--<-@ Over 30 SW Writers Club! @->--

You guys were all talking about why you wouldn't want to be a teenager again... why? I don't see a problem with being a teen (and I am one...)

My mom keeps saying things to the effect of 'It gets better' and my thoughts are along the lines of 'better than what?'

 

Kyp_Side_of_the_Force

It's hard to explain because it's hard to make someone want another life, but the life you live as a teenager will be markedly different from the life you live when you're in your thirties or older. You will have presumably gone to college or at least finished high school by this time, and had some experiences in the world where you find out more about yourself: what you want out of life, and what you think yourself to be. You will have had many more relationships and friendships and most will have had to fend for themselves in mundane matters of life. When you're thirty you'll be a richer person because of all the experiences of life you will have had by then. You'll basically be a different person by then. But it's impossible to make someone wish to be a different person. You just have to travel down that road to find your thirty year old self by yourself.

Sometimes I think I'd like to be 21 again just to have so many more opportunities of life available to me (yes, I know I'm not a dinosaur yet, but some doors are closed by this time), but on the whole, I think I'm definitely a more confident, happy person at 33 than I was at 16.

 

1) Age- you can post range if you prefer

I'm 26. I was just a baby the first time I saw Star Wars but I did see it in the theatre during it's initial run.

2) How long have you been writing on these boards and post links to your stories.

I've been writing here since Dec. 2002.

A Tatooine Jedi in the Big Apple A Star Wars/Marvel crossover

Corellian Dreamer AU

 

*peeks into thread* Gracious, but this thread moves quickly! Does anyone mind if I pop in now and again?

1) Age- you can post range if you prefer. 27. Sometimes feel older, but that's a whole different story.

2) How long have you been writing on these boards and post links to your stories. I've only been posting my stories here since the end of January -- not that there are all that many of them. Links to all of them are in my bio.

3) Favorite genre, saga of SW to write Anything with Luke and Mara. My favorite time period is post-RotJ, pre-NJO.

4) Favorite characters and why. Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade. Luke because, well, he's Luke! How sweet can a guy get? Seriously, he's just a genuinely, thoroughly nice person. They're far too rare. I also love the strength of character he shows in the movies and the best books. I've loved Mara from her very first appearance in HttE. Talk about strength of character! She's wonderfully complex. Not to mention how thrilled I was to see a strong female character with red hair, since I'm a redhead myself.

5) Why has SW always been so special to you? I first saw ANH when I was about 7. I so desperately wanted to fly an X-wing afterward! When I got a little older, I loved the symbolism. And I can never get enough lightsaber or X-wing scenes.

6) Fav tips or advice for writing. Have fun. There are far too many things in life that we do because we have to rather than because we enjoy it. Obligation is certainly important, but fun is an endangered species.

 

Hey gang... a new game!

You know you're a child of the pre-80's when...


You remember:

Bell bottems the FIRST time around...

'Have a nice day' was more than lip service...

'Luke, I am your father..." left us all wondering if Vader was telling the truth...

There was a real, if very unlikely, possibilty that the Beatles MIGHT reform just once more?

 

Good game.

Spending more than one Halloween with your hair up in cinnamon buns over your ears.

Singing (or listening to other sing) "We Don't Need No Education" on the school bus, while parents sputtered around at home about how the very lyrics proved themselves wrong.

Tall Ships and Bicentennial fireworks. Extra points if you tried to figure out if you could live long enough to see the Tricentennial.

Belonging to the Woodsy Owl Club... "Give a hoot, don't pollute!"

Using oversized yarn to decorate pigtails or ponytails.

Slogan T-shirts (usually funny but sometimes not) were more popular than band T-shirts.

"You can't hug children with nuclear arms."

The episode of Little House on the Prairie where Laura dreamed of being fabulously rich.

 

just a few from me

You had to be home in time to watch your favourite television show, because there was no such thing as a video recorder.

You remember 8-track tapes.

