Qui-Gon: Don't center on your anxieties, Obi-Wan. Keep your concentration here and now where it belongs.
Obi-Wan: Master Yoda says I should be mindful of the future...
Qui-Gon: ...but not at the expense of the moment. Be mindful of the living Force, my young Padawan.

Star Wars gets it right every time.

This is an entry that began with a simple statement from a perfect stranger. It all started when I was standing in line at Celebration IV doing something I promised myself I never would....wait hours for an autograph. I hardly know how it happened. One minute I was minding my own business in Cleveland, Ohio, and then the next there I was at the LA Convention Center with a $35 coupon in my hand, a wrist band with a number two on it, and the promise of an audience with the princess herself. Now, before my departure, to avoid this very situation I had employed the time honored strategy of rational thinking. "I don't want to stand in line for autographs." I explained to my good friend MO2YP on the phone one night before we jetted to the coast, "I think it's likely to be a big let down. I just stood in a line for a book signing. That line only had four people in it and even that was too long and the moment not worth waiting for. I think when you stand in line like that you're looking for an intimacy that's impossible to find in the ten seconds it takes to sign a name." MO2YP agreed completely.

Unfortunately, the exhibit hall, overflowing as it was with all things sellable, had a way of overwhelming logic (my credit card bill is proof of this fact). So, there I was (with MO2YP, Ami, and E&HF5) entirely abandoned by rational thinking and at the end of the Carrie Fisher autograph line wondering a) how sore my feet were surely to be by the end of it, and b) how best not to appear like a total idiot when I had my moment with the princess. Now, at a convention as big as this it's easy to be overtaken by a sort of panic; the kind of panic that comes from too many choices and nowhere near enough time. Our dilemma today was would we have enough time to stand in this particular line, before it would be time to get into the next line for the opening ceremonies. And were we doing the right thing by standing in line? What were we missing by being in this line and not some other line? Furthermore was this all the con would be? Line after line after line?

Enter the stormtrooper. As if on cue there before us strode TD-9292 of the 501st, he click click clicked over to us with his white armor gleaming and paused long enough to dispense this wisdom: "This is the convention, right here." He said pointing to the line, "It's not about what happens up there." He smiled the kind of smile that knows something true and then he click click clicked away, leaving me speechless.

Clarity.

Why he said this to our particular group at that particular moment I don't know. Could it be because we had that last-in-line-look and he could see in our eyes how much our feet already hurt? I cannot say. But that moment changed the whole convention for me. Why should I wait until the end of the line to live? Why not live now? Why not enjoy the rare and precious thing it is to spend time having adult conversations about SW with the likes of ami, E&HF5, and MO2YP without having to limit your thoughts to 700 characters and 50 comments? Why not enjoy the spontaneous community that forms as you pass people time and time again snaking from one place to the next all because you love the same thing?

Why not be present to what is?

After that the convention became fun - all of it. Line after line. The line for the opening ceremonies where help from a new friend (from the Carrie Fisher line) helped hold my spot as I ran from the outer rim of the Center in the hopes of snagging one of the 8,000 available seats. The line where we waited brimming with excitement to cheer on JP77 before her SW Celebrity debut, and most especially the line for the Conversation with Carrie Fisher where we all took turns getting dinner and chatting like long lost family.

Happily the ends of those lines were well worth waiting for. JP77 was cute as all get out singing for SW Celebrity. PS77 was lovely in her costumes, and Carrie Fisher was candid and entertaining for our "intimate" conversation. But one thing remains....

It may make even the most hard core SW fan raise an eyebrow to know that I thought of my trip to Celebration IV as a pilgrimage, but it's true. I've had so much in my heart over these last few months anticipating the trip of a lifetime, but it took over two hours in line trying to think of just the right thing to say to Carrie Fisher for me to figure out how to put my feelings into words. So, when my big moment came I walked up to the princess and said, heart in my throat. "Star Wars changed my life. I want to thank you for that." It was then that I realized that was it for me, that's all I wanted out of this whole experience: the chance to express my gratitude and my love to the saga and to my fellow fans on the journey with me. I hope we get the chance to stand in line together again.

Love to you all!

p.s. If TD-9292 is reading this. I hope your feet have recovered from over 75.5 hours in stormtrooper boots!