So we went to see Star Wars Episode 2 at midnight. I’ve never really liked Star Wars, but there were dozens of my friends going, so why not?

Fr. Jim, Jason, and I rode over to the theater together after Mass. Fr. Jim just got a new sound system in his car, and the bass tube was rumbling through the seats.

There were people waiting in line since dawn to get a good seat for the viewing. I read in the paper a couple months ago that a guy was camping out waiting for an Episode 2 ticket since January first. I don’t’ know…I felt a little dorky getting there an hour early.

There were a lot of people that wore Star Wars costumes. I couldn’t do it, but it made my night more entertaining to see the Anakin Skywalker waiting in line for popcorn.

The theaters were so rowdy and happy. I signed a couple yearbooks for some Real World fans. When I was in middle school swapping yearbooks with pretty girls hoping they would write something flirty…I never thought that in ten years I would have high schoolers from other parts of the country ask me to sign there yearbook. This is a funny perk in my life.

Like I said, I don’t really like Star Wars movies, but this one was cool. There wasn’t that geek talk between ugly aliens and all that mess…but an exciting journey around the universe. I guess you’ll just have to see it to know.

When all twenty theaters let out and the mob poured into the parking lot. There were three teenagers dressed in full Star Wars garb, doing choreographed fighting scenes with light sabers. This was the moment they had been waiting for. They were so serious and hardcore swinging around those sticks. Hundreds of people passed by wondering, “I can’t believe they are doing this.”

Fr. Jim cranked up the car, turned to me and said, “That was the dorkiest thing I have ever seen.”

(BTW…you would think Microsoft Word would have “dorky” and “dorkiest” in their dictionary.)