Throwing Back To Holidays Past When I Was a Star Wars Geek (Prepping)

I remember two gifts my mother made me during the late 70s and early 80s, when the Star Wars movies first made an appearance at Penn Cann Mall. I was mesmerized by the Wookie, R2D2, Luke Sky Walker, and Hans Solo.

I remember my ceramic UFO with the R2D2 figuring, and also a brilliant R2D2 lamp painted and fired with love from my mother (meanwhile, she made the nativity set for my Aunt Bobbie, which I now possess, sans a rather crippled camel).

This weekend, in preparation for the grading fest and with anticipation to my nephew, Dylan's, holiday gift for screening The Last Jedi, which I am anxious to see (patience, patience, patience). TNT has been running a marathon of the films back to back from old school, to new school, filling in gaps of the storyline.

I went to bed last night thinking about the excitement of these times: playing with my figurines, loving my Death Star toys (especially the Trash Compacter monster), and using my imagination to tap the force. This memory, and the sequence of old and new movies --- Anakin Skywalker turns to Darth Vader, but fathers Luke and Leia (and her buns), who come back to bring harmony back to the galaxy, and I can't help but think about democracy, order, peace, evil, light forces, dark forces, strange creatures and the politics of "governing" the many. The metaphors are everywhere.

And I am thinking about the passing of knowledge from one generation to another and how 30+ years of this story has been carried forth by George Lucas, just in time to tease my middle-aged geekdom.

I believe in the force - the good energy - the one embraced by Ewoks and Porgs, alike - and am channeling my ceramic lights of yesteryear.

May the force be with all of us this season. The Great Whatever knows we need it!