February 12 - “Que la Fuerza Te Acompañe”

A Harrison Ford picture by Jim Wright, of Icon International, included with the referenced Reader's Digest article.

By Magdalena I. García

Last year one of my favorite magazines, Selecciones (Reader’s Digest in Spanish), ceased being published in the United States, although it is still available in Argentina, Spain and Mexico, and all three countries have online versions. For years we looked forward to getting our monthly issue of Selecciones, because it was the best publication available in Spanish. And it was not just a translation of its English counterpart. It had some original content and featured stories about Hispanics or Latinos in the US.

Since we would never dream of throwing away an issue of Selecciones, we have a nice collection in the house, and a few of them are stacked up in the bathroom window, right next to the defecation throne. I’m sure we’re not the only family who keeps a selection of quick reading material next to the toilet. And this morning I grabbed a June 2008 issue and read a Harrison Ford interview. At 65 (as pictured in the article) he is still quite a heartthrob, but more importantly, he is still making great movies and, apparently, he is quite a decent human being.

The interview by David Hochman was obviously a translation from Reader’s Digest, and you can read the full text at http://www.rd.com/your-america-inspiring-people-and-stories/harrison-ford-interview-may2008/article55736.html. It was interesting to get a better sense of this big-screen giant. And it was rewarding to discover that he leads a normal family life and invests in worthy causes, like the preservation of the planet. But my favorite question of the interview was this:

RD: Is there a piece of Jedi wisdom that you carry with you?
Ford: “May the Force be with you” is charming but not important. What’s important is that you become the Force—for yourself and perhaps for other people.

I like that. It reminded me that for the same reason, at the end of each worship service, we give people both a charge and a benediction. The charge basically says “be a force,” while the benediction says “may the force be with you.”