TO OUR READERS

Those of us of a certain age can remember sitting in a theater and watching those words crawl across the screen and then John Williams’ music swooped in, definitely carrying us all to a place “far, far away.”

The first “Star Wars” movie’s arrival in 1977 was fairly low-key. No more.

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” has been hyped and hotly awaited and the anticipation is finally over.

In our cover story, Features writer Elaine Briseño taps into some of the local excitement surrounding the movie.

In a related story, Arts Editor Adrian Gomez interviews Navajo artist Ryan Singer, who combines his heritage with “Star Wars” inspiration to produce stunning paintings.

Of course, there’s plenty of holiday entertainment on tap — you have a choice of “Nutcrackers” and lots of music.

Switching gears, Features writer Rosalie Rayburn talked to some local experts about how to keep fine wood furniture in good shape in New Mexico’s arid climate.

In Travel, we visit Lincoln, land of Billy the Kid and much more.

Until next week,