Movie Memories: Star Wars The Special Edition

Not that long ago on the planet Earth the year was 1997 and I was 17 years old. Star Wars was celebrating it's 20th anniversary and George Lucas was re-releasing his masterpiece to theaters with upgrades to special effects, new CGI characters and extended scenes. I was excited and so were my older brother and some of our friends. We had grown up playing with Star Wars figures, collected TOPPS Star Wars Cards and watched the Star Wars movies! Here is a picture of us in our early 80s glory days...on a tractor like gangstas!

It was February and we had our tickets to see Star Wars: the Special Edition at the Rockaway Town square Mall in NJ. We had plenty of time to kill, so we hit up our usual money dropping stores like...

Babbage's for our video game needs...

 KB Toys for our collecting and toys/cards needs (Mostly, this was just me that wanted to go here)...

 Modell's for our sporting goods and favorite team apparel needs (Mets, Jets, Nets & Devils!)...

This weird sculpture that had been in the mall for years in the 80s was now outside for all to admire. Have no idea what it is or what it is supposed to be, but it brings back memories and looks cool...

and of course Sam Goody for our music needs! But on this trip we made an unexpected detour to a store we usually don't shop at and that was JC Penny!

We were there because allegedly a buddy of mine had spread a rumor that it was really easy to shoplift jerseys from this store and one of my friends, who will remain nameless, got the idea that he would partake in this crime. He spotted his target, grabbed it and tried to make a break for the exit, but was stopped by Mall Security. The jersey he was after...

New York Knicks guard Latrell Sprewell! Anyway, my friend was detained in the mall offices for a while and since my brother was over 18, he was able to bail my friend out. In the time that it took to get him out though, we had missed the movie! I never did get the chance to experience Star Wars in the theater and I still have the movie ticket somewhere in a forgotten box of memories. I will never let my friend forget about the time he made us miss Star Wars! On a side note, he did have to do community service for his infraction and while doing this service he met a girl who became his live in girlfriend for a few years. So. I guess that worked out. Here is the trailer for the movie that brings back these painful memories...Star Wars: The Special Edition!