Nostalgia Base: The First Time I Saw a Star Destroyer

Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons,

  I am on a Star Wars high lately. Star Wars Celebration has shattered my expectations as to what they would reveal thus far. Trailers, tributes, and new books and comics have had me so excited for what is to come. With that being said,  I wanted to sit down and reflect on the first time I ever saw a Star Wars film. 

   It was 1980, and I was eight years old. I had been a fan of Star Wars prior to that, but I had never had the chance to see A New Hope on the big screen. My love of Star Wars came from the toys, coloring books, read-along-books, and other merchandising. Finally Empire Strikes Back was released, and I was about to see this amazing new movie that all my friends and the world had been raving about. But we got to the theater late. We came in on the Battle of Hoth just as the AT-AT Walkers began to descend onto Echo Base.

  I was very sad that I had missed the beginning. I had no idea what was happening, but my mother said that if we listened to what is on the screen now, we could catch up. She got up after that and went over to a woman standing in the back of the theater, the owner. After the Battle of Hoth mom returned and told me we had permission to stay to see the opening. I was thrilled. I continued watching the film as the packed theater was filled with laughs, gasps, and the occasional hoots from the fans in their seats.

   Star Destroyers chased the Millennium Falcon through an asteroid field. We met Yoda. And then we arrived on Bespin and everything changed. Capture, torture, bounty hunters, a bald man with a computer on his head, and Lando Calrissian (who was apparently "sexy and smooth" according to my mother, whatever that meant). My kid brain was on overload as Luke Skywalker valiantly tried to defend himself against Darth Vader. My popcorn was gone, my drink was almost at the bottom, and my little bladder was getting full. 

  Then came those words: "No, I am your father." 

  The theater cried out. Gasps. Shock. One girl screamed. I miraculously had great bladder control. This was crazy. It could not be true.

  Then Luke fell to the bottom of Cloud City. Again the theater was in turmoil. Leia could hear Luke. Yoda had said there was another. Was Leia a Jedi, too? Can Han Solo still be saved? Will C-3PO be rebuilt? I needed to know. But the credits rolled and I was left with questions that would not be answered until a few years later. It was my first experience with the dreaded cliffhanger. I left for the bathroom.

  Thirty minutes later the theater was clean, and a new packed house arrived to see the film. This crowd was quieter than the first as the film began. As I caught up to where I had come in I prepared to leave, but my mother quieted me and said we could stay. The second crowd reacted even louder to the film as revelations began to be revealed. And once again the theater was in turmoil as Darth Vader dropped his bombshell. It was exhilarating hearing and seeing the reactions of the two different crowds. I was awash with excitement. I was a part of a group experience and everyone was feeling the same way I did. After we had left the theater my mother explained that she had paid for our second showing. She had seen how much I had enjoyed the film, and wanted me to experience it from start to finish.

  Of course Christmas that year was loaded with Star Wars toys, some from the Hoth scenes. I swear I never came in from playing in the snow when I had those toys. I even lost a Rebel Soldier in the snow and did not find him until Spring of 1981. When I received my AT-AT a year later, the snowy adventures continued. 

  Now I have seen The Force Awakens. And for the first time in many years I was treated to a packed house filled with people like me who loved Star Wars. I heard gasps, laughs, screams, and could feel the exhilarating energy wash over us all. Yes, the magic is back. And when I can feel like a kid again sitting in a dark theater packed with fans it is the best feeling. Yes, the prequels did have large crowds. But there was something about this new film that brought back my first experience with a galaxy far, far away.

  In the often boring and challenging life of an adult it is nice to sometimes feel like a kid again. It is nice to get lost in the screen, leave wanting more, and know that questions will be answered soon.

Have fun reading this week. Let me know in the comments below what you are reading.

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  Because there is always time to read,
   Xepherus3 

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