Star Wars
In the summer of 1977 I lived in the small town of Annawan. Annawan has had a fairly consistent population of 800 people or so for the last 50 years. It's a small town divided by a main street with railroad tracks running though the middle. We lived close to the main street.
I hated it there at first. When we moved from Kewanee at the end of the summer of 1976, I was very upset. Not only did I lose all the friends I had made during the last 2 and half years in Kewanee but I also lost my beloved dog Duke. At 12 years of age I found myself listening to the soundtrack ,"Snoopy Come Home" and imagining my dog coming around the block.
But by the end of that school year I had made a few new friends and even better, my best friend George would come visit and spend the night on a fairly regular basis. (Yet somehow forgetting to tell Mark this.) That summer I also discovered comics. I had always read them before, but somehow with the help of my new friend Tim I Really Discovered Them. Tim had what at the time passed for a great collection. During the course of that summer we made a deal. I would loan him a few Doc Savage books to read and in return I could read many of his comics. In order to get to his new house I had to ride my bike over newly asphalted railroad tracks. To this day when I smell hot asphalt I think of comics.
Also that summer my brother Geno worked at K-Mart. Sometime during May they had many bags of mini candy bars expire. Geno was asked to take them out and dump them. Of course Geno took the 20 or 30 bags of milky ways and Three Musketters to his car. The next night he took an equally large number home as well. Imagine my surprise when I opened the large freezer Mom had in the basement to get some hamburger to find a King's ransom in candy. Geno told me they were his and I couldn't have any. I of course showed Mom and Dad. Dad told Geno that anything in his house was his and therefore the candy bars were now his to be shared with the family. Geno was not happy.
Mom and Dad, Rose, John, myself and every friend we had were thrilled. It took us all summer to eat our way though that freezer. Of course by the end of it I could stand those types of candy bars and try never to eat them if I can.
My main hobby that summer (indeed the whole last year since we moved to Annawan) was building model ships. I had a vast fleet in my basement that consisted of American, German, and Japanese vessels from world war two. I even had a few English ships. (no French ships however.) Vast amounts of my time were spent in the basement eating candy bars and putting some final touches on my fleet.
Sometime in early June my Uncle Tim came over with his new girlfriend and said something that at the time amounted to treason to me.
"I saw that new Star Wars movie. It's better than Star Trek."
I looked at Tim with narrow eyes and said in a cold voice, "I don't like that kinda of talk around me."
Tim persisted. "No it really cool with al these space battles, and these bad guys in white armor called Stormtroopers who.."
I cut Tim off. "Stormtroopers are Nazi soldiers. Not some sort of space thing. There's no way it could be better than Star Trek. Star Trek had 79 episodes to get the characters right. This .....thing has only two." With that I went back upstairs to my room and read a comic book. All the while I remember thinking, "Tim's nuts."
So when a few weeks later Dad wanted to take me to see Star Wars I was a little unsure. I enjoyed my movie days with Dad greatly. But I wasn't sure if I wanted to see some stupid movie that people were saying was better than my favorite show. However I really didn't have a choice. Besides I always liked driving with Dad the 40 miles to the Showcase cinemas. So I grabbed a few Milky Way bars and jumped in Dad's red Mustang convertible and we drove off. It was a beautiful day. Clear blue skies, with just the right amount of coolness in the breeze.
I was still unsure what to think about this movie when it started. After the first two minutes I was hooked. First there was the dramatic way the title came on the screen. Then before I could catch my breath a star cruiser filled the screen chasing a smaller ship.
For the next two hours I was entranced. Even before it ended I was sure this was the single greatest two hours I had ever spent. When it ended I asked Dad if I could see it again. Dad looked at me like I was insane. (but to be honest he did that even if I asked for a glass of water) On the way home I kept reliving the movie over and over again in my head. When we stopped to get gas I saw the gas station was selling the comic book adaptation in a three pack bundle. I pleaded with Dad until he broke down and bought it for me. When we got home Dad asked me if I had a good time. I told him it was the greatest day in my life. (I again got a ,"he's insane", look from Dad)
That day was a seminal moment in my life. My love of fantasy was sealed. I began collecting comics in ernest. I still loved Star trek. But Star Wars was now my favorite. I spent many hours laying in the back yard staring up at the stars , and pretending I was Luke. In Darth Vader I had finally saw a screen character to whom I could compare my Father to. (Imagine my delight years later when I found out he was Luke's Father.)
