 |
| Few things summon up memories of childhood faster than a Ben Cooper plastic mask. |
In 1978, I was living in a new house, in another part of
town, and my Star Wars room was gone, save for the sleeping bag, poster, and
Han and Chewie mirror. I’d already ensconced myself into Star Wars consumerism;
I had toys, magazines, bubble gum cards, comics, and lots of one-off weird
items, like the aforementioned silver mirror. None of my other friends had that
mirror. I was the only one I knew of for decades that had one. So, basically, I
was a Star Wars kid. That was the hook upon which most adult decisions were
made about what to get me for birthdays and Christmas and any other
gift-giving/child bribery occasions.
It was inevitable, I suppose that I would have a Star Wars
birthday party that year. I can’t recall everyone on the guest list, because I
didn’t make it, but I know Dennis was there, having been schlepped over by his
mother, because we were no longer living down the street from one another. If
you showed me a picture from the party, I could name the kids, but right now,
all I can see is us, wearing the plastic vacu-form Halloween masks that were
the best party favor of all time. Everyone had a different mask, from Chewie,
to Vader, to the generic Stormtrooper, to C3PO, and Luke in his pilot helmet.
There were extra Stormtrooper masks. Duh. We snatched those up instantly and
didn’t take them off; we merely levered them up on our forehead to eat cake.
Oh, the cake. Pictures of the cake survive—a Star Wars cake,
with black icing (space is dark), and the droids and the death star captured in
spun and molded sugar. It was glorious. I remember my mother telling the story
of trying to find black food coloring and having to drive all over town (she
eventually found some in a bakery supply wholesale shop). We were all
impressed. Black icing for space. We’d never seen the like before. That icing,
by the way, stained all of our lips and gums a dark purple-blue color, making
us look like creepy undead children. Bonus!
My birthday being a week before Halloween meant that there
was a little bleed over into the holiday spirit. My parents actually set up an
apple bobbing station in the hopes that we’d give it a go, and we did, mostly.
But pulling apples out of a tub of water with your face paled next to
discussing the awesome powers of the Dark Lord of the Sith.
What did I get for my birthday? Star Wars loot, of course.
