There wasn’t a Big Mac in sight, but food, folks and fun ruled the day on Saturday, April 29, at the first annual Chicago Force Line Reunion gathering.

We knew we were in solid at Philosofur’s (2833 N. Sheffield, visit often) when we discovered that our bartender Matt was himself a Star Wars fanatic, and could often be spotted drooling over the pile of Star Wars toys we’d brought along to raffle off as prizes for the guests. He and the staff of the bar were hugely supportive and did a great job at keeping us liquidated with soda and beer. (Note to self: $3 Sam Adams are as close to a recipe for happiness as has yet been uncovered).

The crowd was a nice mix of old faces and new. Bob and Chris–#1 and #2 in the McClurg line, respectively–seemed to have survived the year since TPM unscathed. Should you visit the Field Museum, you might run into Bob–he’s currently employed there as a lighting designer. Chris plans to conquer the evil corporate monolith of Starbucks from the inside, one store at a time. Best of luck to him in Boston.

The Dueling Andys engaged an electrifying debate over whether TPM indeed ruled, or sucked. Chad and Amanda represented the Jedi Knights Scooter Club with flying colors, and Katherine represented the whole of Indiana, where we’ve heard there’s more than corn but we won’t believe it until we see it. Big Thom arrived unsure if we were really as insane as we seemed at Capricon–he discovered that yep, we are. All of the usual suspects were also in attendance–former Line Letter scribe Matt Springer, Heather Ast the Darth Jurist herself, Dave Gray (who is simply the MAN), Roman Segal (who is also a MAN) and new recruit Amy Nothelfer, who did stellar work in helping to organize the event and keeping the pizzas fresh and tasty. Even our Fearless Leader and her Even More Fearless Husband, Stephanie and Aaron McCullough, made it to the celebration after spending a long afternoon moving out of their apartment.

Once the party wrapped up at 8 p.m. a smaller crowd moved to the front of Philosofur’s for commiseration, Elvis Costello songs and more beer until around 1 a.m., when visits to Club Foot and Exit rounded out the evening. We closed both bars and the last Chicago Forcers staggered home at 5 a.m., totally partied out and ready to slip into their Jedi jammies for bed.

A BIG thanks to everyone who attended and made our Line Reunion gathering such a big success!