It is a cold and rainy night. Twenty-six days of rain in California and everybody is looking for higher ground, including the bugs. It is just the type of night where I can either go snuggle in my comfy bed with my kitty and turn on the T.V. or write about a topic that is near and dear to my heart. I picked the latter.

As I'm writing this blog, I'm sipping down a cup of warm soup. Nothing like a good cup of soup to warm the soul on a cold winter's night. What the hell am I saying...Have I gone brain dead or what? This is supposed to be the Golden State. You know, surf's up, let's have fun in the sun. I should be eating my tofu burger, not soup. This constant rain is just a sad reminder of Global warming. Alas, my inspiration for writing this blog. I know you are all waiting in anticipation as to what this is all about. And I'm sure your interest in my blog has nothing to do with that "unique" title I picked. Don't worry, I will get to that later on. Let's stay on topic for now.

Remembering that day in a galaxy far, far away, I was introduced to my first hero. I know, I know, sounds cliché, but this is how it all happened. I was a 13 year old girl, confused about life, my destiny, all in the mix of raging hormones, when I was first introduced to Luke Skywalker in a little Sci-Fi flick called "Star Wars - A New Hope". You see, Luke could not have come into my life at a more perfect time. I was in desperate need of a hero to rescue me and take me away on a white steed. Maybe we should swap that white steed for a banged up X-wing jet. For you to understand this, I'm going to have to share a little bit of my family history.

Nearing the end of the 70's, my parents, like many others, struggled to make ends meet and feed four hungry mouths. Powdered milk was the norm in my family. I got my clothes either from second hand stores or they were handed down to me from my sister. My family could not afford many luxuries, except for one. My mother always tried to save a few pennies and treat us kids to the drive-in movies at least once or twice a month. That was big back then and my mother was able to get all of us in to the movie dirt cheap. What a sight that was, seeing all of us crammed in the back of that old Ford station wagon, beating the crap out of each other for the best seat. We did not care if it meant getting in trouble. All we wanted was that prime seat in the wagon to watch "A New Hope".

I will never forget that bright and shiny moment when it hit me. It was during the setting of the dual suns on Tatooine (Binary Sunset scene) when it hit me like a ton of bricks. Right smack dab between the eyes as a matter of fact. There stood my hero, with a bronze tan, sandy blond hair and eyes as blue as the color of the sky. Throw in a John Williams score and I was hooked, line, sinker and all. My hero had arrived. Not only was he going to save the galaxy, but he was going to let me escape into a fantasy world where I could let my imagination run wild and my dreams take flight. I followed my hero, Luke, on his remaining and final adventures in TESB and ROTJ. When it was all said and done, I buried my feelings, extinguished the torch that I carried and moved on with my life. I never really did find another hero, until 20 something years later.

Fast forward 20 something years and the torch that I had once extinguished turns into a burning flame, lit up by another hero known as Anakin Skywalker. I am now all grown up, no longer that little naïve girl, able to afford real milk (and then some) and making ends meet by working in the legal/financial world. I was more curious than anything else with the release of TPM. I was not thinking about heroes at this time, nor was I looking for one. My first thoughts of continuing the SW saga were, "No way can George pull this off", but to my sweet surprise, he did. At first, my attention span was not drawn towards that young boy named Anakin Skywalker. It was drawn towards a familiar hero known as Obi Wan and not so familiar hero known as Qui Gon. To be honest, I was more excited to learn about the origins of Obi Wan, not Anakin Skywalker.

Following the release of AOTC, my view points switched gears drastically. I still adored Obi Wan, but my passion swayed towards Anakin Skywalker. I went from gazing upon only one hero, but to gazing upon two. I was thrown in the mix of the perfect Jedi drool fest. What more could a girl want. My ultimate fantasy was torn apart with the release of ROTS. It was the end of the saga, explaining how a hero had fallen. Tears of pain swept down my face as I watched my hero, Anakin, fall to the dark side. What made it even worse was that this fallen hero was the father of my original beloved hero, Luke Skywalker. My only hope was that I knew Luke and Obi Wan would come back to save the day. And that Anakin would eventually return back to the light with pure love from his son. Talk about going from one extreme to the other. ...

The moral of my story is this: We all need a hero, especially in a day and age where there is nothing but disasters, wars, political unrest and the chaotic battles of everyday life. We need a hero, whether that be fantasy or the real deal, to rescue us and take us away from reality for just a little while, so that we can come back with restored hope that life will work itself out and that things will be all right. I can only sum up my heroes into one word................Bootylicious. See, I told you that I would wrap it up in a nice, neat little package.

Honorable Mention of Star Wars "Bootylicious" Heroes:
Yoda (Well, maybe not bootylicious, but my little green friend)
Bail Organa
Padme Amidala
Han Solo
Leia Organa Solo
Chewbacca (Not bootylicious, but a huggable and kissable hero)

Did you honestly think that this story would be about how bootylicious Hayden is in the Bad Dreams scene of ROTS where he is half naked? Don't be silly, I would never fantasize about writing such a thing (teehee).