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A long time ago, in a neighborhood about 30 miles away...
I made a new friend in the summer of 1977 when I was 3-and-1/2 years old. His name was George.
George had the coolest toys around, and he let everyone play with them. He came back to visit in 1980 and 1983, and brought more and more toys, both new and old.
Once again, he allowed me full access to his treasure trove of imagination, and like a million other kids, I fell in love with his world.
Then, George went away, and I hardly ever heard from him. I could still visit his world when I wanted to, but it was, after all, George's story, and I wanted to hear the rest of it.
In the meantime, I grew up, and though I longed for George's return, as the years went by, the hope faltered bit by bit.
Now, George is back and he's done something so wonderful it's hard to believe -- he's made us all kids again.
Today, the first leg of the journey will be complete, when The Phantom Menace opens across the United States and starts its progression toward shattering pretty-boy Leonardo DiCaprio's Titanic success of 1997.
I'm one of those 20-something-year-old guys who has talked about this movie non-stop since it was announced more than two years ago. I'm the one who's reading all the speculation posted on the Internet. In short, I'm the guy that the media chuckles at and the rest of the country labels a sci-fi geek.
Damn right.
I love the Star Wars universe.
I hope everyone has something in their lives that harnesses their imagination and captivates their sense of whimsy and adventure the way Star Wars does for me.
I believe in the world that George Lucas has created. I believe in the classic mythology behind the story and I believe in the lessons Lucas preaches via such oddly-named disciples as Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Darth Vader and now Qui-Gon Jinn.
In some ways, Star Wars inspired me to be a writer, because it made me use my imagination and I realized how much I liked that.
I have loved George Lucas' universe since that first day in 1977. After my dad took my brother Adam and I to see the film for the first time, we made a trip to Target where my dad bought us each two action figures.
Adam chose Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader; I opted for R2-D2 and C-3PO. We had broken Vader's lightsaber by the time we got home.
Over the course of the next six years, Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi made motion-picture history and laid the foundation for 20th Century Fox to become a major player in the entertainment industry.
In my own world, I spent every cent of my allowance on Star Wars action figures, space ships and play sets. Every Christmas and birthday was a chance to add one more ship, speeder or stormtrooper to my arsenal.
My collection of spaceships -- highlighted by the Millennium Falcon and an AT-AT (that's All-Terrain, Armored Transport for the unenlightened) -- gave me enough firepower to take over the neighborhood.
Via the Internet's 47 Phantom-related sites, my fellow fans and I scavenged the Internet for plot details, pictures and insider information on the new movies for the past two years.
But no matter how much I read or how many behind-the-scenes pictures were posted, nothing could prepare me for last November when the Episode I teaser trailer hit movie theaters.
Adam, my dad and I purchased tickets to the deplorable film The Waterboy to catch the first glimpses of our return trip to the Star Wars universe.
When the Lucasfilm logo came up, chills ran rampant on my spine and two minutes and 10 seconds later, when the Episode I title shot came flying up, I realized I had been holding my breath the whole time and needed some oxygen.
The images were astonishing -- grand vistas of a planet called Naboo; familiar elements of Luke's home planet Tatooine and amazing computer-generated characters that looked as real as you and me.
Last Wednesday morning, I drove to my local Tinsletown to stand in line for tickets. At 7:30 a.m., I was the 135th person in line. By 2:00 p.m. when tickets went on sale, there were 871 people waiting.
Now, the movie has opened in its two-hour, 11-minute entirety, and by the time your read this, I'll have seen it at least twice, perhaps thrice with Adam, my dad and my fellow Aggie / Star Wars fanatic Tom.
In The Empire Strikes Back, Luke tells a skeptical Yoda that he's ready to be a Jedi.
"Ready, what know you of ready?" the diminutive Master retorts.
Today, 22 years after it all began, I stand ready to return to my childhood and all the magic that started a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.
The Force is back.
