I am in Austin, being Grandma.

It’s a fun job because right now my grandson’s world revolves around Star Wars.  I’m familiar with that world.  It began in 1977, when the first movie was released and Banjo Man worked for a salad dressing company.  We left the mountain one weekend in early 1978 and drove to Seattle to pick up jars or spices or something like that.

We stayed with a cousin, who asked if we had seen Star Wars.  Of course we hadn’t, so off we went to a midnight show (the only time with available seats) and that is when Son #1’s life took on a whole new meaning.

In other words, the Force was with him.

It was with all of us, but especially with my mother.  Over the years she bought a zillion dollars of Star Wars toys.  Birthdays, Christmas, Easter, the flu, ear surgery, etc.  No event, good or bad, passed without a package from Grandma.

I overheard my son tell an impressed friend, “My grandma and I have a Star Wars collection.”

Indeed they did.

And it’s genetic.