 

'Luke, I am your father..." left us all wondering if Vader was telling the truth...

Yep, Breezy. *raises hand* I was one of the ones who didn't believe Vader...

Advantages of growing older?

I wouldn't be a teenager again for all the money Joe Millionaire was pretending to have. I do teach, and I'm watching these kids with the drama they have in their daily lives, and am so tempted to tell them how next week it really won't matter that Susie doesn't want to be your friend anymore...but I don't say anything, because I remember how it was.

I feel like I'm behind sometimes because I haven't had children yet, but one nice thing about modern times is the biological clock doesn't tick quite as fast as it used to. (You can't tell that to some of the people in the small town where I used to live though..."Have 'em before you're 30," they said...I said "Not I...I've got career goals I want to accomplish first.") I got married at 22, something I would never encourage anyone to do, although it's working out fine for me. Married=no money, and I have missed out on some of the things I needed to do--going ahead with graduate school, travelling, etc, because of it. I'm lucky to have a husband who is supportive of my goals so that I can still accomplish them, albeit a little more slowly, but it has been difficult with trying to integrate my job and career goals with his.

As far as kids and homework...I'm a teacher and I'm probably one of the ones people complain about in giving too much homework. I'd never encourage a kid to give up an outside activity, especially sports, that only takes place twice a week though. Geez. I used to complain when I taught high school and sports matches would pull students out of my class a couple of times a week, when some of these kids weren't making good grades anyway and needed to be in class.

 

Welcome Matthew and Gabri!

What do you remember?

Who shot JR?

Actually going to bed occasionally with forgetting to lock your doors and not worrying about it

There were only rollerskates- not rollerblades.

Leftovers heated in/on the oven because there was no microwave oven.

Getting up at 5am to watch "Star Wars" after it premiered on Showtime.

Staying up all night to watch Charles and Di say "I Do."

 

Staying up all night to watch Charles and Di say "I Do."

It was early in the morning for me. Man, that was so long ago...

No waiting for a movie to come out on DVD or video. It was usually one year before it came to cable and another year before it came to broadcast TV.

And, no, I would not want to be a teenager again. I don't ever want to be so angry, so confused, and so stressed again. I discovered the meaning of "migrane" in my senior year.

 

What do I remember?

The Six Million Dollar Man - the running was so cool! ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch

Shaun Cassidy and Scott Baio pinups

The Hardy Boys on TV

Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom - to this day, Jim from that show remains my definition of a "real man."

The Iranian Hostage Crisis and the failed Desert One rescue mission

 

The realm of the obscure:

Intellivision--a better format than Atari which would undoubtedly own the home video game market in a few years.

The TV show Voyagers! (I was mega-sad when that got cancelled.)

The Star Wars audio version on a 33.3 RPM record, with a picture of R2 and C3P0 on one side.

The Sunshine Family dolls (Steve, Samantha, and Baby Something, along with grandma and grandpa) and their craft van.

 

Flash Gordon (don't know why, but I've had the theme song from Queen in my mind all day. Flash! He'll save every one of us!)

Buck Rogers (and the television show that followed the movie)

 

Can anybody point out exactly when Disco died?

Speaking of that, anybody remember Dance Fever or Solid Gold?

 

What do you remember?

The President liked jelly beans. I kept a jar of them on my desk next to the crayons. I thought it was great!

The North Stars played in Minnesota and Texas did not have any pro hockey teams. (Sorry if there are any Dallas fans here. )

The national and international news was on TV once a day for half an hour.* Speaking of which, how is it possible that Dan Rather is still doing the news?!?

Voters knew how to vote.**

The Russians were scary, not pathetic.





* If CBS interrupts my basketball games one more time to tell me that some soldiers got killed in a war -- Really? In a war? Are you sure that's possible? -- I am going to scream! Needless to say, I am avoiding CNN, MSNBC, and the rest like the plague.

