happy star wars day

may the fourth is deemed a kind of pop holiday made special by our culture's shared love of these stories made from the original 1977 space opera.  why may the fourth?  it sounds like May the Force be With You.  a critical & crucial greeting, wishing, & mantra of the Star Wars mythos. 

i've written extensively about my experience of seeing Star Wars: a New Hope in the summer of 1977 when i was 10 years old after waiting in line for over four hours under a scorching sun.  i was awestruck seeing the massive imperial star destroyer come into frame after the famous crawl that sets up the story like an old-fashioned matinee serial.  i've never experienced anything like it. 

i am still a big fan of the original Star Wars trilogy.  my brothers & i had all the kenner toys too.  some of them would be worth thousands of dollars if we treated them as museum pieces rather than toys.  but no, they were toys & they were well-played with.  my brothers & i must have seen Star Wars at least 20 times before it ended its year-long run at the theater.  

oh man!  do i recall the lines to see this movie.  & the hype & pleasure it gave.  magical.  unrepeatable.  & so with these memories & on this day, May the Fourth, let me be a geek & say

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU