Podcast: Play in new window | Download
So yesterday was my birthday, and I’ve come a long way from the days when I was allowed to invite 10 kids to what used to be called Malibu Castle, where they’d give you a room in one of the turrets on the corner of the building, with colored windows – not stained glass, as I recall, just full panes of single colored glass – and you’d get your cake and ice cream on matching disposable cups and plates, and get to play a round of mini golf and some games in the arcade.
Yesterday, my birthday consisted of going to my brother-in-law and sister-in-law’s house with my family, to have dinner with my nephews, who are 5 and 3, and who just saw Star Wars for the first time this summer. Sushi for dinner, root beer floats for dessert. Well, not everything changes.
My kids had their birthdays fairly recently, too, and the parents of invitees would ask, as we do for other kids’ parties, what our kids would like or what they’re into, so as to get them a decent gift they’ll like. My kids’ tastes are so across the board, it’s almost impossible to answer. They had gone deep into old school Tom and Jerry cartoons recently, for example. Before that, they had watched all 10 seasons of Futurama. Go figure.
Me, though, as a kid, I had a few Hot Wheels tracks and cars, and some superhero things, too. But the things I cared about most, surprise, surprise, were the Star Wars toys. I may have been a collector before I even realized what a collector was! And my birthday and Christmas were the two holidays during which I got the biggest hauls of Star Wars figures and toys.
Do you remember the little booklets that came packaged in with all the vehicles? It had the entire list of figures, and then the vehicles and playsets, and the accessories like kid-sized lightsabers, and carrying cases, and Chewie’s bandolier, and all the micro-sized playsets, too? I could, and did, spend hours at a time going over just that one little catalog, no bigger in length and width than an index card, maybe 24 pages in total. I also used to keep one action figure card back, whatever one I had that had the most updated list of the figures on it.
I look back on it now, and part of me thinks that I was so concentrated on those little catalogs and those lists of figures, that I practically willed them into existence in my childhood life. And the other part of me thinks I must have made life very easy on the gift givers in my life, since there was a very specific set of things that I wanted. Ultimately, it adds up to the same thing, doesn’t it?
And it ends up kind of being a life lesson, too. I was very clear about what I wanted, I focused on it, I communicated it well, I did the work for it – which was much simpler when “the work” amounted to being a good student getting solid grades and behaving well – and ultimately, I got just about everything I wanted. That’s how it’s supposed to work in adulthood, too, to get what you want out of life.
And the one major thing I didn’t get as a kid, the Death Star Battle Station? It eventually came to me years later, as a Valentine’s Day gift from my wife.
Thinking back, now, I wish I could put my finger on what toys I got and when. Not so much the figures or the playsets, but the major stuff, like the Millennium Falcon or the AT-AT. I’m pretty sure the AT-AT was a Christmas thing, as was the Snowspeeder that went with it. I just remember for sure that this time of year wasn’t just my birthday – it was another kind of Star Wars celebration.
And this year? I got a 12-inch Obi-Wan Kenobi from Revenge of the Sith with slightly more articulation than my 3 ¾-inch Obi-Wan from childhood, a LEGO Snowspeeder with mini-figures of Luke, Dak, and a Snowtrooper, and my second Patron, Fred Butler, supporting this podcast through our Patreon page. Thank you, Fred. Thanks, too, to my wife and kids for the gifts and their support on the inside of this whole production. And thanks to you, too, for listening. I wouldn’t be here without you.
Star Wars Fun Fact
Surprising or little known Star Wars tidbits, sometimes related to today’s Force Feature.We’ve had a running discussion on our Facebook Page about the dangers of playing with laser swords. No less than 9 acts of dismemberment against organic characters have been cataloged, as well as the beheadings while our Likers were at it. (Counting Obi-Wan’s triple dismemberment of Anakin as one act, for clarity’s sake.) Check it out at Facebook.com/sw7x7 and add to the fun!
Life on “Tweet”-ooine
A featured dispatch from the Star Wars Twitterverse!Those were the days. 70MM Star Wars.. all.. day.. long! #starwars #darthvader pic.twitter.com/irxEKQ28vN
— Dave Prowse (@isDARTHVADER) October 1, 2014
Star Wars Swag Bag
So many fun, quirky, and awesome ways to bring Star Wars into your daily life!“I Am R2-D2” Ladies’ Tunic Tank – click the pic for details!
Trivia Time!
Test your knowledge of the Star Wars universe!Yesterday’s answer: Luke
Today’s question: What movie does the Emperor first appear in? (Bonus points if you can name the actor!)