Back in May the DSG was prepping for the premier of Episode III. Back when Episode II came out it is my understanding that Dan Harkin gave free passes to the DSG in exchange for having troopers and Vader at the premier. So, it wasn’t too much of a leap to expect that the same thing would happen this time around.
I’m not sure exactly how it all happened but in the end there was mass confusion in our ranks over a) if the tickets were free or not and b) if not, who was buying them all so we could all sit together etc. When we found out that Harkins was not going to be providing us with comp tickets and that some folks had bought tickets to the sold out show earlier there was a lot of confusion and a lot of people got mad at one another and things just started to go into melt down.
As far as I’m concerned there was no malicious intent in anyone’s part. I just think there was a lot of assuming and bad communication going on so when things did not go as expected people got upset. In any event, I rather selfishly wanted to make sure that I saw the movie with all my fellow Star Wars freaks so I decided to buy tickets for everyone. There really is no substitute for seeing a movie with fellow fanatics and I wanted to secure this memory because chances are there will never be another opportunity with regards to Star Wars.
I’m not patting myself on the back. In fact I never would have even posted about it if not for what happened last night.
Last night we had a Halloween party and it was a blast. There was lots of food and drink and good friends and good costumes. I didn’t feel like being a trooper so I went as Winnie the Pooh which seemed to please everyone.
About half way through the party Lancer, our current XO, stopped everyone and said he had an announcement. I was kind of listening from the couch just expecting to hear him thank everyone for coming out etc. when all of a sudden he starts bringing up the confusion around the tickets for Episode three. Suddenly he’s saying that the group got together to thank me for buying the tickets and before I know it I’m being handed a big box wrapped in black cloth.
I have to say I didn’t know what to say. I was sort of stunned. Like I said, buying the tickets for everyone was about me securing a memory for myself in addition to helping out my garrison so I had long ago stopped thinking about it. When I pulled the black cloth off I was even more surprised, and really very touched. They had special ordered an absolutely beautiful Kotobukiya Storm Trooper.
What do you say to that kind of generosity? It sounds sappy but even now I’m misty eyed over it. It really means a great deal to me that they would do something like that. I don’t know how to say thank you properly or really express how cool it is. I never know how to say thank you the way I mean it. I suppose that maybe a really good way to express it is to say that this thing is now one of my most prized possessions. It will never leave my desk. Ever.
So if you guys read this, thanks again. I'm very moved by your generosity and I know without a doubt we have best damn garrison ever!
Sincerely,
Neil
P.S. I had to laugh when Kevin (our CO) handed me the box wrapped in black cloth I was so focused on what was under the wraps that I didn’t pay attention to the wraps. I thought it was just some cloth. (Afterward Kevin said “You know I didn’t just hand it to you in a pile of my dirty laundry” HAHAHA!) But it was a special shirt made by Master Replicas specifically for the DSG. You can see a picture of the back below and on the front it reads “Master Replicas: Mobilization 5.19.05”. Evidently it’s a shirt that MR made just for us for helping them advertise their wares during the premier weekend. I probably won’t wear it much because it’s so cool.
