Star Wars Day
“May the Fourth Be with You”
What explains a fully grown woman donning a Princess Leia or Obi-Wan Kenobi costume to see the opening of a movie? Splurging for Comic-Con passes? Collecting action figures? Two words: Star Wars.
Much like Ralphie’s memory of the Christmas he received his long-coveted Red Ryder BB gun (in the 1983 film A Christmas Story), my first viewing of the 1977 film Star Wars stands out in my mind with a special glow of mythic proportions that only childhood can suffuse it with.
May 4th has come to be celebrated as Star Wars Day, with its playful “May the Fourth Be with You” tagline. However, the original Star Wars Day—in my mind—occurred a long time ago, in a movie theater far, far away in Bay Shore, New York . . . way back on May 25th, 1977. I was a kid when it came out, so I got to see it in the theater with those famously long lines of people waiting to gain entrance wrapped around the building.
Every time I hear the opening notes of the original Star Wars film, my skin tingles, my heart swells, butterflies flit in my stomach, and I clasp my hands in anticipation. Every time. Just like the first time, when I thought, “Life will never be the same.” And it wasn’t.
Battle lines were drawn and the stakes were high. It’s no exaggeration to say that my life changed that day. The Star Wars universe is about Good versus Evil, the ultimate choice for the soul of the individual. It’s about being able to look at yourself in the mirror each day, knowing that you choose to do what’s right. For a kid, that’s standing up to a bully at the bus stop. Or refusing to shoplift candy from the 7-11 when the other kids are doing it. Or . . . any one of hundreds of other choices facing you each day.
I have long since let go of some of the Stoic tenets of the Jedi Order, trading them in for more Aristotelian principles. But I would not be me without wanting to wield a lightsaber to fight on the side of the rebels against the empire with its imperial stormtrooper minions at the beck and call of Darth Vader.
In a bit of a mashup, I leave you on this fine day with “May the Force be with you,” so that you may “Live long and prosper”[1]!
It’s free to subscribe to Weekly Wonderings!
[1] That’s a Trekkie post for another day.
Everybody should have fun with life!
Thank you. I was hoping someone would write something for Star Wars Day. Now I can your post with my family.
Well done!