Star Wars Day

It was a blistering hot day in San Diego in 1977. The kind they don’t tell you about in the sunny southern California ads. Having the afternoon off from Marine Corps Communications School, I decided to walk the streets of the city to see what kind of trouble I could get into. It was rare for me to be out and about by myself. I was usually in the company of friends. I eventually wandered into a small strip mall area formed in a square with an old run down theater as its centerpiece. I saw the words Star Wars on the marquee along with a listing for a sci-fi movie marathon to be run that week. I had never heard of this movie but conjuring images in my mind of War of the Worlds and The Day the Earth Stood Still I had hopes that maybe this might be a decent way to kill 2 hours on a hot afternoon. Thinking of the cold drinks and A/C, I headed into the theater.

Sitting down about halfway up, I saw less than a dozen people in the theater. In those days the only “commercials” one usually got prior to the start of the movie were the cheesy cartoons that reminded you of the concession stand and to be quiet during the presentation. I dutifully sat through these reminders and cooled my jets with a soda and a bag of popcorn. I was pretty sure my fears were going to be realized when I heard the Wagnerian music and saw the title credits rush away into space.

Then the music quieted and the biggest damn starship I had ever seen slid onto the screen and I was transported to a galaxy far, far away. While I have seen many movies since that day I have never again been as completely overwhelmed by a theater experience as I was that day. Lucas’ second set of offerings doesn’t come close to that original trilogy, but I won’t go into that now.

I was reminded of this experience today when I saw that today is one of 2 Star Wars Days. Star Wars Day is May 25^th, 2007. This was declared by the Los Angeles City Council due to the thirtieth anniversary of the debut of the movie. The other day is May 4^th. Apparently May 4^th was supposed to be Star Wars Day for the now defunct Jedi Church. There is no established Jedi Church or religion surrounding it but the day has remained due to the easy pun, “May the Fourth be with you.”

So, celebrate the Day. Watch the movie again. Eat some popcorn or whatever. Just thought you might like to know.