It's Star Wars Day, and in social media spaces everywhere, you'll see the "May the 4^th Be With You" exhortation in grand enthusiasm for at least a few days. The day seemingly approaches full-fledged holiday status every year, and I'm not troll enough to begrudge fans (both the zealous and the mildly interested) their fun. Star Wars Day is also a clear call to remembrance, as people of certain ages share their connections with this behemoth commercial enterprise. Naturally, I think of my connections to this galaxy of the Force, Jedis, and lightsabers.

An early sequence in my memoir, Big Scary Brown Guy, recounts my childhood fascination with Star Wars. Like many Gen Xers, Star Wars loomed like a great pop cultural icon for most of my early years. I assume that nearly everyone around the age of fifty (give or take five years) was either buoyed or tormented by all the Force and Jedi talk as they grew up. The franchise inspired me (mostly). At this time, two films and a historic miss for all time (the Star Wars Christmas Special) comprised the entirety of the Star Wars canon.