A long time ago …

In a country far, far away I was a kid living on a military base, far from home, waiting for a special showing of the greatest movie I had ever see in my young life - Star Wars. I had already seen The Empire Strikes Back on video and I had actually seen Star Wars on video tape as well, but this was a special showing of Star Wars at the Armed Forces Theater many years after it was released in the states. This was Star Wars as it was meant to be seen… on a larger than life movie screen in surround sound.

I remember it was winter when they had the showing because there was snow on the ground. For months they had advertised this special showing. I had a flyer that was printed on yellow paper safely tucked in my trunk of treasures. In my trunk of treasures I had all my childhood things that were special to me including my coin collection, some old comic books my Uncle Luis gave me, and a lucky Silver Dollar coin my grandfather gave me as hugged me before we left the States. I remember being so excited about the whole experience from the time I saw the first yellow, photocopied flyer and begging my parents to take my brother and myself to see it. We had to see it even if it meant shoveling the snow from the front of our quarters, to going to school every single day, to being nice to each other and not fighting when my brother crossed the invisible line that separated his side from mine in the backseat.

It seemed like forever before the night arrived for this one night special showing, but it came and we were ready for it. My mom had decided to make it a day for my brother and myself. She took us to the Base Exchange where we were allowed to buy some of the brand new Star Wars figures they had brought in for the showing. My brother bought a Han Solo and Chewbacca and I got an R2-D2 and Darth Vader. The base exchange, the Armed Forces Theater and the NCO club were all clustered together so we parked in the middle and walked from one place to the other in the snow.

After going to the Base Exchange we went to the NCO Club and had an early dinner. I remember sitting by window watching as people began to line up at the theater for the movie and I was worried that we wouldn’t be able to make it into the theater. I was afraid the movie would sell out and I’d miss the one thing I’d looked forward to since I saw that yellow photocopied sheet of paper announcing the “Once in a Lifetime SPECIAL SCREENING of THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER” it was “the story of a boy, a girl and a universe.” My mom reassured me that we would get in and I deep inside I knew we would but even so, I worried. My brother ate his food slowly not worried at all - he was a more rational thinker and he knew we would get in. He knew we would get in because we had been going to the movies almost every weekend since we moved to the military base in Heidelberg Germany, so everyone who worked at the theater knew my brother and myself. The fact that my father had taken a part-time job at the theater was also a big plus.

I ate my food quickly and waited impatiently as my brother and mother finished their meal. I kept asking if they were finished every five minutes. The answer was always the same - almost. Finally, they finished and we began our walk through the slush of melting snow toward the theater. We walked right up to the door and were led in by my father’s friend “Mac” I don’t remember what his real name was all I know is that the entire time I knew him we called him “Mac.” He gave my brother a chocolate bar and I got some gummy bears as he led us into the empty theater. We found the best seats in the very center of the theater and sat there. It wasn’t long before more people started coming in. In just a few minutes the entire theater was filled with people, many wearing shirts with pictures of their favorite characters.

In the excitement of the whole experience I reached over and hugged my brother and he hugged me back. As soon as we realized what we were doing we both jumped back as if an electric shock had passed between us. The lights dimmed and we stood and placed our hands over our hearts for the Pledge of Allegiance. The curtain opened on the screen and the theater went dark. Everyone started cheering when the 20^th Century Fox logo came on the screen, but the crowd really went crazy when the blue letters faded on the screen:

“A long time ago in a galaxy far far away …”

I just sat there, quietly watching as the magic unfolded before my eyes on a larger than life screen.