I met Carol back in 1995 on my first day of work at a new job. In that office there were twelve helpdesk analysts and two admins who did all the adulting. Carol was one of those admins; she answered incoming calls and routed them to the technicians, processed warranty and purchase orders, and all sorts of administrative tasks. She also became the office’s unofficial mom. Carol was the one who organized parties and often played peacemaker when tempers flared.
More than all of that, Carol became one of our dearest friends. Back in the 90s when Susan and I were broke and moving houses, we asked all our friends for help on moving day. That morning, Carol arrived with a towering plate full of egg salad sandwiches for everyone. Actually, she brought enough egg salad sandwiches to feed three times as many people who showed up. We kept the leftover sandwiches in the refrigerator of our new house and ate them for a week. Carol has become a close family friend, and Susan and I really cherish that friendship.
At some point, it came up in conversation that Carol has bever seen Star Wars — specifically I’m referring to the original film (“A New Hope”), but one could just as easily say “any” Star Wars. Carol has seen a lot of movies and I have seen a lot of movies but for the most part, we watch different kinds of movies. Back in the late 1990s we invited Carol over and I made her watch Raiders of the Lost Ark. She thought it was okay. I feel like it was around that time that I learned she hadn’t seen Star Wars, either. I said someday she should come over again and we would watch it. It took another 25 years, but last weekend it finally happened.
We turned our movie night into an event. Susan ordered Mexican food from a local restaurant while I made popcorn in the popcorn machine my dad got me for Christmas a few years ago. Carol brought a tasty dessert that topped off the entire meal. After we finished eating and catching up, it was time to transport ourselves to a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.
I wore a Star Wars t-shirt.
I have no idea how many times I’ve actually watched Star Wars, but it’s a lot. Like, a lot, a lot. Like, twice a year ever since we recorded a copy of it off of HBO. I am an annoying person to watch Star Wars with because I will say every word of the film and not mean to. Yeah, even Greedo’s lines, which are in Huttese. I try not to do it but I’ve seen the film so many times it’s almost like listening to your favorite album. It’s super annoying and I try not to do it when other people are around, but I slipped a few times and had to physically cover my mouth to prevent such lines as “you are part of the Revel Alliance and a traitor! Take her away!” from coming out.
It was so fun and interesting to sit next to someone experiencing the film for the first time. Carol was worried Luke might not reemerge after being pulled underwater in the trash compactor, and laughed at a few moments that I’d forgotten were funny.
Carol’s only complaint at the end of the film was that the love triangle between Han, Luke, and Leia hadn’t been resolved. That’s when I let it slip that really she needed to watch the entire trilogy to get the whole story. It took me almost 30 years to finally show her Star Wars so I’m not sure if I’ll get her back over to see the remaining two, but even if that never happens, we had such a fun time. Mission accomplished!
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