Well, here's a tale of hope and possible triumph for all ye Star Wars-lovin' folks. My grandmother is in her eighties, and has never seen Star Wars. From the beginning, however, there was more hope for her than there might be for others, for two reasons: first, she hadn't avoided Star Wars, but rather simply never gotten around to seeing it, and second, she reads the newspaper.

So I've been a Star Wars fan on and off ever since I first saw the movies, and in the past two years my fandomness has been maintained more consistently. So, naturally, I started throwing in Star Wars allusions in my e-mails to my grandmother. Little did I know the horrible truth: my grandmother had never seen Star Wars. Not a one of 'em. I mean, it's not like when you talk about Star Wars and people think you mean Trek; she simply hadn't seen it. You might say she was behind the times. So, for a long time now, I've been doing my darndest to convince her how great Star Wars really is, and that she at least needs to see the OT. Well, I just got my reprieve.

See, in the mail, a few days ago, I received from her a newspaper clip with a big picture of Vader in the classic "I am your father" scene on the front. This is significant for two reasons (always two there are): one, because my grandmother is big on reading her local newspaper, and two, because she slapped a sticky note on it saying "this proves you are so vindecated." Then, a couple days later, I called her by phone, and she said she was sending another Star Wars-related item.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS COULD MEAN??!?

Yes, ladies and gentlemen-- I think we may have a future convert on our hands.

MTFBWY-- and with all grandmothers!