What I didn't know, what I couldn't know was that my Dad had just planted the first of many seeds that would one day grow and help cause my divorce.
I hated it there at first. When we moved from Kewanee at the end of the summer of 1976, I was very upset. Not only did I lose all the friends I had made during the last 2 and half years in Kewanee but I also lost my beloved dog Duke. At 12 years of age I found myself listening to the soundtrack ,"Snoopy Come Home" and imagining my dog coming around the block.
But by the end of that school year I had made a few new friends and even better, my best friend George would come visit and spend the night on a fairly regular basis. (Yet somehow forgetting to tell Mark this.) That summer I also discovered comics. I had always read them before, but somehow with the help of my new friend Tim I Really Discovered Them. Tim had what at the time passed for a great collection. During the course of that summer we made a deal. I would loan him a few Doc Savage books to read and in return I could read many of his comics. In order to get to his new house I had to ride my bike over newly asphalted railroad tracks. To this day when I smell hot asphalt I think of comics.
Also that summer my brother Geno worked at K-Mart. Sometime during May they had many bags of mini candy bars expire. Geno was asked to take them out and dump them. Of course Geno took the 20 or 30 bags of milky ways and Three Musketters to his car. The next night he took an equally large number home as well. Imagine my surprise when I opened the large freezer Mom had in the basement to get some hamburger to find a King's ransom in candy. Geno told me they were his and I couldn't have any. I of course showed Mom and Dad. Dad told Geno that anything in his house was his and therefore the candy bars were now his to be shared with the family. Geno was not happy.
Mom and Dad, Rose, John, myself and every friend we had were thrilled. It took us all summer to eat our way though that freezer. Of course by the end of it I could stand those types of candy bars and try never to eat them if I can.
My main hobby that summer (indeed the whole last year since we moved to Annawan) was building model ships. I had a vast fleet in my basement that consisted of American, German, and Japanese vessels from world war two. I even had a few English ships. (no French ships however.) Vast amounts of my time were spent in the basement eating candy bars and putting some final touches on my fleet.
Sometime in early June my Uncle Tim came over with his new girlfriend and said something that at the time amounted to treason to me.
"I saw that new Star Wars movie. It's better than Star Trek."
I looked at Tim with narrow eyes and said in a cold voice, "I don't like that kinda of talk around me."
Tim persisted. "No it really cool with al these space battles, and these bad guys in white armor called Stormtroopers who.."
I cut Tim off. "Stormtroopers are Nazi soldiers. Not some sort of space thing. There's no way it could be better than Star Trek. Star Trek had 79 episodes to get the characters right. This .....thing has only two." With that I went back upstairs to my room and read a comic book. All the while I remember thinking, "Tim's nuts."
So when a few weeks later Dad wanted to take me to see Star Wars I was a little unsure. I enjoyed my movie days with Dad greatly. But I wasn't sure if I wanted to see some stupid movie that people were saying was better than my favorite show. However I really didn't have a choice. Besides I always liked driving with Dad the 40 miles to the Showcase cinemas. So I grabbed a few Milky Way bars and jumped in Dad's red Mustang convertible and we drove off. It was a beautiful day. Clear blue skies, with just the right amount of coolness in the breeze.
I was still unsure what to think about this movie when it started. After the first two minutes I was hooked. First there was the dramatic way the title came on the screen. Then before I could catch my breath a star cruiser filled the screen chasing a smaller ship.
For the next two hours I was entranced. Even before it ended I was sure this was the single greatest two hours I had ever spent. When it ended I asked Dad if I could see it again. Dad looked at me like I was insane. (but to be honest he did that even if I asked for a glass of water) On the way home I kept reliving the movie over and over again in my head. When we stopped to get gas I saw the gas station was selling the comic book adaptation in a three pack bundle. I pleaded with Dad until he broke down and bought it for me. When we got home Dad asked me if I had a good time. I told him it was the greatest day in my life. (I again got a ,"he's insane", look from Dad)
That day was a seminal moment in my life. My love of fantasy was sealed. I began collecting comics in ernest. I still loved Star trek. But Star Wars was now my favorite. I spent many hours laying in the back yard staring up at the stars , and pretending I was Luke. In Darth Vader I had finally saw a screen character to whom I could compare my Father to. (Imagine my delight years later when I found out he was Luke's Father.)
What I didn't know, what I couldn't know was that my Dad had just planted the first of many seeds that would one day grow and help cause my divorce.
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