Happy Anniversary, Star Wars!

Wow! It's the 30-year anniversary of the release of Star Wars! I can still remember standing in line as a 13-year old in my hometown of Massena, New York, to go to the movie everybody was talking about. I wasn't too hyped-up about it - it didn't look too interesting to me, but, to this day, I don't think a movie has had the same lasting impact/impression as the first Star Wars movie (then know simply as "Star Wars," now know as "Episode IV: A New Hope"). I had such a crush on Mark Hamill - here's my favorite image of him from that movie.

A couple of years ago when, I think it was, the second of the new movies (prequels) came out, we were sitting in the theatre and the excitement was building - we've been a Star Wars family from way back - when my daughter turned to a total stranger (an older man, and seemingly as excited as we were) and said, "My mom married my dad because his name is Mark, just like Mark Hamill." Embarrassing, but probably true! Now that all the movies are in place, I can definitely say I like the "last" three (Episodes IV, V and VI) better than the "first" three (Episodes I, II, and III). What the earlier movies lacked in technology, they made up for in heart. And visa verse.

It must have been the 20th Anniversary when they re-released the first Star Wars back into the theatres with some updated/upgraded scenes. I remember the day vividly, the day must have been Cameron's 5th birthday, an amazing February day when it was 70 degrees in Western New York. My sister and her sons came from Watertown for the day, and Annalisse was probably just over 2 years old. It was her first movie in a theatre, and she thought she was there to see "The Wizard of Oz" (or: Wizza Wause, as she called it - she was hooked on that movie). Of course, once The Wizard of Oz did not appear on the screen she wanted nothing to do with the movie. Still, I was able to experience some of the magic again, for a little while!