Three people have guessed the unpunned phrase and two are very close to the solution. So I I'm going to give that away as a clue, revealing myself as an idiot. I mis-remembered the quote! The true quote is "A long time ago in a galaxy far far away." I remembered it as "Long long ago in a galaxy far far away."  If you base your pun on my version, it should be much easier.

Compounding my idiocy, Stan corrected me on the type of pun. He correctly identifies this as a Groaner, not a Shaggy Dog. Thank you Stan for that correction.

On Dec 7, 2015, at 12:11 PM, Bill Crider crider_bill@... [puny] <puny@...> wrote:

 

I mis-spoke on a previous clue. The first blank is also unpunned. It is the word "long"

On Dec 7, 2015, at 11:54 AM, Bill Crider crider_bill@... [puny] <puny@...> wrote:

 

One player so far, no hits.

This is a quote from a famous movie. In fact, it is the first line of the movie.

On Dec 7, 2015, at 7:28 AM, Bill Crider bill.crider@... [puny] <puny@...> wrote:

 

No guesses yet, so here is a hint: the last blank is "away" and is the only unpunned blank.

On Dec 6, 2015, at 8:45 PM, Bill Crider crider_bill@... [puny] <puny@...> wrote:

 

Don't reply all! Send guesses to bill.crider at gmail.com.

First, I apologize again for the late release. I spaced out.

This rogue is a shaggy dog. The pun is a well-known phrase. I will check status and give clues tomorrow.

I was interviewing veterans in jail. One old soldier told me "My life was ruined by post-traumatic stress syndrome. I was scared to leave my home. Every loud noise reminded me of battle. I was terrified of strangers, new situations gave me panic attacks, and any object lying beside the road struck fear into my heart. I couldn't work, so I resorted to crime to support myself. Being arrested and convicted to prison put me in a place where I could get therapy in a safe, unchanging environment. Most helpful was gardening therapy. Instead of short-lived flowers and vegetables, I prefer trees and expanses of perennial grasses. In the jail yards I created peaceful environments with tall, lush grasses. These not only help me, but other inmates tell me my grassy spaces help dispel their fears also. In other words, you cold summarize my recovery in the phrase 'blank blank blank blank, in a blank blank blank blank blank blank.' "