I haven't gone by the name Obi-Wan, since before you were born...

This past Wednesday night I helped get my daughter to bed at about 10:15, then kissed my wife on the head and zipped off to see the premiere of Revenge of the Sith. The AMC I went to had sold out about eight or nine screens for the 12:01 a.m. showing. When I arrived, the crowds had already been admitted, so the place was bustling but there was no real waiting in line to be done (I had bought my ticket online earlier in the day, and stopped by the AMC on my way home from work to pick up the actual ticket). Many people were saving large blocks of seats, but I found a guy who, it turned out, I think, had actually saved an extra seat on the aisle specifically so that someone could help him save his several seats when the time came for him to have to go out and give tickets to let his friends into the theater. These four or five guys were up from University of Arizona just to see the show, which they beleived was all sold out in Tucson. They were very big fans of the movies and knew lots of plot elements that were not well-covered in the movies but had been treated elsewhere, especially the Clone Wars animated series. I picked their brains a bit on some points of confusion I still had left over from Episodes I and II. They were very mildly amused that I was old enough to have seen Episode IV in the theater with my Dad in 1977.

I enjoyed the movie as much as I had hoped to. Thought it was great fun. Better acting and dialogue than I'd braced myself for. Some spots were a little soft. The audience actually laughed a bit when Palpatine shifted into super-bad-guy mode and started snarling and growling at Anakin... it just seemed so overdone. But I felt it was terrific overall. Would like to go see it again. I think it stands nicely with IV, V and VI. We just won't speak of Episode I. I feel genuinely happy that, in my opinion and hopefully public consensus, the movies are ending on a strong, winning note.

Part of me is sad they are over, because they've been a small part of the backdrop of my life for a really long time. It feels just a little bit odd to know that they are all finished. I'm not all that wrapped up in the movies, don't study the plots, read the books, collect figurines, etc. But I've been a fan. I'll probably feel the same way to some extent when the Simpsons end, or Letterman retires, etc.

Part of me is glad I made it to see the movies completed. That sounds stupid, and it's not a big deal, and I won't dwell on it. That is actually really behind me now. I really, really hated working in the Sears Tower after September 11. Some tiny little node of my personality just couldn't get over it. I'd note previews for movies I wanted to see, and would wonder if I'd make it until they came out. Having changed jobs and moved, I don't think like that anymore. I don't know why I was like that. Anyhow, part of my reaction to watching Episode III was feeling another dimension of closure to that whole chapter.

By the way, when I got out of the theater, there was an absolutely gigantic, yellow, almost full moon just above the western horizon. Did anyone else see this? It was a tremendous sight, and very spectacular after just seeing a movie with so many shots of planets, space, etc.

This morning I golfed with an 88-year old man who helped build the wings for Lockheed P-38 airplanes in World War II. He was also one of the first people to sell TV's in Arizona, around 1947. None of the brands he sold then still exist.