Spoiler alert! Star Wars plot and opinions ahead

Spoiler alert! Ever since the release of “Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens” it seems anything and everything written about the movie is prefaced with a spoiler alert.
As someone recently noted on Facebook, spoiler alerts have Americans working closer together more than at any time since the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
That being said, if you have not yet seen the movie and don’t want to know details about it, stop reading here. It has been two weeks since the Force awoke in cinemas across the globe and I figure if you have not seen it yet, you’re probably not that big a fan (in which case you’re probably not interested in reading this column).
I have seen the movie twice now. The first time I came away with a bad feeling about it. The second time I was braced for impact and could enjoy the subtle nuances and the overall experience much better.
As we learn in the opening crawl, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) has disappeared. A young Jedi he was training turned to the Dark Side and wrecked everything. From the ashes of the Empire, a new regime called the First Order has arisen. The New Republic has crumbled and is now reduced to a band of rebels calling itself the Resistance.
Both sides are urgently seeking Skywalker, who has purportedly gone in search of the first Jedi temple. Part of a map leading to his whereabouts is given to Resistance fighter Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) on the desert planet Jakku. Before he can escape, the First Order attacks and he is captured. The map is hidden in his droid, BB-8, who does get away.
The little, round robot encounters a young woman named Rey (Daisy Ridley), who makes a living scavenging parts from crashed Imperial Star Destroyers and other wreckage. In the meantime, Poe Dameron is tortured and interrogated by Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), the rogue Jedi who turned to the Dark Side.
A Stormtrooper (John Boyega) with a conscience (FN-2187, who Dameron would later name Finn), breaks Dameron out and they escape in a TIE fighter. During their escape, they get shot up and crash on Jakku. They are separated in the crash and Finn assumes Dameron didn’t make it.
Finn goes in search of civilization and meets up with Rey and BB-8 at the same time the First Order finds him. They flee under attack in a junked ship that turns out to be the Millennium Falcon. After they escape Jakku, the ship breaks down and they are captured by none other than Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Chewbacca (Peter mayhew), the true owners of the Falcon who had it stolen from them years ago.
To make a long story short, the five of them go through some misadventures with the First Order in hot pursuit. Rey is captured by Kylo Ren and the others are reunited with the Resistance, including General (formerly Princess) Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), C-3PO (Anthony Daniels), Poe Dameron and R2-D2, who has gone into a low-power hibernation since Luke Skywalker vanished.
Our intrepid heroes go off on a mission to rescue Rey and destroy the Starkiller Base, a planet that has been converted into a weapon much larger and more powerful than the Death Star.
Without revealing the end, I will say that with the exception of Han and Chewie, all of the old school characters have only cameos in the movie. There is a good reason Luke is missing in all the promotions for the film; he is barely in it. The part that just ruined it for me was seeing one of the old school characters die. I came out of the theater feeling like I had lost an old friend.
Director J.J. Abrams ramps up the excitement and energy in this movie, essentially doing for Star Wars what he did for Star Trek, only with more respect for what has come before.
After seeing the movie a second time, I picked up on a lot more of the story and came away with a deeper appreciation for the characters, adventure and action. It clearly sets up Episode VIII, which we must wait until May 26, 2017, to see.
In the meantime, we can slake our thirst for Star Wars with “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” that comes out Dec. 16, 2016. It is a stand-alone anthology film that takes place between Episodes III and IV. Reports indicate that we will have a Star Wars movie every year through at least 2020. That news has me spoiled and on alert for great fun and adventure ahead!

Finding the good in the dark side of Christmas

Given the topic of my column last week, it would only seem natural that I would follow it up with a discussion about “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”

Out of respect for those who have not seen the movie yet, I will refrain from doing so for a week or two because there is no way I can say what I want to say without revealing some major spoilers.

That being said, I want to take some time to reflect on Christmas, which is now upon us. It seems that every other year or so I write a rant about how bad the commercialization of Christmas has become and how the true meaning – the celebration of the birth of Jesus – has been lost. My opinion in that regard has not changed.

