Darth Vader at the Airport

[Martin Hash]

My wife, Gwynne, and I started to watch “Solo,” the newest Star Wars movie. Like everyone else with a computer background, we watched a pirated version. When I was in the software business, I never pirated movies or music because so many people pirated my software, and I felt obligated not to pirate in return, but once I was retired, pirate away; maybe I can make up for the $millions I lost, plus it gives me a sense of getting something for free. Why is that? “Anything for free is better than Jesus for a penny,” my demonstrator, Greg Rostami, used to say.

We only got halfway through the movie when my son, Haven's, family was scheduled to go home from their visit, and we were dropping them off at the airport at 4 am Sunday morning, which was why we were watching “Solo,” to stay awake.

There was no traffic but the airport was busy; at 4 am. Was everyone in Portland flying to Lima, Peru? We were waiting while Haven stood in the check-in line when I caught sight of a squadron of Storm Troopers, perhaps a score; and Princess Leila was there too; and Darth Vader with his light saber. Darth's red light saber was turned on and he was waving it around. Luckily he was surrounded by the Storm Troopers or someone might of lost an eye; I winced at the thought.

Storm Troopers.jpg

We, of course, stood and watched the spectacle slack-jawed. I popped out my cellphone and snapped a picture.
“Don't think I've seen Storm Troopers in the airport before,” I said.
“Turns out it’s a big thing in Seattle,” Haven responded. “They got names and everything.”
I had my cellphone in my hand so I Googled “Storm Troopers” Haven was right, there's quite a Storm Trooper camaraderie going on I wasn't aware of:

Formed by South Carolina residents Albin Johnson and Tom Crews in August 1997, the Legion now has over 13,000 active members worldwide, with over 26,000 approved costumes among them. The Legion is active on 6 continents, with local units known as "Garrisons" and "Outposts" in over 60 countries around the globe.

And specific to Seattle:

Garrison Titan.JPG

The 501st Legion is an international fan-based organization dedicated to the construction and wearing of screen-accurate replicas of Imperial Stormtrooper armor, Sith Lords, Clone Troopers, bounty hunters, and other villains from the Star Wars universe. The 501st Legion, called by its nickname Vader’s Fist, is made up entirely of volunteers.

501st_Legion_Logo.jpg

Garrison Titan

[SuburbanFarmer]

That's Kylo Ren, not Vader.

Cool thing, though. I wonder how long it takes them to get through security.