I will never forget the epic music
and the iconic yellow text of the opening crawl
that first introduced me to the story
of these out of this world characters
who lived a long time in a galaxy far, far away…
I will never forget seeing the sight
of that Imperial Star-Destroyer
chasing down and firing at that
Rebel Alliance ship carrying Princess Leia…
I will never forget the fear that I felt
when I first saw the imposing Darth Vader…
I will never forget seeing the droids
R2-D2 and C3PO being jettisoned into space
and finding themselves on
the desert planet of Tatooine with
the blueprints of the "Death Star" super-weapon,
as well as a message for the "only hope"
of the Rebel Alliance - someone called "Obi-wan Kenobi"…
I will never forget seeing the iconic image
of Luke Skywalker looking to the horizon as the twin suns of his planet began to set…
I will never forget Luke Skywalker and C3PO
following R2-D2 into the desert
and being attacked by "Sand People"
and Obi-wan Kenobi having to come to their rescue…
I will never forget Luke Skywalker
first igniting his father's blue Lightsaber -
however unaware that his father, Anakin Skywalker,
who he thought was now dead
was still alive and was now
none other than the evil Darth Vader…
I will never forget Obi-wan Kenobi
explaining the nature of The Force to Luke Skywalker…
I will never forget seeing Obi-wan Kenobi
and Luke Skywalker arrive at the city of Mos Eisley
and be introduced to Han Solo and Chewbacca -
and then watch Han Solo shoot first
in a stand-off against a green alien named Greedo…
I will never forget the first time I saw
the Millennium Falcon freighter take off
and then be taken aboard the Death Star
not long after the super-weapon had destroyed
Princess Leia's homeworld of Alderaan…
I will never forget seeing Luke, Han,
and Chewbacca break Leia free of her cell
and then dive head-first into the Death Star's trash-compactor…
I will never forget seeing
the former master and the apprentice,
Jedi Master Obi-wan Kenobi
and Sith Dark Lord Darth Vader,
reunite and face-off against one another...
I will never forget being entranced
by Obi-wan and Darth Vader dueling
one another with their blue and red lightsabers…
I will never forget Luke Skywalker watching
Darth Vader strike down Obi-wan Kenobi -
not knowing that Obi-wan had learned how
to live on after death and become a "Force ghost"…
I will never forget seeing the Millennium Falcon
surrounded by Imperial Tie Fighters
and then jump into hyperspace
and eventually deliver the stolen plans for
the Death Star to the Rebel Alliance…
I will never forget Luke Skywalker
participating in the attack on the Death Star
and being assured by the voice of Obi-wan
that "The Force will be with you, always" -
just before Luke Skywalker delivers
the one in a million shot into the exhaust port
of the Death Star leading to its destruction...
I will never forget the ceremony
when Luke Skywalker, Han Solo -
but unfortunately not Chewbacca -
were given a medal by Princess Leia
for all that they did to destroy the Death Star…
Oh yes, I will never forget the first time
that I ever saw every moment
of George Lucas' revolutionary space-opera film
that changed cinema and the world forever:
I will never forget the first time I saw
the 1977 film that simply used to be called
"Star Wars".