Well, today is the day. Actually, tomorrow is the day. But it feels like today. After years of waiting, finally it comes to an end. At midnight I will see Revenge of the Sith. But it isn't only about the movie.

I was nine when my Dad took me to see Star Wars. I know, I know, we're supposed to refer to it as A New Hope now. But back in the day, when you said Star Wars, everyone knew exactly what you meant.

Attending that one movie transformed me. I remember the excitement surrounding it. I remember being completely overwhelmed by the opening scene. The monstrous ships, battling in outer space. I recal thinking, "But we've only put a man on the moon. How did they does this!? It was completely awe inspiring. I remember the fear I felt at the first site of Darth Vader...not completely understanding if he was man or machine, but knowing he meant death. I remember thinking Princess Leia was the most beautiful, most brave woman I'd ever seen. I knew I wanted to be like her when I grew up. The geek was born. The love of science fiction and fantasy blossomed in my heart.

I've been told by some that I'm a late bloomer. That the sci-fi geek-gene usually surfaces at a much earlier age. I don't know. I don't really care. What I do care about is finding other geek souls of this world. I care about gathering with my brethern to revere and line the pocketbooks of our geek gods. But what I care most about is knowing that I am not the last of my line of geeks.

So, tonight, tomorrow is more than just the final Star Wars movie for me. It is a rite of passage. The official confirmation of geek-dom from one generation to the next. I was nine when the torch was handed to me by my father. Tonight, tomorrow, sometime after midnight, the flame will pass to my ten-year-old son.

There was a time, not too long ago when I would not have believed this night would happen. You see, my child fought the transformation at first. He refused to play with his Star Wars action figures. His first passion was dinosaurs. Yeah, occassionally he would take out a light saber and attack something of value, usually the dog. I think his Jurassic Park T-Rex with a working digestive track ate Yoda or C-3PO on several occassions...but we can't really call this playing Star Wars.

But something happened. About a year ago, a transformation began to occur. He started asking questions. The sort of questions only hard-core, fanactics like my self would care to ask. The sort of questions only George can answer. And so, as THE day grew nearer, I found myself toying with the notion of taking my son to see the movie on opening day. And then on a whim, I decided, no, my boy needs more. This will be his one real opportunity to really see it. Because, lets be honest, its not only about the movie. It's about the movie and its people. My boy needed the opportunity to watch THE movie with ITS people.

The wait is over, the circle is complete...