May the fourth be with you

This week, Star Wars nerds everywhere are speaking in languages ​​we don’t understand and referencing things like whether Rosetta Stone has a CD program for Aurebesh.

If you’re like me, what the heck is Aurebesh?

If you ask out loud in a Starbucks, a nerd is guaranteed to peek over his comic book and give an answer like: “Aurebesh was a writing system used to transcribe Galactic Basic, one of the most widely used languages ​​in the galaxy. In the Outer Rim Territories, Aurebesh was sometimes used alongside Outer Rim Basic, another alphabet.”

And then he’ll give a look like, “Don’t these people know anything?” before delving back into what’s going on in Stan Lee’s life.

Okay, so maybe you’re like me. I love Star Wars and have seen all the movies multiple times. But I don’t know anything about Aurebesh. In fact, the depth of my Star Wars trivia knowledge doesn’t go much further than “Who is Luke Skywalker’s father?”

My eldest son and my eldest stepson may not speak Aurebesh – I assume they know what it is – but they’re certainly not that guy at Starbucks. Still, there are the t-shirts, giant collectible Stormtrooper figures, Wookie underwear, posters – my eldest stepson has the blueprints for the Millenium Falcon on his wall – and the gadgets.

So clearly they’re both excited that Friday, May 4 is International Star Wars Day. If you haven’t heard of it, may the fourth be with you.

I grew up in the Anglican Church in Prescott, where my grandparents were both deeply involved. Later, while playing football, I was involved with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Faith has always played a role in my life. My ex, meanwhile, was agnostic.

So it absolutely makes sense that at some point my kids will want to talk about religion and try to figure out where they stand. I remember the day my eldest son approached me about religion.

“I had to fill out a form and was asked my religion,” he told me.

“What did you put down?” I asked in surprise.

“What do you think I put down?” he replied, seasoning his answer with a hint of his old man’s sarcasm.

“I don’t know,” I replied. “Actually, we’ve never talked about religion before – well, except for the time I was volunteering in the nursery at Calvary Christian Church in St. Catharines when you were two and I came down with adult chickenpox and was in bed with a temperature. of 105 degrees Celsius. for a week. So no, I don’t know. What did you put down?”

He gave me a cheeky look and said it was factual.

“Jedi.”

“Jedi?”

“Yes, Jedi.”

I paused for a moment.

“Can you place that?”

“I did. So do thousands and thousands of people around the world.”

He went on to explain to me that in 2001, a movement started around the Milky Way – or in Britain if you want to be a bit more precise and normal – where people started adding ‘Jedi’ or ‘Jedi Knight’ to their names. census forms for their religion. It started with a morning radio host musing on the idea. Don’t all fucked up ideas come from morning radio hosts?

Jedi quickly grew to become the seventh most popular religion in Britain, after Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Judaism and Buddhism.

Although the religion peaked in 2001, there are still many Jedi Knights around the world. The web-based Temple of the Jedi Order (TotJO), based in Beaumont, Texas, appears to be the online vortex of the Force.

In the US, TotJO is recognized as a legal charity. The organization describes itself on its website.

“Temple of the Jedi Order (TotJO) is a legally recognized Jedi Church and ministry of Jediism. Although our focus as an organization is on the religious practice of the Jedi, our doors are open to everyone and no Jedi faith is required to join us. We are a group of individuals coming together in community to promote goodwill, understanding, compassion and serenity. We strive for a spiritual and human consciousness so that we can serve the world.”

They also throw out a disclaimer.

“Here are some things that TotJO is not: we are not a role-playing site, we do not teach mystical powers or how to build lightsabers, we are not a dedicated Star Wars fan site, we are not affiliated with George Lucas or Disney and we are not for people who just want to wear a badge that says ‘I’m a Jedi’.”

Who would even want a badge that says “I’m a Jedi?”

Oh yeah, yeah, that guy at Starbucks. Forget it.

I’m not sure what kind of party there will be at home on Saturday. Star Wars Day will come and go in my life. I’ll spend the evening doing what I do most evenings. I’ll watch the Yankees game on the baseball package with my scorebook on my lap because I’m a total nerd.

And as nerdy as I am, baseball and Star Wars are two parts of my life that never intersect.

Well, except for the fact that the Yankees are handing out Gerritt Cole Jedi bobbleheads on Saturday.