A character inspiration…

3691592

When I was very young the new hot thing was the video magic machine known as the “VCR”.  There was another form known as the “Betamax”.  My Dad loved anything new and technologically advanced so he always wanted the best which at the time was The Betamax.  We used it to record home videos of soccer and gymnastics, legendary televised boxing events, all kinds of T.V.  specials (like “Fresno” and “Lonesome Dove”) and yes…movies.
Every once in a while we were blessed with the T.V.  airing of a great movie so when that happened you HAD to record it.  We recorded Rocky III and Star Wars back to back on one beta tape.  I must have watched those two movies at least a hundred times each and I’m NOT exaggerating.   They are still my favorite movies to this day.

Looking back and looking at myself today it would be wrong to say that the character of Princess Leia didn’t influence me greatly.  Princess Leia was one of the first, if not best representations of a strong, realistic female character in film and at a young age I watched her over and over and over again.  Memorizing every word, facial expression, idea, tone, loving and or sarcastic statement she made.  All this while she competed with, worked with, lead, loved and worked against the men that surrounded her.

There are two amazing people and one special character to thank for the independence and strength I have been so fortunate to experience so far in this exciting life…my Mom, my Dad and Princess Leia.