The Jedi Dog

Just because you’re not here, doesn’t mean you can’t live forever …

I’m sitting at the computer typing this column and it’s the 4th of May. Many of you know the significance of that date – May 4th. If I have to spell it out, that’s the day all the Star Wars fiends say “May the Fourth Be With You”, and we can all feel The Force pulsating across the universe as we go about our daily grind knowing that Obi Wan is watching over us.

It was way back in 1997 when I first learned that there was something a little bit bigger out there than just this world we live in. If you’re a believer, then it’s not beyond you to subscribe to the theory that everyone who has gone before you might just be up there (or wherever) sneaking a bit of a look at everything you are up to. They might even be having a hand in that thing we call karma, as fate gives us a bit of direction.

There (appears to be) a whole lot of random trivia facts floating around in my brain. I appear to know a ridiculously large number of stupid pieces of info about music, television and the movies from the 70s and 80s. It’s not like I actually studied or researched this stuff, so it’s quite puzzling that it’s all in there. I’m giving much of the credit in my trivia night successes to my own ‘Obi Wan’ up there in the ether - my dad, giving me hints and tips whenever I need to ‘guess the song’ or remember ‘who starred in that movie?’. I remember how hard I worked all those years ago at Uni to master the concepts of Multivariable Calculus and Optimal Control Theory, only to find that no matter how hard I tried and how many worked examples I struggled through, I was destined to be an eternal young padawan rather than a Jedi master when it came to dominating my chosen field. Why did ‘god’ give me the skill to know every word to ‘Rock Lobster’ (not to mention the names of the band members, and all the tracks on the album) but struggle with the things that would end up being my chosen field? The Force, I tell you, it’s The Force.

Now - I’ve got an extra wingman look over me, just like Obi Wan and Yoda are looking over Luke. Our dear ol’ doggo, who’s been with us for 13 ½ years (that’s about 95 years in human terms), went to sleep forever in her favourite beanbag over Easter and she’s now up there with my old man, Obi Wan, Han and Yoda. That doggo has been around my feet, listening & watching everything I’ve done for a decade. She might appear to be resting eternally (think “Meet The Fockers”) on our mantelpiece, but I’m assuming/hoping that I’ll get the benefit of everything she’s been exposed to over that time hanging around us. That poor ol’ doggo had to listen to every song I blasted on the stereo, every piece of sport I watched on the tele, every stupid discussion I had about Turvey Mortimer being better than Sterlo, every argument about pork reigning over beef. It makes total sense that her encyclopaedic brain won’t go to waste, but will be to my benefit at every trivia night. I’m assuming I’ll get a mental tap on the shoulder from her every time I’m struggling to win a dispute or a disagreement. With my old man and doggo as ethereal wingmen, plus a belief in The Force, surely I’ll be invincible when it comes to trivia knowledge and winning intelligent discussions. Lookout world. May the Force be with you all.