** Back in my day, races didn't get declared, then undeclared, then declared again, then decided by five people who felt like deciding. Hey, even if our guy got creamed (I was living in Minnesota for Mondale in 84...) -- at least we knew who won! Perhaps living in FL is starting to get to me.

 

Jane_Jinn I actually saw Flash Gordon on TV the other day, but I rember seeing it in the theater. I used to think it was sooo cool, then again, Queen never did anything un-cool in my book.

Darth_Lex I'm a Dallas-ite, but don't worry, I'm not really a hockey fanatic.

inez

 

anybody remember Dance Fever or Solid Gold?

My best friend and I were punished for a weekend because we pulled our bathing suit bottoms into a "thong" position and danced in front of my house. Needless to say, our parents were not amused.

Did all of the kids on your street disappear when Batman and Robin and Get Smart were on? Anyone remember the Kroft Superstars? Electrawoman and Dynagirl? Battle of the Network Stars?

I'm not a writer, so I hope you don't mind my being here.

1) Age: mid-30's

2) How long have you been writing on these boards and post links to your stories.
---too lazy to write stories, but I sometimes write little lymrics in other people's threads...usually pretty corny

3) Favorite genre, saga of SW to write
---I love reading all of it.

4) Favorite characters and why.
---Han...the first love of my life. Anakin...I find the evolution of life fascinating! Heck, who am I kidding...EYE CANDY!

5) Why has SW always been so special to you?
---I grew up in a neighborhood with mostly boys my age. The boy next door, Billy, had Downs Syndrome, but absolutely loved Star Wars. The only way Billy and I could make the other boys to play with us was to have better Star Wars stuff than they had. By the time Empire came out, Billy and I were fully embedded in the group. (Even though my mom insisted on painting red nail polish on the bottom of the right foot of every one of my action figures!)
Now, SW is mental comfort food.

 

Voyagers

Oh god- with the drop dead gorgeous John Erik Hexim who died of an accidental gunshot wound to the head on the set of a movie.

It was followed by "Scarecrow and Mrs. King"- I loveBruce Boxlightner- Melissa Gilbert did good

The Sunshine Family dolls (Steve, Samantha, and Baby Something, along with grandma and grandpa) and their craft van.

WARNING GEEK ALERT- baby's name was Sweets and there eventually was an older daughter who I think was Sunny.

On this track- let's not forget Malibu Barbie and PJ and those way cool quick curl Barbies! Anyone else ever have the Barbie townhouse that had a bright yellow elevator?
(Yes I was spoiled senslessly.)

 

Anyone else ever have the Barbie townhouse that had a bright yellow elevator?

I was too much of a tom-boy to play with Barbie, but I do remember my sisters having a Barbie airplane. It was about the size of a small suitcase, had an arched top and wings that rotated out of the bottom. My baby sisters used to play with their Strawberry Shortcake characters in it.

Will anyone here admit to wearing Underoos? I had Wonder Woman.

 

YES!! I HAD THE BARBIE TOWNHOUSE!!!

And while I never had Underoos, I must admit I always secretly wished I had. That and a Big Wheel. Also, never got a pair of Jordache designer jeans. Sigh.

 

Oh god- with the drop dead gorgeous John Erik Hexim who died of an accidental gunshot wound to the head on the set of a movie.

He was a lovely gentleman, wasn't he?

I had an age appropriate crush at the time though, on his co-star Meeno Peluce, aka, Punky Brewster's older brother.

WARNING GEEK ALERT- baby's name was Sweets and there eventually was an older daughter who I think was Sunny.

I knew it was something like that. Thought maybe "Sweetums," but I knew that wasn't right. I think I had them after the baby was added--Sweets was a little girl doll, right? I did love those little craft projects, though.

On this track- let's not forget Malibu Barbie and PJ and those way cool quick curl Barbies! Anyone else ever have the Barbie townhouse that had a bright yellow elevator?
(Yes I was spoiled senslessly.)

