Senior year of high school - where lofty dreams of senior prom, senior skip days, senior picnics, and graduation are waiting to be fulfilled. This was supposed to be the culmination of the Best Years of Our Life. However, for a college-bound kid like myself, my senior year was not a life of peaches and cream, more like a life of peach picking and cream left in the fridge beyond its usability date.

AP Physics, AP Calculus, Honors English - there was little if any room for me to slack off that year. College applications had been filled out and sent - some colleges were waiting to see how I did my senior year before deciding whether to admit me.

For a couple of geeks like Scott and myself, never in our wildest imaginations did we imagine one of our dreams would come true. We weren't necessarily the "coolest" kids in school. We weren't even all that "handsome" or popular (look how times have changed NOW). In fact, most girls didn't even bother to give us the time of day as much as we wanted. Then again, both of us wore geeky watches, so there probably was no need for them to give us the time of day. Still, we weren't exactly "babe magnets" back then although Scott made up for that in spades once he went to college. We were resigned to spend the night of our senior prom dateless - probably immersed in some computer game or involved in some critical battle against orcs and goblins. However, on one night during our senior year, our lives would never again be the same.

A light rain had been falling all day long as Scott and I eagerly awaited the big night. We had our dinner plans arranged way ahead of time, and everything was going to be perfect. We had even planned what we were going to wear that night and coordinated our wardrobes. Everything was set.

As we drove excitedly to our destination like a couple of nervous schoolboys, anticipating what lay in store for us that night, we talked about how fortunate we were, and how never in a million years did we ever think we would be where we were at that moment. My heart was definitely sweaty, and my palms were racing. I was quickly turning into a nervous wreck. Scott was not much better - he was running at the mouth, telling me he couldn't wait, imagining how the night would turn out.

After what seemed like our entire life, we finally arrived and the moment of truth was at hand. We entered the extravagant building and we were amazed at the enormity of the room. The walls seemed to be neverending as they raced upward toward the ceiling. As others mingled and people came in behind us, we took our seats and waited...

Suddenly, the lights were dimmed and all of our attention was focused at the front of the room we were in.

A light flashed and the following words were projected onto the screen at the front of the room...

"A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away..."

"Yes!" both Scott & I yelled out quietly. We couldn't believe it. After waiting for months, we were finally watching Star Wars on the IMAX screen at the National Air & Space Museum in Washington D.C.

The all-so familiar introductory musical score blared causing my body to tremble. The screen was so large and the words so big that it actually required a tremendous effort of turning my head from side to side to read the entire introduction to the movie.

*BOOM*BOOM*BOOM* The seats were literally shaking as the first Star Destroyer burst onto the screen in four stories of sheer power. Then the lasers started and we were off for an experience we would never forget as long as we lived. It was truly a geek's dream come true.

As the movie ended, Scott and I sat there in complete awe, emotionally spent from the Adventure we had just witnessed. The once again familiar music played on as we discussed the movie - how incredible it was to see the Death Star blown up on Four Stories of Goodness; how rich and deep the sound was in the movie; how we didn't care to see every single pore of Mark Hamill's face. To this day, the very thought of a four-story tall Mark Hamill's face still brings shudders to my body.

We left the theatre laughing and shaking from all the excitement. Sure it wasn't our senior prom night, but it was just as memorable and just as fun (at least we imagined it to be). Senior prom would come later, but for the time being, we felt like we had just come home from a Dream Come True Date.

[Acknowledgement: This Entry was inspired by Catherine from Creative Outlet when she mentioned taking her son recently to see _Star Wars Ep. II: When Clones Suck_ at the IMAX.]