It snowed in Hershey, PA on February 19, 1977. I know because I’ve seen the photo a million times: a young couple celebrating their wedding reception just across the street from the factory that made all of the world’s Kisses. I think the building they held the reception in now holds offices and the factory is a museum attraction, but Brian and Andy are still at it.
Another important event happened in 1977. Star Wars first appeared in the theaters. For some, they’re geeky movies about spaceships. For me, they’re home. They’re sick days on an old brown couch with pretzels and Coke, and momma holding the bucket. They’re starting Return of the Jedi on side two of the disk (remember those?) because “Jabba is too scary.”
Luke’s hanging upside down in a cave, feet frozen to the ceiling, and uses the Force to move his lightsaber. I hang upside down from the jungle gym that Santa built in my backyard one Christmas. Just off camera, Brian and Andy are there to catch me if I fall.
I wonder if anyone knew what we were in for?
The first Star Wars movie to hit the theaters was called ‘Episode IV.’ I bet a lot of people wondered what they had wandered into the middle of (did we miss 1-3?). I also wonder if anyone knew all that Brian and Andy had in store?
I fell off of my bike and broke my arm. The pain medicine made me ill. Mom and dad set me up on the pull-out couch in the living room, and we played Super Star Wars on the Super Nintentdo.
‘Return of the Jedi’ came out the year before I was born. After that, no movies were made for 16 years. That’s a long time to wonder what happened in Episodes 1-3, let alone what happens next!! Yet I’ll never forget the time they re-released the originals and Mom and Dad took me to see them in the theater. “You’ve got to see it on the big screen!” They were right!
We sat on that swing set in Orlando and watched night launches of the Space Shuttle, dreaming of the future. Star Wars serves as a family event, and an inspiration.
One of my earliest creative memories was the time we tried to make a movie: The Termination of Endosh. Mom and Dad helped me type and edit the script on our 486 computer. We shot a ‘training scene’ in the swamp, made a robot sidekick for the main character, and used camera tricks to make it look like our spaceship was taking off (Ray Harryhausen, eat your heart out).
I’ll never forget my parents taking me to see the first new Star Wars movie of my lifetime. The excitement was tangible. It was also around the same time when we were living out of boxes in a rental house, mid-move. On their anniversary, Mom put on her wedding dress and Dad his suit. They re-enacted their wedding with my sister and I serving the roles of officiants, Maid of Honor, and Best Man.
We went to see each of Episodes 1-3 several times. Despite the opinion of the trolls, I loved every one of them. The movies were good, but for me they’ll always serve as hugs from the two people who were always there for me, every day of my life.
About a year after Episode 3 hit the theaters, I surprised my parents by bringing my girlfriend to the 30th Anniversary of that snowy day in Hershey. I knew she was officially part of the family when they were not only glad she was there, but said it wouldn’t have been the same if she hadn’t been.
We’ve been married 6 years now. I wore a Darth Vader shirt during the birth of our son (pure coincidence). We sat on our own old brown couches and watched the entire series during my paternity leave. The main character of the original trilogy is our son’s namesake, though my wife refuses to admit it 😉
(Little known fact: the words “Luke, I am your father,” are never spoken in a Star Wars film.)
Here we are. A decade after Episode 3, and Dad got to take the two of us to see another new Star Wars movie. Mom stayed home to watch our baby. I got misty during the opening crawl (the yellow words scrolling). So many family memories, and for me these movies are a trigger.
The sagas seem to be intertwined. We’ve been waiting 41 years to find out what happens to Luke and Leia and the gang. But I already know how the other story turns out (spoiler alert):
They lived happily ever after.
Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad. May the Force be with you!