This year, however, I thought I would try to look for the good in the bad. What possible benefit is there to losing the sacred to the secular? Most people in America and many countries around the world will celebrate Christmas as a time of giving. Santa Claus will make his rounds and families will gather around the Christmas tree to open their presents.

In all hypocritical fairness I must disclose that we have that tradition at my house, too. I spent two seasons playing Santa at a mall and reprised the role in a church play a few years ago.

I will be the first to admit that the Christmas traditions are fun. I love exchanging gifts, going to parties, seeing the decorations and enjoying all the other trappings of the holiday. It is a good thing to give gifts and well wishes to others. It is good to spend time home with family.

Yes, it is good for the economy as well when we all go shopping to buy gifts, eat out because we are rushed and travel to be with loved ones. Those things are important and good.

Even though Christmas has nothing to do with Santa Claus, reindeer, decorated trees, stockings or fruitcake, those things do put people in a charitable or giving mood. That is a good thing. I think Jesus would agree. There is little that is more important for us to do in this life than to give to others. The giving of our time and our resources isn’t just what Christmas is about; it’s what life is all about. Christmas reminds us of that.

It won’t be long and the music will stop, the decorations will come down and the bills will come due. The cold of winter will set in and 11 months of normalcy will take over. The warm feelings of Christmas will give way to arguments over politics, religion, football and the sharing of Star Wars spoilers on Facebook.

Until all that happens, we at least have a month of glad tidings and a desire to make things better for our fellow man. Those are all good things to come out of the “dark side” of Christmas. It also gives many of us Christians an opportunity to share our faith and to tell others the story of the virgin birth of Jesus and how he was sent to earth to pay the price for the sins of man.

Most of us are familiar with the story of Mary and Joseph and the birth of Jesus in a manger in Bethlehem. Here is the big spoiler alert: Jesus would die 33 years later on a wooden cross for crimes he did not commit. Most people mistakenly think we celebrate that occasion at Easter. We don’t. That’s what Good Friday is all about. Easter is when Christians celebrate his resurrection from the grave.

The life, death and resurrection of Jesus is the greatest story every told, and I believe it to be true. The secularized holidays of Christmas and Easter afford us the opportunity to share this good news with the world.

So you see, there really is some good that can be found amid that which would cloud the real reason for the season. No spoilers here; just joy, peace and happiness. Merry Christmas everyone!

The Force of Star Wars is strong in my family

For a moment, I was 11 years old again. For a moment, I was that boy pretending to be Luke Skywalker, blasting away at the Stormtroopers while rescuing the princess from Darth Vader and the Death Star.
The moment was fleeting but the pain that went with running, jumping, ducking and stretching lingered on for days in my 50-year-old body. The staff of The Sealy News did a team building exercise at The Main Event in Katy last week. One of the things we did was play laser tag. I had never played before. For those few exhilarating moments, however, I wielded my blaster and became that little boy who used to run through the forest, shooting it out with his peers with gun-shaped sticks. All of us youngsters were on a high from having seen “Star Wars” for the first time.
That movie changed my life in 1977 and even now, 38 years later, it still has a strong influence. I have been giddy with excitement and anticipation for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” which finally opens in theaters this week. Back when the movie was first announced I told myself I wasn’t going to obsess over it. I should have known better. The Force has a strong influence over my weak mind.
I have watched the movie trailers numerous times and have read several stories about it. We purchased our tickets for the opening show about a month in advance. Sandy went out on Force Friday and bought some of the new merchandise, including some cool T-shirts.
When our middle son was born in 2001, we named him Luke. Anyone who knows me will swear that I named him after Luke Skywalker. The truth is that we named him after the biblical Luke. The Luke from the Bible was a physician, which represents Sandy’s occupation and passion. Luke was also an investigative reporter and chronicler of the life of Jesus and the early church. That made him a journalist like me.
A year and a half later when our youngest son, Colton, was born I wanted to name him James Timothy. Even Sandy saw through that one, knowing that I’m also a huge Star Trek fan. No matter how much I argued about the names being biblical, Sandy wasn’t going for it. In a compromise, James became his middle name.
Suffice to say, Star Wars has weaved its magic through the fabric of my life. When the original trilogy debuted, I was just another obsessed fan. In 1999, when the first of the prequel movies came out, I took Sandy to the Star Wars Celebration in Denver. It was there, standing in line in the rain and the mud that I first asked her to marry me. The Force must have been strong that day because she said yes!
We attended the midnight showing of “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace” and I took the next day off from work so I could watch back-to-back showings all day. I can’t say that was the smartest thing I ever did, but it sure was fun.
On Dec. 17, 1999, Sandy and I were married. This Thursday will be our 16th wedding anniversary. We will celebrate with dinner out and a movie. Three guesses which movie and the first two don’t count!
All the excitement for the new Star Wars movie has me feeling like I’m that 11-year-old kid again. Celebrating 16 years with my beautiful, loving wife, however, is an even bigger joy. Doing both on the same day gives me one of those moments in time that will live with me forever.
For a moment I get to pretend I’m Luke Skywalker on a great adventure in a galaxy far, far away. Only this time I’m not rescuing a princess, I’m loving and cherishing my bride and celebrating with a wonderful family. I wouldn’t change that experience for anything – not even for a moment.

