2004-07-19, 12:47 p.m.

Flying with Darth Vader

Yes, James Early Jones was on our flight back from Detroit yesterday. They must have sneaked him on at the last minute, because we didn't see him sitting in first class when we boarded the plane. Of course, I was too busy trying not to whack any of the other already seated passengers in the head, either with my new pink see-through bag ($10 at CVS) or the diaper bag, or, best of all, the sleeping baby's head, to notice much of anything while boarding. Except, of course, for the other cute baby on the plane - I have become such a "look at the cute baby" kind of person lately....

Anyway, when we got onto the ground at Laguardia, we had to wait a little while for the previous plane to pull out, so we were just sitting there, and suddenly the guy next to me says, "there's James Earl Jones". At first I just thought it was someone who looked like JEJ, but no, it was indeed the voice of the Sith Lord himself, standing up to check him overhead luggage.

Christopher commented that, since the Verizon commercials, it's hard to remember that he ever did anything else. But I prefer to remember him as he was in my childhood - the vocal incarnation of big, powerful and terrifying. And now, flying North West Airlines.