TOPIC: 3 Years is a Lifetime!

May, 1983. I am a Corporal in the Marine Corps. My stint in the military has been another experience that shaped the man I became. I have managed to do well, earning a couple of meritorious promotions, and a Naval Achievement medal for innovating, and automating a previously outdated, and manual process. I have spent a lot of time over the past three years in field training with an artillery battalion, mostly in the 29 Palms area of the Mojave desert. I have seen live fire exercises that entailed ordnance from M-16A1 rifles, to 1,000lb bombs. I even met a female Marine while in training, and married her! A lot of change in three short years.

So, having just returned from a live-fire training exercise in the aforementioned desert, she and I reunite for the weekend, and make plans to go see the just released Return of The Jedi. I could tell that Star Wars was not really her cup of tea, but I was hoping that perhaps she had just not experienced it with someone who could spark enthusiasm for it. I felt a bit of trepidation as we went to the theater, because if she did not like it, it would not only screw up the experience for me, but would tell me something that I preferred not to know about her. That Star Wars might not be something we had in common, which was a pretty big deal in my world.

When the movie begins, as with the previous two, I am immediately drawn in and awestruck. Her reactions to what was happening were noticeably more subtle, and muted. That familiar refrain went off in my head..."I got a bad feeling about this!". It would have been comical in retrospect, if it had not turned out to be so correct. Feeling her lack of enthusiasm took me out of the experience in so many key moments that I was saddened by the end. I LOVED the movie, but I knew I would have to go back to see it again by myself to get full fanboy enjoyment out of it. I did this later that same weekend when she went off to do something with friends.

The 2nd viewing was exactly the experience I remembered from the first two movies. I was right there in the world I had come to love, feeling the triumph, and the exhilaration of every scene. I even shed a tear when Yoda died, and disappeared. When it was over, I was still feeling the "after glow" of the experience while I was headed home. However, there was a nagging thought running through my head by this point. What did it mean that I enjoyed my all-time favorite movie genre more without her, than with her? I had much to consider, but I felt like there was something to be learned from all of this.

As it turns out, I was right. Our differences about something so important to me, and the negative effect her attitude towards my fandom had on me were portents to an eventuality that ended in us going our separate ways not long afterward. No, that was not the cause of our break-up. It was just the first example of the fundamental differences between us that only became more obvious from that time forward. It was also the first time that my intuition told me something that turned out to absolutely true, and became something I learned to trust more as I got older.

So, while this Star Wars experience turned out to be a FAR different than the previous two, in the end my love for Star Wars was confirmed, and validated yet again, and taught me a valuable life lesson which I have embraced ever since. It could honestly be said that I grew up with Star Wars, and it became something of a litmus test for relationships that followed.

If this sounds like a sad story, take heart. While those events were not what I would have preferred, like so many things in life, they happened for a reason. I left the Marine Corps in 1984, and moved back to my home town. A couple of years later, I was working at a decent job (which laid the groundwork for the career that I am still working in), and met someone who would become my second wife. Next year, we will celebrate our 30th anniversary together, and one of the things that told me that she was the one...she loved Star Wars! Perhaps not as much as me, and she still calls me her Star Wars nerd. But, she will watch it with me, and ask serious questions about backstories of characters, and historical events. She watched Clone Wars with me, and still watches Rebels.

So, just as Star Wars told me that the first one was not THE one, it also told me that this one was!

Thank you for the story, Brax! It feels like I am reading a journal from a friend...

So glad you eventually met the CHOSEN ONE, the woman with whom you could share your passion for Star Wars with!

Looking forward to reading your next story!

A very emotional story you have, Brax. There is more to you than meets the eye, and your past has truly crafted you into the man-and the Jedi-you are today. I was kind of waiting to see if you had a story for Revenge of the Sith before I jumped in with a prolonged story of my own (that actually begins at the prequels), so I patiently await your next entries!

Thanks for the endorsement guys! I did not actually intend for these to turn into a cathartic expression, mixed in with my Star Wars experiences. However, as I was writing them, it turns out that the events surrounding each of the movies were also chapters in my life; the events of which, gave meaning to how I viewed the movies, and how Star Wars had an effect on those events.

When I jump into Episode I, by this time, I have kids! One of which is old enough to have already seen the Original Trilogy, and is very excited about seeing TPM.

Coming soon to a forum near you!

A life story as told by Star Wars. I hadn't expected these to be so powerful of stories, and written so well. Good job. I wonder what's in store for the Prequel Trilogy.

Brax, first off, Thank You for your service. I'm the son of a Naval Officer, aka"Navy BRAT". Here's my contribution to a 3 year saga. The summer of 1981 dad got orders, and we're off to Rota Spain. Excited for sure, but not ready to leave all my friends in the Philly area. ESB had released the previous summer and was still fresh in the memory of this 10 year old. The toy collection had grown quite substantial and was well used. However upon arriving on base after 3 months living off base, Most of our belongings showed up. Unfortunately a lot of things mysteriously disappeared. I have to admit it was a tough thing for me to accept, especially now that a lot of those toys are going for today. Funny thing about being oversees was the time it took for movies to get released to armed forces. Move forward to the Spring of 83, and RoTJ. Never got to see it on the big screen, however that Christmas, a friend a returned from the states with a a bootleg VHS copy. Oh boy, here we go. Well some of our younger members might not remember video tapes, but the quality was atrocious, and it wasn't until we returned to America a few years later, 86 or 87, that I finally got to see it. The only Star Wars film I didn't get to experience on the Big Screen. Just wanted to share this and to all,,,

Thank you for sharing such a great tale, Brax. And thank you for serving! My grandfather was in the Marines and taught me to respect all those who serve.

While I cannot say that my own wife loves Star Wars as much as I do, she completely understands it and is willing to listen to me "geek out", whether for minutes or for hours. She even keeps letting me buy sabers! And just recently, we introduced our 4-Year old to Episode IV. Waiting a bit on "Empire" as it's a bit darker than "New Hope". But we definitely have another big fan in the making!

Cheers!

Brax, thank you for your service. As for your story, it's bitter sweet to read. Thank you for writing this for us to read. Great insight for us to see Brax the person and not just as big red. We appreciate you sir.

Thank you, for all of this, Brax. Your story, which shows us that life may have its ups and downs, but there are always good things to enjoy along the way. Your service also means so much to all of us who enjoy the freedoms, like this, that we have.