Intergalactic Star Wars Day

Oh, yes!  The day has arrived.  The holiday that every American school child should be let off for every year, not just the years it happens to fall on Saturday or Sunday (like this year and next year.)

IT'S INTERGALACTIC STAR WARS DAY!

Get it?  Because fourth sounds like force.  Yeah, I really hope you didn't need that explanation.

I mean, in Japan, kids get off school for Intergalactic Star Wars Day.  Or, actually, they get off for a national holiday that falls on the same day, but we should just pretend Japan is actually cool enough to let all their kids off because of George Lucas's epic masterpiece.

Also, side note:  this is our first Intergalactic Star Wars Day in which the franchise is owned by the Evil Empire... Disney.  I just hope Disney isn't the movies' own Order 66.

Disney Order 66:  Execute all canon the Star Wars fans have ever known.

Ah, I still remember the first time I ever watched Star Wars.  I was seven years old.  It was the 20th Anniversary Special Edition in 1997.  Yes, this means I grew up with Greedo shooting first.

No matter what, at least he dies.

My dad sat down in the living room to watch them with us kids.  At first, nothing really tipped me off that what I was about to experience was going to be life changing.  I mean, our family had some movies that we just had to watch with the parents.  Maybe the fact Mom wasn't watching this movie with us should have tipped us off.  I mean, normally with a new movie everyone watched.  But, no, the actual case was that my mom isn't a Star Wars fan.

Anyway, we sat down in the living room to watch the video tape.  And I was BLOWN away.  Almost everything in my body instantly knew it was amazing.  My bladder didn't even tell me how badly it needed to pee until the whole film was over.  Same thing happened the next two days as I watched The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.  My poor dad had to read off all those opening crawl for years until the youngest of us three kids was able to read fast enough to keep up.

*epic theme music*

Naturally, I wondered where I-III were, but I was told they didn't exist.  Like I said, it was 1997.  I figured they had to happen eventually.

Awesomeness for seven-year-olds

So, of course, as soon as I'd seen all the movies, and I was in love, and fortunately, the other missionaries we were working with at the time had a son two years older than me who also liked Star Wars, and my brother who's two years younger than me also loves Star Wars, so it's not like I was alone in this thing.  No girls were around who really, really liked Star Wars, but I didn't care.  I had people who liked Star Wars.  Naturally, my younger brother got a lightsaber.  Actually, I think for all my growing up years from 1997 on, there was only once a time span when there wasn't a single lightsaber or lightsaber knock-off in the household.

We actually owned the knock-off double blade, not the real one.

Actually, when I think about it, Star Wars was probably the first time I followed all the steps of being part of a fandom.
#1:  Become introduced.
#2:  Fall in love.
#3:  Find others that share your love.
#4:  Buy merchandise.  Or, rather, have your brother get merchandise, in my case.

This person is naturally awesome.

Only one of the most frustrating Lego structures ever.

Just as good as regular Monopoly

#5:  Have one minor fault that makes you feel slightly out of place in the fandom.

I confess!  I don't hate Jar Jar Binks, like I'm supposed to!

#6:  Have lengthy discussions about everything.
#7:  Learn lots of information about stuff that isn't in the films and feel superior by correcting others who don't know as much.

I will admit, though, I've never actually read a Star Wars book and most of my information concerning the Extended Universe comes from Wookieepedia.  Also, my friends are on average WAY bigger Star Wars fans than me and can correct me at every turn.

If this isn't considered normal behavior, then I don't know what is.

So, yeah, that's my Star Wars story.  Well, at least so far.  In two years' time, it will pick up again when Star Wars VII airs.

Do us good, Mickey!  Follow the canon.

Anyway, Happy Intergalactic Star Wars Day, and may the fourth be with you always.

Sorry, the Doctor Who reference had to happen.