Watching: The Phantom Menace trailer with the boys...again.

I think I have Daniel's strep. I woke up this morning with a very sore throat. At first I thought it was due to a postnasal drip from allergies, but it has gotten steadily worse. I have an appointment scheduled with my doctor for a routine thyroid check next Thursday; maybe I'll try to get to see her on Monday instead.

Star Wars, Past and Future

The relentless drive of the Star Wars hype machine is becoming almost inescapable these days. As a Star Wars fan from way back, though, I don't really want to escape from it. Fortunately, I married another fan, and we're raising three more little enthusiasts. I'm excited about seeing Episode 1 with Tab and Daniel. Stephen and Matthew will have to wait until they're a little older.

I have allowed the twins to watch the trailer I downloaded. They seem to be quite taken with the Jar Jar character. He makes only a fleeting appearance in the trailer, but Stephen and Matthew want me to play his one line over and over. I don't know whether it is his cartoon-character voice, or his floppy dog-ears, but he definitely appeals to the younger set.

Daniel's favorite character from the original Star Wars movies is Darth Vader. He dressed up as Darth Vader for the past two Halloweens. Now he has a new favorite Sith Lord, Darth Maul. He is impressed by Darth Maul's double-sided light saber.

I was 15 when the first Star Wars movie came out in 1977, and I was hooked from the opening chords of the fanfare. I loved the spectacle and the effects and the simple, heart-warming story of good triumphing over evil. Han Solo was my favorite character, and not just because of Harrison Ford's dashing good looks. He was funny, courageous, and a hell of a pilot. I wanted to fly the Millenium Falcon and save the day as well.

The cliffhanger ending of Empire left me unsatisfied and salivating to see the concluding film of the trilogy.

Jedi opened in the spring of 1983. It was the last semester of my senior year in college. On opening day, four or five of us took the T into Boston and stood in line for tickets. We arrived at 9 a.m., but there were already over 1000 people ahead of us in line. I know this because even though the theater sat 800, we didn't get into the first show and there were at least 200 people ahead of us for the second show.

We didn't care, though. We were all done with exams and were just waiting for Commencement. We'd brought beach blankets to sit on, a radio, books, and snacks. Besides it was just so much fun to watch the people in costume and the TV news crews interviewing fans: to be part of the spectacle.

More fun, it turned out, than the movie itself. Unlike the other two films, each of which I saw in the theater close to a dozen times, I think I only saw Jedi twice in the theater. I've seen it many more times on video, of course.

If I get a chance this Wednesday morning, I'll drive by the brand, spanking new AMC theater just to check out the line of people waiting to buy tickets for opening day. I won't be joining them, however. Sixteen years and three kids have put me outside the line-standing demographic.

At 3 o'clock Wednesday afternoon, however, I'm going to try to phone for opening day tickets. I don't think I'll get through, but maybe the Force will be with me.

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