Early on I showed my love for Star Wars in many ways. I had notebooks, T-Shirts, toys, posters, Burger King glasses, Colorforms, Play-Doh, and a cornucopia of other Star Wars merchandise. Those figures came with me EVERYPLACE I went. In school I had to have some sort of Star Wars notebook This particular picture I am very lucky to have. The girl in the picture was, and still is, a very good friend of mine and she still lives in my Mother’s neighborhood. I was visiting her some time back when she told me that her parents had been in touch with our fourth grade teacher. She pulled out this picture and I was blown away to say the least. I *had* to have a copy. It was a great thrill to see after all those years. When I looked closer I was even more excited to see that I had a Boba Fett notebook. I think that picture sums up my early years very well. I had Star Wars everywhere, and it's not much different now. ;^)

This is my very first figure, the one that started it all. It was 1977 and my mother's boyfriend brought it home to surprise me. The funny thing is, I didn't even like Star Wars when it was first released. However, by the time the re-release came out for Christmas I HAD to see the movie…
and that was all it took.

These are pictures from Christmas, 1980. Unfortunately, they are the only ones I've found so far with any Star Wars toys pictured. It's really not evident in these pictures but those are Buck Rogers pajamas. If you look closely you will note a closed-belly Taun Taun, the Slave 1, and an ESB vinyl case filled with figures. Now, when I inquired why there were no pics of me opening up all those figures my mother informed me that she opened them all and filled the case to surprise me when I opened it. It certainly must have been a surprise. However, in retrospect I feel kind of gyped. I mean, after all, I was robbed of that newly opened Kenner figure smell. ;^) Oh well, I still have all of the figures but sadly the other pieces didn't survive.

These are all that remain of all those Saturday afternoons renacting my favorite scenes. They are proudly displayed with the rest of my collection and are my favorite pieces.

X-Mas Circa 1977

August 1979

August 1979

Here are some really great pieces I dug out of my mother's archives. (Click on them for a full-sized image.)

The first is a Christmas list, although I can't figure out what year. I am tempted to say 1977 but I could be wrong. The erased line under Walrusman said Han Solo laser gun, which I can only assume I received prior to Christmas.

The other two are the only surviving works of many, many an afternoon drawing pictures of my favorite scenes. Both pictures I believe are copied from a Star Wars story book with screen shots from the movie. The careful observer will note that the Vader is the full body shot of the same image that appears on the 12 back card. They are both dated Aug. 1979. If you look to the right of Vader you can see I started to sketch a Stormtrooper that didn't make it too far.

This is me now, no less enthusiastic whenever I open a box containing a new Star Wars toy. I'm a little older but with no less love for the movies, or the toys, that were such a big part of a 7 year olds' life.