Nah. I had all my mom's old Barbie dolls--so she figured I had enough of the template--and we used to get their clothes at a crafts fair. But I did manage to get a Ballerina Barbie the year they were hot, and I was very disappointed that she wouldn't really twirl like she did in the commercials.

The neighbor girl I was friends with (who had all the dolls, which made me free-associate) got a Dorothy Hamill haircut. She was so proud of it--kept hanging upside down on the trapeze to show off how it would swing. I guess it looked okay, but I'm pretty much hardwired to be a longhair so I never wanted it myself.

Barettes with little vinyl strips braided through them to make them colorful. The ends were left as tassels. I just remembered those. Or maybe that one was local.

 

Hey, neat thread. Now I don't feel like such a creepy old man, hanging out on this teenage-dominated board.

1) Age: 31


2) How long have you been writing on these boards and post links to your stories.

A little over a year. Links in my bio (cause I'm too lazy to cut-and-paste them all here)


3) Favorite genre, saga of SW to write

Humor


4) Favorite characters and why.

Vader (though the Special Editions actually removed my favorite Vader moment)--just the baddest bad guy around. And Artoo--'cause the little guy just gets *no* respect.


5) Why has SW always been so special to you?

I grew up with it...


6) Fav tips or advice for writing.

Not sure I'm all that qualified to give tips, but I'd recommend that writers listen to how people talk--the cadences, the body language, the pauses, etc.--to help their dialogue seem more "real". Or something.



As far as all the 70s/80s rememberences, I see a ton of my own recollections here, so I'll just nod in agreement. Although, regarding one of them from PadmeLeiaJaina...

Getting up at 5am to watch "Star Wars" after it premiered on Showtime.

I remember staying up to watch the 1am premiere on HBO. And, no doubt due to my fatigue at staying up so late, at the time I actually thought I understood what the Jawas were saying...


Blind Man

 

Ohhhh we've lured Blindman into our lair! Woohoo!

And, no doubt due to my fatigue at staying up so late, at the time I actually thought I understood what the Jawas were saying...

LMAO

Now THAT is being exhausted My sister's friend's kid brother was one of the Jawas.

Damn lucky kid.

 

Thank you so much for this thread. I always thought I am the dinosaur of the forum, but now I learned that there are two people here who are older than me! I am only 46!

I was already 20 when ANH started and was fascinated from the beginning. Somehow the OT has become part of my life. I must admit, I have some difficulties with the prequels, but my 12 years old son loves them.

 

JG: I was actually pricing houses in my neighborhood the other day. Scary, scary stuff, but I want one, dang it. Not on the radar yet--how does anyone single afford it?--but I'm setting myself for it. I'm going to get a house. Someday. And a cat (not a golden retriever girl, I guess).

And a fan of the Goonies & Voyager, too?

Gee, I never realized I had a long lost twin sister! The cat is on the list ahead of the golden. In that "low-cost townhomes" in my area START at $650,000, the house of my own isn't likely to happen unless I start buying lottery tickets like crazy.

I do remember the Dorothy Hamill haircut, and the bicentennial! The fire hydrants in my hometown were all painted to look like little Revolutionary war people, with smiles & everything. And my Girl Scout troop had to make those floppy white colonial Mop caps and march in a parade in those long granny dresses.

I remember bellbottoms & platform shoes the first time around, and VOWING I'd NEVER be caught dead wearing them! (so far, I've been successful in avoiding them, but so hard, when that's all that's in the stores).

Charles & Di's wedding... oh, yes, I was at summer camp. We promised to wake the counseler, so she could watch too, and we simply could NOT get her out of bed!

I loved Electrowoman & Dynagirl! Not as much as Isis, though. I loved Wonder Woman, too, 'til they updated her & took her out of WWII. Not as much fun once she stopped fighting the Nazis. Anyone remember when her sister decided to try every one of Baskin Robbins 31 flavors?

And I remember going to bed after seeing "The Day After," and wondering if I'd wake up in the morning.