Tag Archives: writing

Letters to My Children – Star Wars

This is an occasional series in which I recollect my own memories and attempt to share them with my children (or whomever will listen!). For more information about the purpose and scope of this series, read my introductory post.

November 2015

Dear Sea Turtle and Penguin,

It is a cloudy and wet Saturday. In many ways, the rain is a boon that we are all enjoying as it has been dry for months. California is experiencing a drought of epic proportions. Autumn has finally begun in Northern California. The temperature is dropping and we have turned our clocks back for the winter. When you are older, you may remember the years of the drought. But this weekend, as we are stuck inside, between laundry, grocery shopping, and other chores, we watched two of the original Star Wars movies: Star Wars and the Empire Strikes Back. We are just over a month away from the release of the newest chapter in the franchise – The Force Awakens. But today, as we engaged in our typical banter over unrealistic plot points, we discussed which characters were puppets (Yoda), inhabited by dwarves (Jawas/R2D2), or giants (Chewbacca). I lectured over the CGI effects which were added into the digitally re-mastered versions from the 1990s. Sea Turtle, you are much like me in my love of fantasy books and films/shows, but you have never bought into the Star Wars hype. I feel that I have failed in passing on my nerdy ways to you in this respect. Penguin, I love that you are enjoying the Star Wars universe. Your Uncle J was almost your age when the first Star Wars movie came out in 1977 so it is wonderful to watch your joyful energy as you take in the stories.

Today, in 2015, the Stars Wars universe is almost 40 years old. It is already a firmly established part of popular culture. But I remember a world where Star Wars did not exist, even for a brief time. Up until then, science fiction shows like Star Trek and Doctor Who had limited special effects. We laugh at how pathetic those special effects seem today. Star Wars was a whole new ball game in 1977. People lined up around the corner of movie theatres to see the next showing. They also went back, again and again.

The Empire Strikes Back came out in 1980. Of the three original Star Wars films, I think this one is my favorite. There was a lot of anticipation in the three years between the first two movies, but even more so between the Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. The last film was released in 1983. In the 1990s, George Lucas digitally re-mastered the three films, adding CGI effects that had not been possible only a decade or two previously. Your dad and I went to see these “new” old films together, as well as, the three new movies that comprised the prequel trilogy: The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. I shall refrain from giving my opinion on these three movies.

David with Deborah, circa 1978, Mt. Wachusett

Star Wars became part of popular culture and it hasn’t really ever gone away. Uncle J and I had the soundtrack to the movie which we played over and over again. Our favorite piece was the background music for the cantina in Mos Eisley. We loved to listen to it on the record player. We owned Star Wars themed t-shirts, toys, sheets, legos and so on. Even today we have Star Wars items around the house from Han Solo (frozen in carbonite) ice cube trays to the Darth Vader mask and light saber toys. And, of course, we have all the movies in our DVD library. For Christmas this year, I am fairly certain there will be at least one Star Wars themed present.

Memory is a funny thing. When the first Star Wars movie came out in 1977, many of the big fast food chains sold drinking glasses. They had colorful decals on the outside with cartoons or other popular characters. In July 1977, a few weeks after Star Wars was released, McDonald’s was investigated by the FDA for having too much lead in the decals on their glasses. Uncle J and I owned several of these glasses and they were thrown away as a precaution. We loved those glasses and like typical children we were devastated. In my mind, those glasses were Star Wars themed. However, after examining several old newspapers, it does not seem possible that the glasses were Star Wars after all. Burger King won the bidding for the Star Wars franchise and began selling glasses in 1980.

The Berkshire Eagle, 9 July 1977, p. 1, col. 1-2. Image courtesy of Newspapers.com

I am looking forward to seeing the new movie in a few weeks. The anticipation for this movie is incredible, especially after seeing many of the trailers over the last few months. The original stars (Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford) will have parts in the new movie and that brings back quite the feeling of nostalgia of a time long, long ago…

I hope you enjoy the new movie,
Love,
Mom

Genealogy Tip:

When interviewing a family member, bear in mind that memories are fallible. Record what they remember, but do some research. Can their memories be backed up with contemporary sources? Until I tried to find evidence about the glasses that were thrown away in 1977, I firmly believed that they were Star Wars themed. Now, I’m not so sure….

Weekly Update – March 15, 2015

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I thought I would try writing about some events, happenings, accomplishments, etc., that are occurring in my little portion of the genealogy world this week.

In the world of Dear Mother, Love Daddy:

Currently, there is a book giveaway running on Goodreads which will last until the end of the month. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25099832-dear-mother-love-daddy

If you are interested in purchasing an autographed copy of the book, I am selling copies. The cost is $21. The price includes one book, one autograph, and priority mail shipping within the U.S. Please contact me through the contact page/form tab if you are interested. The book is still available on Amazon.com. Follow the link on the right hand side of the blog to purchase directly from Amazon.

Professional Genealogy by Elizabeth Shown Mills

In my professional learning:

This month is the last month of the Professional Genealogy (ProGen) program for me. I have spent the last 19 months working hard to better my genealogy skills. I recommend the program highly to anyone who is interested in taking the next step in their own learning. New groups form every few months. Study groups have roughly 6-10 members with a credentialed genealogist mentoring each group. After 19 months, I have made some wonderful friends and increased my network in this small professional community.

I’m looking forward to taking a “small” break and then I’m thinking of signing up for a couple home study courses through the National Genealogy Society. The online course titled Researching Your American Revolution Ancestor sounds interesting. I have many Revolutionary War ancestors and I want to make sure I am finding all the relevant documents.

Pinterest:

I’m continuing to pin some boards related to my research and specific blog posts. Since I no longer have my archives listed on the right side of the blog page screen, Pinterest is a great way to see some of the older posts. I’ve also created boards for a couple of the Indiana counties where my ancestors lived, a board with links to my ancestors’ graves, and a board with photographs of locations that are featured in the book Dear Mother, Love Daddy. Two boards that get the most traffic are Lena’s Postcards and 19th Century Fashion. My first career was in theatrical costume design. I loved researching historical costumes. In genealogy, this has been a very helpful skill for researching and dating old photographs.
https://www.pinterest.com/GenealogyLadyCA/lenas-postcards/

Upcoming Events:

Next weekend, I am attending the spring seminar of my local genealogy society, the Sacramento Root Cellar. D. Joshua Taylor, who is probably best known at present for his work on Genealogy Road Show, will be the keynote speaker.

In June, I will be attending my first official genealogy conference, the Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree. I have signed up for two workshops with Dr. Thomas W. Jones and Judy G. Russell. I am pretty excited that I will finally be able to meet these two genealogy rock stars in person. You may have noticed that there is a new badge on the side of the blog. By displaying the Jamboree blogger badge, I will be an honorary blogger for this event.

Until next week!

Book Update – Book Giveaway!

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The book will officially be published on March 3rd so I am counting down the days until it’s release.

What I’m doing:
Now that the proof has arrived I have to go over it to make sure the manuscript printed correctly. I’ve already noticed that some of my page numbers are not the right font. I’ve noticed a couple errors on the cover and have submitted those to my cover artist.

What you can do:
Enter the giveaway contest! Here are the rules:
1. Go to the Dear Mother, Love Daddy Event page (on Facebook see link below) and check off that you are “attending.”
2. Leave a comment on the Event page. You can say hi, or you can tell me why you think you should get a free, autographed copy of the book.
3. Share the Event page on your Facebook page! (This is the most important step!)

On March 3rd, I will chose three random people to win an autographed copy of the book. I will announce the winners throughout the day on March 3rd! Disclosure: It will take a few weeks for your copy to arrive so be patient!