MAY 1999
Enjoy the power and beauty of you youth; oh, never mind, you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now, how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are NOT as fat as you imagine.
Do not worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve and algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind the blind sides you an 4pm on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing everyday that scares you.
Sing.
Do not be reckless with other peoples hearts. Do not put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss.
Don't waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long, and in the end, it's only with yourself.
Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch.
Do not feel guilty if you don't know what you wanna do with your life,... the most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year-olds I know still don't.
Get plenty of calcium.
Be kind to your knees, you'll miss them when they're gone.
Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40. Maybe you'll dance the funky chicken at your 75th wedding anniversary.... Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either - your choices are half chance, so are everybody else's.
Enjoy your body, use it every way you can... don't be afraid of it, or what other people think of it... it's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.
Dance... even if you have nowhere else to do it but in your own living room.
Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.
Do NOT read beauty magazines they will only make you feel UGLY.
Get to know your parents, you never know when they might be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings; They're your best link to your past, and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go, except for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but, leave before it makes you soft.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths. Prices will rise, Politicians will philander, you too will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble, and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you'll have a trust fund, maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.
Don't mess too much with your hair, or by the time it's 40, it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia; dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts, and recycling it for more than its worth.
But trust me on the sun screen.
Wednesday March 14th
I'm sure by now you've seen all those "nuts" out there in line waiting for STAR WARS tickets. A few of you have probably even wondered if I was one of them. Well... You bet I was one of them!!! :)
Tuesday, we asked at the box office when people were gonna be able to start lining up for pre-sale tickets (which were to go on sale at noon Wednesday) and were told that mall security wouldn't allow anyone to start lining up till 6 AM Wednesday. So, after staying up all night (mostly due to excitement and partly cause we usually don't go to bed till around 6 anyway), we decided to drive by the theater at 5:30 AM to see if anyone else was getting ready to line up. To our shock, there was about 150 people already in line, some of them had been there since midnight the night before despite a sign at the box office stating that there was to be no lining up till 6AM. Needless to say, there were quite a few upset people in line after them. Including us. At one point 4 of the first people in line walked the length of the line with signs on stating there position in line (1, 2, 4, and 7 if I remember right), calling the rest losers and further proving what ass holes they were.
When we got there, there were already 4 or 5 TV news crews, and shortly after that two radio stations arrived on the scene too... Unfortunately.
The first radio station van to pull up was driven by a heavyset Hispanic man dressed in a red cape, red spandex with green underwear on the outside and a mask. The girl behind us in line yelled "It's a privilege not a right" as he walked by us. Not a pretty sight, lemmetellya. *shudder*
The soundtrack to the movie came out a few weeks ago, and I've been avoiding listening to it as there are several things on it I don't want to hear until I hear it in the movie, well the masked man decided to play that soundtrack over his vans loud speakers for everyone to hear (thankfully the didn't get to the last three songs which I REALLY don't want to hear yet).
The other Radio station representative was a sorta cute guy, but he seemed like a jerk to me from what I could see of him as he went up and down the line. He proved it though when he, over his vans loud speaker, broadcast a secret from the ending of the movie for everyone to hear. Needless to say he was quickly chased away. Thankfully I had heard that rumor over two years ago so I wasn't that upset over it, but I was glad to see him leave.
Speaking of cute guys... The three guys directly in front of us spent the first few hours analyzing the people ahead of them using derogatory remarks about gays for most of them. They continued analyzing all day, but the gay references stopped about half way through the day. At one point, the cutest (understatement) fell asleep and his friends drove off without telling him they were leaving. Corey and I couldn't help but sneak peeks at the sleeping cutie. :) Towards the end of the day two of them left the line only to come back while the one still in line was being interviewed right in front of us.
Once the sun came out and the temperature started to rise (it was 97 degrees when we drove home later that day) a nice gypsy-like lady came down the line (from where she had lined up earlier than she was supposed to) letting people know that if they felt faint or forgot water that she had a matt and extra water just in case. A few hour later the security guards finally got put to use... Passing out little cups of water up and down the line. ‘Bout time they got off their lazy asses!
We brought plenty of water though, but the only shade we had was a little shrub, or mooching off the shade the cute guys in front of us cast, but that only worked in early morning.
Corey and I had our first fight. Assholes number 1, 2, 4, and 7 walked back down the line about mid-day and One of them had a STAR WARS ship from the new movie dangling from his ear. Well Corey said it was one ship, but I clearly saw it and it was a different ship. Turns out we were both looking at different guys and were both right. Thankfully the girl behind us cleared that up a little bit into the discussion. At this point Corey's getting a bit antsy. To little sleep, to much standing, and too much heat I guess.
