You've probably heard this question asked before, but it's one that has not really been addressed (at least not that I'm aware of). Did Luke and Leia know that they shared a birthday? Would the characters that populate the GFFA have celebrated birthdays? No birthday celebrations are ever noted in the films and I have not read of any birthdays in the EU.... and I read lot's of EU. As far as I know, and I'm no expert, the marking of the day of someone's birth is observed in some way, shape or form in every culture. I suppose you could argue that the Wookiees have their Life Day celebration in that oh so memorable Star Wars Holiday Special... but, I've seen that infamous show and Life Day is not a birthday celebration, in the strictest sense.

So, where exactly did birthdays rate in the grand scheme of things in the Star Wars universe? Maybe under the tyranny of Palpatine and Vader, no one really felt joyous enough to mark a birthday. Maybe it was just enough to be alive... Then with the onslaught of the Rebellion I'm sure the rebel heroes had more pressing matters to attend to then cake and candles. If that is the case, though, it seems a shame. So often, in our darkest hour, a celebration of even the smallest thing can sustain you through the most unbearable of circumstances.

Today is my birthday. I was born November 15, 1968... and, yes, that makes me 39 years old as of about 6 a.m. this morning. Sorry, but the line to give me a birthday smacking is now closed.....

I'm not doing much to mark my birthday today. I slept late, I have to work at my part time retail job at the Irish shop tonight (ugh) and in between I'm tinkering around with my blog entry here, setting up my new digital camera (which I could have used this past weekend.... thanks for waiting, Dad.... ), endlessly retooling my MySpace page (which has become an addiction!) and reminiscing about the wonderful weekend I just had.

Many of you may have read JediMelindWolf's blog entry yesterday. In it she gave a very good description of our "little" excursion to the Museum of Science and Industry for the Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination exhibit. JMW plays down her role in planning the whole event, but she is to be greatly credited with organizing every aspect of the trip. She ordered the advance tickets for all of us, kept all of us in line at the Museum, made dinner reservations for all of us at Giordano's and executed a pitch perfect surprise party for yours truly . Of Course, when I said after dinner that I was too full for cake, it looked like her head was going to explode.... but, inspite of my inadvertently trying to throw a wrench into her well laid plans, the surprise came off with out a hitch! To mark my upcoming day, I was honored to be surrounded by good old friends like JMW with her sweet husband and lovely daughter, Jediprincess77, EwanandHaydenFan5, Padmeskywalker77, GalacticBabe (aka Twink), and new friends like Kenobi-fan (yes, Virginia, he does exist!) and his gorgeous wife, Jedidz23 (who needs to get back to writing blogs!), greenandwhitejedi, nob01 and his beautiful wife, Darth Kerfuffle (and his camera!), Jimmy Mac (of Force Cast fame) and his cool son. I'm sure my new friends didn't realize what they were getting into, but they all sang "Happy Birthday" beautifully.... although I was hoping for birthday scat from JP77!

Oh! Speaking of scat.... the night before this extravaganza many of the above mentioned and myself were treated to a night of the most wonderful singing I have ever heard. We were invited to attend a performance by Jediprincess77 and although I've seen her perform several times over the last year, she never fails to impress me with her talent, her love and enthusiasm for music, and her professionalism. I foresee great things for this princess...... :::::wise yodacon:::::

I've had many good birthdays over the years. My late mom always made sure that they were happy and, for the most part they have been. I have friends (and family) who love me and that is the greatest gift I could ever receive. Whatever else goes wrong in my life.... sigh..... (luck of the Irish... yeah, right! ) I know that I can always seek refuge in the arms of a friend.


That's why I hope that somehow, at some point, the heroes of that Galaxy Far, Far Away were able to steal moments like that for themselves. I hope that Luke and Leia blew the candles out on their cake together as they wished for peace. I hope that Vader was treated to a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday" by the 501st. Yes, I even hope that Palpatine received an Imperial Birthday Cupcake from Vader.....
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Kudos go to GalacticBabe for the peach cobbler, for being a perfect house guest... and for enduring the intense scrutiny of my Pug....

Next time, though, maybe we won't stay up so late watching Star Wars......