Disastrous trip gives plenty to be thankful for

Spending a week of vacation in Colorado over the Thanksgiving holiday may seem like a dream to some.

It certainly did to me. This was to be my first real vacation in several years and my first time back home since my mother died more than a year and a half ago. My dad was getting remarried and the wedding was set for the day after Thanksgiving.

My wife, two youngest sons and I had been anticipating this trip for six months. Let’s just say we’re glad to be back home in Texas. The trip resembled a cross between “National Lampoon’s Vacation” and “Planes, Trains and Automobiles.”

We began our adventure by leaving my car with a repair shop to fix an oil leak. The Saturday before Thanksgiving we hit the road, destined to spend the night in Amarillo. We got as far as Wichita Falls when CLUNK, the transmission in our Ford Explorer went out. We crawled back into town in first gear only to find all the repair shops closed for the weekend.

We spent the night in a cheap hotel and slept on beds that felt like bricks, covered with sheets as rough as sandpaper. The next morning we upgraded hotels and wasted the day at the mall and other chain retail outlets.

First thing Monday morning we limped the car to Quality Transmissions. When they opened up the pan on the bottom of the transmission, it was thickly coated in shavings and ground up parts. It was going to have to be replaced and it would take until Wednesday to get the job done.

We left the Explorer there and crammed into a smaller Dodge Journey that we rented. We finally left Wichita Falls Monday at 2 p.m. and decided to drive straight through to the house we rented for the week in Johnstown, Colo. Since we wouldn’t be arriving until after 2 a.m., we had my daughter, who lives nearby, check in for us. As we were passing through Amarillo, she called to give us the details. She then asked why we were checking out on Wednesday morning.

Perplexed at this, we called the owner. Apparently there was a screw-up with the Website that made our reservation and instead of getting a week we got three days. He already rented the house to someone else the rest of the week, so we were out of luck.

Instead of spending Tuesday visiting family and friends and going into the mountains as we had planned, we got to spend the day scrambling to find new accommodations. My daughter was with us because her car had to go to the shop (no surprise there). We finally found a hotel and were checking in Wednesday afternoon when our friends Bill and Cheri Gee saw my wife’s plea on Facebook and offered their home to us. We cut our reservation short to one night and on Thanksgiving morning hauled our stuff to their place.

Our plan was to spend Thanksgiving with my brother at his home in southeast Denver. After seeing and experiencing the weather forecast of ice and snow, we opted not to make the trip. Our friends Jerre and Terri Bauman graciously invited us over for Thanksgiving at their house and we had a great time.