I found out when we got home that we had another fight too, but I missed that one. *giggle* He apologized for being short with me when we were trying to figure out what to have for breakfast. Well I didn't want anything, and he wouldn't tell em what he wanted so that I could have him pick up the same thing for me so he wouldn't have to go all over just to get me food I wasn't really hungry for. I finally just decided to have a drink instead and that ended that. I didn't know he thought we were fighting till we got home. If that's as bad as our fights get, this will be a synch. :)
One person went up and down the line telling everyone with cell phones to call the moviefone number at noon to clog them from being able to sell tickets to people that weren't in line like us. Well it turns out they were already clogged from the traffic already. *giggle* Seems the Internet service was clogged as well. Most people weren't able to get tickets via phone or the net that first day.
The theater we were at only got one of their auditoriums updated with the new THX-EX sound system. We were hoping that no one would find that fact out and we could get tickets for that one easier. Well just before letting people in, the owner of the theater went up and down the line announcing that "theater one has superior sound, but the others are just as good" and that it also has the biggest screen. *shakes head*
At almost noon, every two minutes they started announcing the time left till they would start selling tickets. Well one guy came up to talk to Corey about the lightsaber Corey had just gotten out of the car (his way of trying to cut in line). Well after we stopped talking to him and the girls behind us started to ignore him, he decided to try on up the line. Well they were less tolerant of this guy and he started to get a little ticked at the accusations that he was trying to hide. Well volume escalated a little and I started to get a little nervous. Then the words were said and with a loud pow, the guy who was trying to cut was laying on the pavement holding his jaw. Security came running as the guy got up. He quickly told the security that he "accidentally called the guy a fucking Niger" and deserved to get hit and that he wasn't going to stay. Then after a little more questioning of both parties, the cutter left.
...and peace returned to the republic. :)
Noon. They started letting 40 at a time go up and buy their tickets. We were in the 4th group to go. We got our 9 tickets (2 showings the first day (the second showing (which shows at 3:30AM Wednesday morning)), and one each of the next 2 days), all in the auditorium with the good sound, and went home happy and went right to bed.
Note to self. Next time (in a couple of years when the next movies come out): Remember Chairs, shade, and of course... Sun screen! :)
To Whom It May Concern:
I am hereby officially tendering my resignation as an adult in order to accept the responsibilities of a 6 year old...The tax base is lower.
I want to be six again. I want to go to McDonald's and think it's the best place in the world to eat. I want to sail sticks across a fresh mud puddle and make waves with rocks. I want to think M&Ms are better than money 'cause you can eat them. I want to play kickball during recess and stay up on Christmas Eve waiting to hear Santa and Rudolph on the roof.
I long for the days when life was simple. When all you knew were your colors, the addition tables and simple nursery rhymes, but it didn't bother you because you didn't know what you didn't know, and you didn't care.
I want to go to school and have snack time, recess, gym, and field trips. I want to be happy because I don't know what should make me upset. I want to think the world is fair, and everyone in it is honest and good. I want to believe that anything is possible.
Sometime, while I was maturing, I learned too much. I learned of nuclear weapons, prejudice, starving and abused kids, lies, unhappy marriages, illness, pain and mortality.
I want to be six again.
I want to think that everyone, including myself, will live forever because I don't know the concept of death. I want to be oblivious to the complexity of life, and be overly excited by the little things again. I want television to be something I watch for fun, not something I use for escape from the things I should be doing. I want to live knowing the little things I find exciting will always make me as happy as when I first learned them.....I want to be six again.
I remember not seeing the world as a whole, but rather being aware of only the things that directly concerned me. I want to be naive enough to think that if I'm happy, so is everyone else. I want to walk down the beach and think only of the sand beneath my feet, and the possibility of finding that blue piece of sea glass I'm looking for.
I want to spend my afternoons climbing trees and riding my bike, letting the grownups worry about time, the dentist, and how to find the money to fix the old car. I want to wonder what I'll do when I grow up, and what I'll be, who I'll be, and not worry about what I'll do if this doesn't work out. I want that time back.
I want to use it now as an escape, so that when my computer crashes, or I have a mountain of paperwork, or two depressed friends, or a fight with my spouse, or bittersweet memories of times gone by, or second thoughts about so many things, I can travel back, and build a snowman, without thinking about anything except whether the snow sticks together, and what I can possibly use for the snowman's mouth.
I want to be six again.
Tuesday, March 18th
The wait is almost over. I sit in the theater, waiting for the lights to dim and the new STAR WARS movie to begin.
The only difference is that this time it isn't a dream. It's actually happening.
After 16 long years, part one of the story I've studied and loved for 22 years will final unfold before my eyes.
The lights dim.
With restless energy and my fiancé beside me, I wade through stale commercials I've seen at least a hundred times before (or at least if feels like it), and didn't care to see them in the first place.
Then, the familiar 20th Century Fox logo appears, followed by the Lucasfilms logo, followed by the words I've been waiting for...
My eyes start to tear up. Then I remember I have to read the opening scrawl before it crawl of into the darkness of space.
I'm six again.
For 2 hours and 18 minutes, I'm six again.
My childhood rushed back to me, greeting me with open arms.
People keep asking me if it was worth the wait. My answer... VERY!
May The Force Be With You!
