I guess it was time…and I agree!

Hey everyone. Sorry for missing a post last month. I guess I am two behind now. Well, one behind. Kinda two…but really just one. OK wait. So this month, which technically isn’t over yet, but honestly, I probably won’t be able to get to another one this month…at least I don’t think so….so, really one and super really, probably two behind. But let’s say one for sure. But more than likely, it’s two. Anyway, I suck.

That’s the take away here….that I suck.

OK, that’s all for this month’s blog post….only one more to go to get caught up. Yay!

Go ride your bike and thanks for reading.

OK, I’m just kidding.

But I am going to do something different for November’s post (this is officially November’s post people, remember, we went over this earlier). My sister, you know the California/Nevada State Champion, (listen to the podcast about it here) she gave me the idea. And it seemed like a good one at the time…

So here it goes.

This post isn’t about bikes. I know, I know…but hear me out. I was emotionally moved last week and I need to share a little bit about it. OK? But before I start, here is the latest picture of one of my bikes, you know…just to put your mind at ease.

All right, that was nice right? You’re welcome. 🙂

Alright then, moving on….I took part in another passion today. One of my all time favorite things to do is go to the movies. Seriously, it’s one of my favorite past times. I absolutely love it. I honestly could do it all day. Not sit in front of the TV and watch movies, no. The actual act of going to see a movie, that’s what I love. And I have for a very long time, as long as I can remember. I don’t really remember what movies my sister and I saw when my mom and dad would drag us, in our pajamas, to the drive-in…but I am sure the movies picked were more for mom & dad anyway than for us. So yeah, I don’t really remember those movies. I mean the State Champ and I would just end up playing in the back seat until we fell asleep anyway. We were small children for Pete’s sake!

I can probe my memory bank back to the day I remember the first movie I did actually like. All the way back to a day in the later part of May 1977. That was the exact day that I became a movie lover. Ya see, the first movie I remember was Star Wars. I was 12. And I had never seen anything like it before. It. Was. Glorious.

Just adding this poster above to this post made me have butterflies in my stomach…I was getting a little choked up about it too. I know what you’re thinkin’: “Christ Ron, that’s fuckin’ weird.” But it’s not. Think about it. I was 12…Star Wars really moved me. I mean, I was dumbfounded. I couldn’t stop thinking about it after I saw it. For days, I kept thinking to myself…”a long time ago? In a galaxy far, far away? But it’s in the future, they have laser guns and spaceships…so, a long time ago in the future?…what in the hell was it that I just saw.” I really couldn’t wrap my 12 year old head around it…but it blew my goddamn socks off! Seriously. Hell, it blew everybody’s socks off!

So last week I saw The Last Jedi, the latest addition to the saga. I went with my close friend and fellow Star Wars fan, Matt. It was his treat, thanks Matt! I am going to talk a little bit about it below, nothing crazy, but still…you’ve been warned. And also:

If you’re still here, it’s your fault.

My first encounter with the The Last Jedi was when I saw the preview about a month ago. I actually got teary eyed a bit while watching it. That was weird. My wife Maria was like: “What. Is. Happening?” I was baffled. “I don’t know.” I said.  And just to see if this crying thing was a fluke (which I was absolutely sure it was) I watched the trailer again on YouTube right before Matt picked me up. To my surprise, the tears came again, and a little more this time. What in the living eff!!?? I’m really not sure why this keeps happening. I think maybe it’s an overload of nostalgia for me? Not sure.

As you know from reading this blog, I am nostalgic to a fault. So when I hear that wonderful John Williams composition, hear the TIE fighters, the laser blasts and Chewie’s roar…my 12 year old self is transported all the way back to that first encounter in 1977, to the 12 year old boy that slept with his Luke, Han and Chewie action figures. It’s really quite powerful.

When I sat down to watch The Last Jedi and the traditional “Star Wars opening roll” started, people started clapping. Who claps at movies? Star Wars fans, at Star Wars movies, that’s who. I did’t clap. I was stuck there all over again, motionless, waiting and reading the roll.

When you go see this movie please don’t expect an answer to all of the questions that you came away with after seeing The Force Awakens, you won’t get them. What you will get though, is a fresh take on an age old question. Will good prevail over evil? The Last Jedi is the end of the old guard and the start of the new. Rey is the Last Jedi and after training with Master Luke, learns that she wields a raw, very powerful version of The Force at her fingertips. Luke goes out in a blaze of glory, which was seriously bad ass. The Rebellion is splintered and broken down to a small fraction of what it once was and almost done for, but with hope on the horizon. Kylo Ren is a deliciously conflicted, ill-tempered, fit-throwing monster that could possibly be one of the all time great movie villains, easily on par with earlier Lord Vader. There is an interesting Force-connection between Rey, Leah and Kylo that ads to the mystery of who Rey’s parents are. I personally believe she is a Kenobi, but that subject is for another post on a different blog (this is a blog about bicycles…let’s not get crazy here).

So yeah, we end up with more questions after this installment. Big deal. I don’t mind waiting to get them answered…it’s like a jawbreaker…lots of layers before the tasty center is exposed. But, it will be interesting and entertaining to see what Rey’s lineage is and how it plays out in the grand scheme of things. Ya know? The anticipation is fantastic. Right?

OK, let’s stop here.

I could keep going but I don’t want this post to be a movie review. I know…shit, I’m with you guys…I don’t know what this post is either if it wasn’t a movie review. Well, I guess it’s just that I got inspired and wanted to share it. Fuckin’ sue me. I also just wanted to let you know that I’m a geek (shocker) and love Star Wars and that the The Last Jedi was fan-fucking-tastic!

It really was an absolutely entertaining movie that I am excited to see again and again. The fact that the theme of the movie, reflects the path of this franchise is not lost on me either, and I welcome it. The throwing away of the old and ushering in the new…I guess it was time…and I agree. When it comes to this saga, it needs it.

That’s all I got for this post. Sorry there wasn’t any bike talk. But that’s OK, right? We can enjoy, although hard sometimes, other things besides riding our bikes. It’s OK, really. We are going to get through this tough time together, I promise. Next post will be bike-y as fuck, OK?

Thanks for stopping by. 🙂

“Hmmmm…your bike you ride you now will.”– Yoda (that wasn’t really Yoda…it was me, Ron) 🙂