My dad and Barbara, his bride-to-be, spent the day playing airport shuttle. They were picking up several of her family members, including her eldest son and his family, who are missionaries in Estonia. He was the pastor who was going to conduct the wedding. The day before their flight, the airline called a strike but cancelled it at the last minute.

Friday morning brought the big day. We had a brunch so both sides of the family could meet. The rehearsal was at 2 p.m., followed by the wedding at 4 p.m. It was an amazingly beautiful service and all of us were so happy to see Dad and Barbara tie the knot.

Since we could not return the rental car and pick up ours until Monday morning in Wichita Falls, we got a bonus day in Colorado. We spent it running errands. The main thing was to rummage through a storage unit where a bunch of my things had been stored since Dad moved out of his house. The original plan was to obtain a trailer and haul the stuff back home. Instead, I had to handpick a few items to cram into our overstuffed rental.

One of the items we found was a library book that I checked out in 1973. For the fun of it, we returned it to the library. They got a good chuckle out of it and thankfully forgave me the $1,400 overdue fine!

On Sunday, we headed back to Wichita Falls, crawling at one point through a snowstorm and black ice. We made it back home on Monday, a day late and about four grand over budget.

Despite all the headaches, we are very thankful for family and good friends and we are very pleased to have a whole new branch grafted into our family tree.

Ten years a Texan

A small milestone slipped by on Nov. 15. It marked my 10-year anniversary as a resident of Texas.

Playing off the saying “I wasn’t born in Texas but I got here as fast as I could,” I used to tell people that I was dragged here kicking and screaming. While that may be true, it’s also noteworthy that after 10 years I have not left.

I’m a native of Colorado. I never wanted to leave Colorado. I swore after living out of state for nine years during my first marriage that I would never leave Colorado again. On Nov. 15, 2005, I broke that vow and began my job as a copy editor at the Amarillo Globe-News.

Moving to Amarillo was tough. I went ahead of my family while they tied up loose ends and prepared our house to sell. I settled into an extended stay roach motel. I didn’t know a soul in Amarillo. It was cold and I was isolated and distraught at leaving everything I loved. Each night on the phone with my wife I would beg to come back home.

She kept encouraging me to stay, to move forward. Things had gone south for us in Colorado and she desperately wanted to get out and start over. Amarillo was to be that new start. It was our clean slate and charted a new course for our future. Sandy was dreaming of what could be. I was lamenting what had been.

Because our home in Colorado did not sell, it ended up in foreclosure.  As a result, we could not buy a new home in Amarillo. All we could afford to rent was a dump that the city actually condemned when we complained about it. It was big, drafty, bug-infested and located a block off noisy Interstate 40. How we managed to live there for three years I’ll never know. Ironically, when Sandy and the kids arrived, she started crying and wanted to go back home. I had to beg her to stay.

If you’ve ever been to Amarillo you know what a harsh wasteland the Texas Panhandle is. The people there are like gold. We made good friends. I think the climate and the isolation forces the people to be much friendlier and accommodating than in most places.

When we moved to the Houston area, it was easy to leave Amarillo but hard to leave the people. Arriving in Rosenberg was chaotic. We moved into Sandy’s grandfather’s house during the holidays. My family moved down a week ahead of me while I finished my job. When I arrived I was met not only by my family and Sandy’s grandfather, but also her parents and the families of her aunt and uncle. It took weeks to settle in after everyone left and the holidays were over.

We had intended our stay here to be relatively short. That was seven years ago. Since then, we have become very ingrained into the area. We have been active with our church, Boy Scouts and volunteer work at Brazos Bend State Park. For the last year we have been active with groups that do re-enactments of the Texas Revolution. I’m deep in the process of writing a book about them.

We have yet to get tired of exploring the region. We camp at different state parks, hang out at the beach, visit parks and historical sites and attend sporting events. There is so much to see and do down here that we could be busy for a lifetime trying to take it all in. And all of that is on top of the things I get to do and cover as a journalist.

It’s hard to believe that the 10-year (and seven-year) milestones have come by already. I may have come to Texas kicking and screaming but it just might be that way if I ever have to leave.