On May 25, 1977, the first Star Wars movie, “A New Hope,” was released. Everyone started talking and everyone started going. We were there in line with the crowd.

That first “Star Wars” was itself a cultural and marketing phenomenon (singular), and it was the start of the phenomena (plural) of star war movies and mania that shook the foundations of our planet. It was a “phenomenon” because it was the first movie and it was called “Star Wars,” the movie. It was the start of the “phenomena” because it was the first of six Star Wars movies to be released in two trilogies — with hopes of another trilogy in the far distant future.

The first 1977 movie was actually #4 in the series. Three years later, #5, “The Empire Strikes Back” (1980) was welcome with worried concern, and three years after that, #6, “Return of the Jedi” (1983), appeared in movie theatres across the world to the loud applause of an army of followers – many of whom were costumed as rebel pilots, storm troopers, musical miscreants and furry teddy bear fighters. We were in the midst of an intergalactic war, and we had the figures and models to prove it. I still do, in the remote storage unit. My children are grown with children of their own, but the figures remain neatly ordered in a black plastic Darth Vader case in a universe that is and always will be their own, just waiting to be called to fight the next menace.

Twenty-two years after the first movie, we saw #1, “The Phantom Menace” (1999), followed three years later by #2, “Attack of the Clones” (2002), concluding with #3 “Revenge of the Sith” (2005). The #3 and final movie in the first trilogy, which is actually #6 and the last made, was released 28 years after #1, which is actually #4, which we finally reached in wide-screen wonder at the end of that long line in 1977. It is all just wonderfully confusing and entertaining, and I wouldn’t have missed them for the world.

I have all the movies, I have watched all the shows and I’m ready for the next installments.

The space ships are amazing. I still remember the massive hulk of the Imperial Star Destroyer appearing from the black of space to menace Princess Leia in her tiny Rebel ship. That Imperial cruiser was a battleship, an intruder of gargantuan proportions with a city on its surface and gun emplacements everywhere, armed with turbo lasers, ion cannons and tractor beam projectors, to name just a few. Han Solo wasn’t even fazed. He and Chewbacca just climbed into their swivel gun emplacements and started firing away at the gnat-like TIE fighters, before blasting off into space warp safety, to return and fight again. Luke Skywalker didn’t bat an eye either. He jumped into his X-Wing Fighter with R2-D2 riding shot-gun and took on the biggest space ship ever, the Death Star, a moon-sized monster on steroids that could swallow a planet whole and spit out the pieces. Luke just dived right in, with Obi-Wan and the Force calmly guiding his hand, found the one weakness all bullies have and saved the day for the Alliance and their rag-tag fleet of tattered and happy star ships.

That was a movie. Our heroes got medals, Princess Leia gave them each a “look” and we hadn’t seen enough yet. In some ways, we still haven’t. There is and will always be something very everyday and right at home in those make-believe star ships and their make-believe worlds. The battles and settings were somehow not that far away and reminded us that we are part of something bigger, grander and as exciting as only imaginations can be. We learned our lesson. We have to keep fighting for what’s right and good and not worry about the cash. Han Solo did it and we can too.

May the force be with you,

Grandpa Jim

Reminder to Readers: The force was with Hiroshima. Please read her story. Just click the “Mary and Other Stories” tab and drop down to “Hiroshima.”