may the force be with you

Star Wars premiered on May 4, 1977. I was living in Chicago, engaged to Tim. 

I have kept calendars and diaries with notations about events and life since I was very young.  On June 6, 1977, my entry read, 

"Star Wars after work w T, Michael and Joannie. Super movie. Left feeling good."

Not much in the way of insight.  I later came to hate the word super as a descriptor of anything.

Tim and I married, then split a couple of years later. He went on to become wildly successful as one of this country's top wealth managers, even appearing a few years ago on the cover of Worth magazine.  Joannie and Michael had a great marriage, two daughters, and then sadly Joannie died in 2000. We stayed long-distance, sporadic friends. I last saw Joannie in the mid-90's when one of her  daughter's was at Tufts, my alma mater.

Michael, Joannie and Tim

with Tim, Joannie and Michael 

A few weeks ago, Alexander starts asking, "Can we go to a screening of Star Wars?" Up until he poses the question, I hadn't given it much thought.  But his excitement for the film, along with all the positive buzz circulating through the media, convinces me to register.

Tonight we go, a night before the movie opens. 

The almost-500 seat theater fills long before the credits roll. And when the movie starts and the iconic John Williams music plays, the audience excitement is palpable. The characters are both familiar and not. The story has more heart than I remember. And I fall in love all over again with the droids and other creatures.

Again, I leave feeling good.