Star Wars and You...

I bet you can remember the first Star Wars movie you ever saw and how captivating it all was, as you thought about the characters and drama unfolding in a distant galaxy. Maybe as the years went by, and the movies kept coming, you felt a strong connection to them. That's understandable. After all, while all this is taking place in a galaxy far, far away, it's happening to humans just like us, in a dramatic power struggle that most of us can relate to in many ways.

For me, it was 1977. I was just a kid, standing in a long line going all the way around the little movie theater. Waiting my turn to buy a ticket before they sold out. I was a geek then, and i still am. But the words geek and nerd hadn't been invented yet. Actually, at that time, almost no one out side of the government or big companies had anything close to a decent computer. Back then science fiction was still mysterious and the thought of people interacting with each other in far away galaxies was to me, completely possible. Even today, you can still ask yourself the same question. If there are thousands, or even millions or planets that oxygen breathing people can live on, why wouldn't there be at least a few that had advanced civilizations? Even to a kid, the answer is clear, Yes. It just seemed more likely to me, than not.

Just a year earlier, i remember asking my older brother, How old will I be in the year 2000?, and Do you think we'll have flying cars by then? Looking back, I can see just how much Star Wars really did influence me as the years rolled on. 1977 was also the year my mother enrolled me in a new kind of school. There was a young science professor here in New Orleans that invested in state of the art ground breaking new technology who opened a lab for young students like myself. Its was a computer school of sorts. Though, comparing the smart phones we carry in our pockets today, I find it hard to even call them computers. Most of them had very little (ram) memory. Most stored the tiny programs on tape.

It was there, where I learned how to program for the first time. I was hooked from the first moment I touched these incredible machines, even if they didn't do very much. It was the potential that I was dreaming about, the future was happening right before my eyes.

That started me on a path that led to me gaining degrees and licences in computers, electronics, and mechanical engineering.

To me, the first Star Wars movie was more than just a ground breaking sci-fi film, it was a glimpse of what we could be missing out on in a distant far away place. These characters using technology that we still can't duplicate here on our little back water planet called earth. That never stopped us from dreaming about the space ships, lightsabers, droids, the Force, and the Dark side. It just fueled our imagination. Who knows, I could even say that it inspires our own technology to match it.

Now a days, we might not have Star Wars star ships or Lightsabers, but we can still experience the thrill and fun of being directly involved in a movement that touches countless people on this planet. Its why each year we get together to hold a massive parade with thousands of people right here in New Orleans. Its called Chewbacchus. Annual Parade based on a Star Wars theme that rolls during the first week of Mardi Gras. Its also why I formed this social club called New Orleans Jedi, a sub crew of Chewbacchus. Its also why i became an Earthly Jedi. I believe in the Jedi code and philosophy, so it was a good match for me. now if I can only master the force. ;)

The years go by, the saga unfolds, and the story of Star Wars grows up with us. To me, becoming an important part of my life. In my opinion, influencing all of us in some small way.

Its been 40 years since that day I impatiently waited in line to see a movie that would go on to become bigger that the film itself. More than an idea, or a story, but for some of us lucky ones, a way of life.

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