fishmanlee said:

and Obi-Wan just happens to know Luke, Leia, The Rebels (Bail and Co.) and Luke's Father?

im just saying that "shrinkage" happens all the time, even within single movies

Ben lives near Luke because he knew his father. Leia is on her way to visit Ben when the movie starts. Because he knows her father, it's hardly a stretch that he knows her also.

Huge difference between the story of Star Wars77 and the laughably embarrassing amount of connections Lucas invented on the fly, as he developed writers block the story through the years.