I was 18, on the cusp of my last year as a teenager when this little space fantasy I had heard about hit theaters in 1977. At first, I wasn’t sure if I’d go see the film – mostly because it was touted as a sci-fi movie. Truth be told, that really wasn’t my cup of tea back then. However, I had seen American Graffiti four years earlier, and I knew this new film – Star Wars – was by the same filmmaker. I really liked American Graffiti [enough so that I sat through two consecutive showings the first time I went to see it in a theater 😉 ] so maybe – just maybe – this Star Wars would be an okay movie to see at some point. But to rush out to see it? I thought not. That wasn’t something I planned to do.

Then, reports of people lining up – around the block! – to see Star Wars began showing up in the Chicago newspapers and on the local news stations. What is this new movie all about? I wondered. Maybe it was worth a looksee sooner rather than later. So one weekend afternoon, I took myself up to my favorite Chicago movie house, the Nortown – a beautiful, ornate theater with twinkling stars on the ceiling, faux box seats lining the sides, a lush balcony, and an impressive, working Wurlitzer organ – to see this film that was the talk of the town. [The Nortown was a movie house when movie houses were movie houses! My use of the past tense is appropriate since, sadly, the majestic Nortown is no more. Like so many theaters of its kind, it could not compete with the onslaught of multiplex theaters that rose up in Chicago and around the country during the last two decades of the 20th Century. It closed its doors in 1990. 🙁 ] I found a seat in the crowded theater, and settled in comfortably for the next couple of hours. I was ready to see what all the hoopla was about.

As the final credits rolled, all I could think was O…M…G! Now I knew what all the hoopla was about!

If you’ve read any of my CWK blogs, you are no stranger to the simple fact that I am a HUGE Luke Skywalker fan. To this day, he remains my very favorite SW character [I do like others, too 🙂 ]. While I’m sure I developed a little crush on the Wanna-Be-Jedi farmboy from Tatooine back in 1977, it always has been Luke’s story, his journey that have captivated my imagination. But Star Wars – or, I should say, my affinity for Star Wars – is about so much more. It’s about the relationships between characters, the attention to detail in every facet of the films, the chance to be transported to far-away, imaginary places that are both foreign and familiar, the humor, the battle between Light and Dark, the desire to be who one is meant to be [good or bad] … Oh my, there are so many reasons why I became an instant Star Wars fan – way too many to list them all here!

It has been 40+ years [longer than I’ve known my husband! 😉 ] since my love affair with Star Wars began, and instead of telling you what it is about the space fantasy that appeals to me, I thought I’d show you. After all, a picture paints 1,000 words [which, just so you know, I have not eclipsed – nor even come close to – here 😉 ], does it not? 😉 Shall we…

This pictorial list of why I have loved Star Wars these 40+ years is by no means complete. Quite frankly, I could go on forever – which would suggest to you the basis of my love affair with Star Wars is infinite. 😉 It is. 🙂 However, I had better wrap up my collage right here since, by my estimation, these 11 pictures represent about 11,000 words – and that’s well over the limit we CWK bloggers try to adhere. (lol) Each of these photos represents something very specific to me … yet as I sit here musing this very thought, it occurs to me that they may represent something entirely different to you, that you might conclude they mean one thing to me but in fact mean something else. That’s a great aspect of any form of art – the same story, picture, sculpture, film can impact viewers in a whole host of ways. I’ll just leave it to you to draw your own conclusions. Feel free to let me know what they are in one of the comment boxes below. I’d love to hear what you have to say.

Until next time,

MTFBWY 🙂

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The views expressed in this blog do not necessarily reflect those of Coffee With Kenobi, its hosts, respective writers, or its affiliates.