I was born in the summer of 1977 just after my parents saw "Star Wars" in the theater. They stayed in sync with the saga; in 1980, their sequel, the birth of my sister, Beth, coincided with "The Empire Strikes Back."
Then, as "Return of the Jedi" entered postproduction, my parents told us they too were expecting a trilogy. On "Star Wars" weekend, the pre-Memorial Day release date perennially reserved for George Lucas' cinematic babies, Beth and I wandered downstairs to find a brother. Luke Sky Walker had arrived at our home.
As Luke's sister, I now was Princess Leia, and when "Star Wars" became a part of our family on VHS, it was my duty to watch it daily, three times in a row, memorizing everything and rewinding to make sure I had Leia's smirk and inflection correct -- "Will someone get this big walking carpet out of my way?"
The infinite utility of the lines and my endless recitation of them soon made the entire movie evolve into a way for my family to communicate with each other. "Into the garbage chute, flyboy!" was how my mom lighted a fire under my dad's behind. At the dinner table, Beth and I reenacted the exchange between Han and Greedo at the Mos Eisley Cantina in perfect alien dialect. When ordered to do chores, I told Luke to tell my parents he wanted to go to Toshi Station to pick up some power converters.
"That's not really your brother's name," a first-grader told me on the playground after I brought Luke's birth announcement for show and tell. "What, is your family in love with 'Star Wars' or something?"
I shot back my standard insult -- "Aren't you a little short for a Stormtrooper?" -- and confirmed all suspicions.
We do love "Star Wars," but we also love the secret language "Star Wars" has given us. Luke was named after the whiner-to-warrior my parents liked more with each movie, but his name also pays homage to the galaxy of lexicon Lucas provided us. Using this insider vocabulary keeps our family tight; sharing it with others makes us feel important. The people I like most in the world tend to agree that "Star Wars" is the center of the pop culture universe.
When Luke tells people his name, it serves as a great prequalifier. If they don't immediately claim to be his father, or invite him over to the dark side, it's a good bet they're not going to get along with him.
