid, and obviously even more so now as an adult. I'm going to go back in time, back to those specials occasions when I received Star Wars toys as gifts. I'll mention how I saw Star Wars more times as a kid then as an adult, thanks to the invention of cable television. And lastly, anything else relating to how Star Wars has affected my life will be discussed. I hope you enjoy this article as much as I do. FIRST
TIME SEEING IT STAR WARS
ON CABLE Each morning I would wake up around 5:00 AM, so I could watch the entire film before heading off to school. As soon as I got home from school, I watched it at least one more time that evening. I couldn't get enough of it. My parents got sick of me seeing it so often, but they thought it wasn't a bad movie for a young boy to watch so it wasn't much of a concern to them. If I had to take a guess, I probably watched Star Wars on cable about ten times a week. I haven't seen any other Star Wars film as many times remotely close to this one.
HOLIDAYS
AND STAR WARS PLAYING
WITH THE TOYS RETURN OF
THE JEDI... THE END? STAR WARS
HIBERNATION So why was Star Wars out of my life throughout all these years? Well, there was high school and college going on, so I had “grown up” I guess you could say, and then after college I started working over forty hours a week. Back in those days, I can honestly say that I wasn't addicted to Star Wars. I had the original three films all on tape, and sure I watched them every now and then but that was just about it. Then the year 1999 came and I haven't looked back since. 1999 WAS
A GOOD YEAR FOR US ALL When I heard George Lucas was going
to be making three new Star Wars films, I almost couldn't believe
it. I thought it was a hoax that was read on some stupid joke site
on the Internet, but I sure was wrong. I think I first heard about
it from my mom, who called me up and said she had just heard about
it on the news. I initially didn't believe my mom, mainly because
she isn't a huge fan of Star Wars and I thought she got it mixed up
with some other science fiction movie. I'm sure glad she was right,
because it was a day come true for all Star Wars fans!
501ST
LEGION / MIDWEST GARRISON
My armor is my most prized possession in my collection, and I wouldn't give it up for anything. SUMMARY
|
Growing
up as a child, I can easily say that I have lived quite a good life.
Back in those days my parents didn't have a whole lot of money, but
they made sure my brother and I had the best childhoods we could
possibly have. They threw the best children's birthday parties a kid
could ever dream of having, Santa was always good to us on Christmas
by filling our Christmas stockings and piling present after present
under the Christmas tree. The Easter Bunny always showed up with
great gifts like chocolate, and presents were hidden throughout the
house for us to open up and play with. Most of those toys throughout
these special occasions consisted of the same theme... Star Wars!
Back
in the late 1970s and early 1980s, most of my friends and I didn't
go out to see movies. Going to see a movie was expensive for my
parents, but every now and then they would treat me (and eventually
my brother when he came along four years later) to a movie. Most of
those times we would go to the cheap theaters, after the film had
already been out for a month or more. But when Star Wars came out
they took me to see it right away, and from what I can remember it
was a great time. The only thing I can't remember was exactly where
I saw it, but I think I had seen it either at a regular movie
theater or at the drive-in. Whichever way it was, it was the
defining moment that completely changed my life. Looking back, it's
one of those special moments between a young boy and his parents,
thanks to a little magic from George Lucas.
It's
hard to imagine life without cable television, but when it first
came out in the early 1980s there weren't a whole lot of channels to
surf. There were around thirty or so, with a few that were
movie-only channels. There was even a music channel (MTV) that
played nothing but music all day long (that was truly a long time
ago in a galaxy far, far away). Thanks to this wonderful new
invention, I was able to watch the original Star Wars film as often
as I wanted. The one channel out of those thirty that mattered most
to me was HBO, as they were playing Star Wars every day, sometimes
on an hourly basis.
Every
single time I saw the movie title appear on the screen, the
adrenaline in my body started pumping. Seeing that Imperial Star
Destroyer chasing after the Tantive IV over Tatooine, was easily the
most exciting opening scene in any film ever made. Then seconds
later Darth Vader and his Imperial stormtroopers start cutting down
the Tantive IV's main door, and then it really starts getting good!
By the time Star Wars ended its cable run, I had the opening crawl
memorized. I can't remember exactly how long Star Wars was aired on
HBO in cable TV's first year, but I know it was on much longer than
any other film they aired.
The
last Star Wars movie was Return of the Jedi, and I can clearly
remember George Lucas saying he would never make another Star Wars
film ever again. I'm sure I wasn't the only kid to be totally
heartbroken, knowing I would never see another episode involving the
Star Wars universe. I was not only sad but I was also pissed. I
remember walking out of the theater saying to my parents and
brother, “I guess this is it. The last Star Wars movie we'll ever
see.” My brother and I were pretty depressed.
I
was standing near our Sandtroopers.com booth that was setup just
outside the conferencing area, when Chris Spice asked me to give him
a hand grabbing some boxes to put more stuff on our tables. I
thought, “Sure, no problem.” So I grabbed this one box, opened it
up, and inside were lots of white pieces of plastic. I stopped dead
in my tracks, and then I realized just what was sitting in that box.
It was stormtrooper armor! I couldn't believe it, but along with the
armor was a note from my wife. It basically told me to enjoy the
armor as our five-year wedding anniversary gift, and ever since then
I have.
Since
November 2004, I have participated in more than forty different
501st related events. Some of the events include birthday parties
for kids (and even a 40-year-old!), book releases, parades, toy
shows and conventions. Most importantly, the proudest reason why I
suit up in my armor is knowing that the 501st Legion raises so much
money for charitable causes, and it's also a great feeling seeing
all the smiles on people's faces when they see a bunch of Star Wars
characters in person.