I wasn’t feeling well this week, so this will be very brief.
I’m not really one to get all excited about phony holidays that are probably really just promotions for commercial endeavors, but this weekend is May the 4th, a.k.a. “Star Wars Day” and something jogged a very, very old memory.
I was very young when Star Wars came out. These days the film is probably better known as “Episode IV: A New Hope” but back then there was just one movie. And we just called it Star Wars.
Naturally, I had toys. At least, the ones we could afford, which was mostly just the figures.
In the film, Han and Luke disguise themselves as stormtroopers to get access to the princess, held prisoner in the Death Star.
I remember playing “Star Wars guys” and having my Luke figure bonk a stormtrooper on the head, then dragging him out of sight, to have the trooper figure reappear. It was Luke in disguise, of course.
I remember the odd thrill of pleasure I had, like I had discovered a new dimension, an added layer of imagination. I was pleased at how clever I was, integrating that into my play.
I’m honestly not sure why this memory came up, nor why it impacted me enough to write about it. I suppose it may have to do with memory in general; how immediate it can be, even decades old, yet how ephemeral it is, when I forget something that literally just had my eyes on moments ago.
I guess I wrote about it so that I won’t forget it again. I wonder how many other things I’ve forgotten? Or will forget that I think are permanent memories?
