Star Wars – Walmart – Adults

I just finished reading Star Wars: the Revenge of the Sith. This is the novelization of the movie. I didn’t buy it and I’m glad, because it wouldn’t be worth the hardback price for it. Oh, stop, I didn’t steal it either. I was listening to a guy on the radio interviewing the author and the 9th caller got a copy of the book.

I was never a big “Star Wars” fan and this book was something of a disappointment to me as a story. I remember “Star Wars” coming out. It was the must-see event of all time. Where I grew up in church we were taught that it was wrong to go to movie theatres for the same reasons we didn’t have TV or video. The spirits of Hollyweird, the depiction of acts and language we wouldn’t allow in our home, the darkness, etc. I don’t want to get into it all at this writing, but suffice it to say we weren’t supposed to go. Well, one friend of mine snuck out and went to see it. I won’t tell you who she is since she’s a preacher now and probably thinks the whole thing was a little silly. I kept her secret and she kept mine, which was that I had snuck off to see, “Star Trek: The Motion Picture”. What wild teenagers we were. To be fair, I was really a lot more rotten than that. That is about the worst thing I know (or will remember) that she did.

Anyway, about this book; I was bored. I read it through so I could loan it to Randy but I think you have to be a fan to really get into it. I remember when the first movie came out it was really taken to task by the Christian community. One book said that it was evil because of the references to “The Force” and its use being related to practices of Witchcraft. Another book came out later and said that it actually had many Christian lessons in it because of the clear “Good vs. Evil” and such going on. Well, like most stories, it seems to me that it is all in what you are looking for in it. That didn’t stop me from upbraiding my friend at the time, although you can find as much or more New Age philosophy in anything you look at. I was just, as usual, being a brat. (I heard that, and, no, I haven’t changed much.) I think you could apply the philosophies about The Force to anything you want to, especially if there is money involved, which is, of course, the driving motivation of Hollyweird in the first place.

The story has a lot of action, but, just as a book often loses something in the translation to a movie, so does this movie in translation to a book. As I said, I suppose if you are a life-long, die-hard fan it would be better. There was one really cool line in the book, however that made the whole thing worth reading just to get to, which was when the former Anakin, now Darth Vader, tells Obi-Wan, “You’re the one who should be mindful, my ‘master.’ I am a disturbance in The Force.”

So, I guess it was okay, but on my personal five-star system I only give it a one-and-a-half.

>>>>>>>>

I have never been much of an investor but I am thinking of buying stock in Wal-Mart. When you have to feed a family of six, it pays to go to Sam’s, then to Wal-mart. We spend an awful lot of money at just these two stores, especially if you add in clothes, but I have to say I kind of wish there was a more competitive alternative that was convenient. There are like, what, 32 checkout lanes and they can only afford to put 5 or 6 clerks on checkout? You wind up backed up to some ungodly point and then they have to call the manager and (okay Soosan, fan of Wal-Mart and math person) I think if you put a pencil to it, the time you spend waiting in line takes away a significant amount of your discount. My time is valuable and then if you add Margaret’s time. Even if we only made minimum wage and managed to get out of the line in 45 minutes that would be almost $18 (2 x 45 min x $6 hr). The self-check lines at other stores are limited to 15 items or less but if you go that way you (on days when you only have a couple of items) wind up behind someone who has 2 cartloads of stuff and every other item has a question attached to it.

You decide, enough is the proverbial enough and go to ask one of the management looking people standing around watching the whole scene and say, “What are the chances of opening up another lane or two?” Well, the way they look at you it’s as though you have more heads and arms than Zaphod Beeblebrox but they reply, “We are working on it right now.” Which work consists of holding up the desk.

Anyway, if someone started a business that offered a little service there might be some competition for the “evil corporate giant.”

<<<<<<<< Oh, in answer to my younger brother's question, BTW, welcome Norm, thanks for coming and thanks for e-mailing me your thoughts, but, to make myself clear, I think you ought to have be 21 years old to do anything. Vote, buy alcohol, join the military, drive a car, anything that requires you to be an "adult" ought to be 21. Maybe even 25. Either that or have a standardized maturity test, which, if you can pass it, no matter what age you are, you are an adult, because sometimes age is not really a good measure of maturity. Why, just look at me...er...well...you know what I mean... As the good book says, If you don't pay your exorcist, you get repossessed.