Star Wars Memories

I was reading a couple of blog entries elseblog that got me thinking about Star Wars in a very nostalgic way. I have no memory of seeing the first movie in the theaters, though I reasoned that I must have since when I saw Empire and Jedi, both of which I have vague memories of seeing in the theater, I knew the characters and was cognizant of what had happened to set up the action in those two films. My first memory of Star Wars is waking up in my parent’s bed, and there, on the bedside table, were all of the action figures from the movie. That is it. I don’t remember my reaction or anything else, just that they were there, staring at me, ready to be played with.

My dad had been out of town when the movie came out and it was his custom to pick up something for me while he was gone. (At least it was before my brother and sister came along and ruined that gig. Thanks guys.) I am not sure where he went to get them, or even if he intended to get them for me when he went shopping, but I know that he caught the guy stocking the shelves and ended up digging through the box so he could get the complete set for me.

According to my mom I went to see Star Wars at least three times. She took me while my dad was out of town, and I managed to ruin that by having to go to the bathroom right at the end of the movie (I do not know if this happened before or after I gave in to my inner rock star and peed on the Smithsonian or not) therefore she had to take me to see it a second time. Then when my dad returned from his trip he had to take me to go see it so he had an excuse to be in the theater. You know, now that I think about it, my dad used me as an excuse for a lot of things. For example, as a child he always wanted a big red fire truck, and therefore when he had a kid he went out and bought me a big red fire truck. Huh. If I had a therapist they could have all sorts of fun with this line of thinking.

Anyway, I got thinking about this back during the pre-Episode I hype and asked my dad to go to see Episode I with me on opening night in the hopes that we could share something that linked back to one of the few happy moments I remember sharing with my dad when I was young. Sadly, but understandably, he declined to go with me. Even though we did not make a new Star Wars memory that night nothing can take that morning in Virginia away from me. Thanks dad.