May the Force be With You

Okay, blame it on a bad case of six-hour jet lag and eight hours to kill in the Miami airport as I head slowly home to Bolivia. But I have decided to write a Blog about Star Wars. That is “Star Wars the Movie”, not “Star Wars the Weapons System.” CNN reports that tomorrow, May 25th is the 30th anniversary of the release of George Lucas space epic.

The CNN Web site also invites readers to share their Star Wars “memories” which, I admit, is a little hokey. But since I happen to have two really good ones, what the heck.

My “first time” (CNN’s words, not mine) came during that summer of 1977. It was, by the way, the same summer that Elvis died (a fact some still dispute) but we’ll save Elvis for another Blog on another day when I am stranded in another airport. That summer I took a break from my undergraduate studies at Berkeley to do a stint as an intern at the California State Capitol. One weekend I snuck down to Los Angeles to see my girlfriend at the time, who had become a quick convert to, “A long time ago in a galaxy…” Within hours of my arrival she whisked me to a West LA cinema to see Wookies. Yes it was cool.

Unfortunately a few days later I checked into Sacramento Mercy Hospital to have my tonsils out (at age 19, I was a late tonsil bloomer). To knock me out they first gave me a couple of strange pills that made my world more than a little blurry. Blurry enough so that when the masked anesthesiologist bent over me in pre-op I told him he was Darth Vader. The last thing I remember before blacking out entirely was his deep voice resonating through the mask, telling me, “May the force be with you.” Funny doc. Real funny.

By the way, I don’t think they should say morning prayers over the loud speaker in Catholic hospitals. When I was coming out of anesthesia to the sound of a priest’s broadcast voice I pondered the possibility for a few moments that I had not only died but had been sent to a heaven of the wrong denomination.

My second Star Wars tale worth repeating was a few weeks later, in Sacramento. The governor of California at the time was a wild-minded 37-year-old named Jerry Brown and Jerry Brown liked Star Wars a lot, a real lot. So much so that he did two things. The first was to propose that the state launch its own satellite and the other was to book a downtown theater for a special screening of Star Wars for the entire state legislature and all the other state elected officials. I got tickets as a staff member to the Assembly Speaker.

Imagine it, the entire political leadership of the state – Republicans and Democrats alike – all went to the movies together. Men and women who otherwise could not agree on anything sat together in darkened rows munching on popcorn and Rasinettes, and booing Darth Vader. And some of them actually were Darth Vader!

All of which gives me a good idea. In the name of bipartisanship I think that George Bush should invite the cabinet and the entire US Congress to hunker down together at a cinema in Washington for a move night. Now granted, the choice of movie would be difficult. Pirates of the Caribbean 19 might seem like it was mocking Bush “adventurism” in Iraq, so that is probably out. Spiderman 27 is probably out too. The Super Hero’s humility might also be seen as mocking out the President. So I’m thinking Shrek 34. Yes, I think that is just what the nation needs as a Memorial Day boost, for the entire elected leadership of the nation to sit down together and watch Shrek and Fiona. History might well record it as a turning point in the national mood.

To add your voice to this call send out leaders a message at the Web site:

www.heypoliticiansgoseeshrektogethernow.com

And that is why one should never Blog running on no sleep, six hours of jet lag, and nothing much to do in the Miami airport. See you for more serious business next week.