When I was little, I was very, very into Star Wars. Not just the movies, but the whole world of toys and licensed merchandise. The franchise was pretty much over by that point, so it gave me something to scour for when I went along with my parents to yard sales, thrift stores, and flea markets.
Part of my obsession involved memorizing dog-eared, obsolete catalogs from Sears and JC Penney, Star Wars stuff spread through every section. There were all sorts of other treasures in those pages, though. I reasoned that if I was diligent, I might someday dig them up. The 1970's, barely a decade past, seemed ancient and exotic.
Some time in adolescence, I filed Star Wars away under "Childhood Interests That Won't Get Me Laid". I sold my collection, financing my first two cars. I nonetheless didn't get any action until college, when a healthy appreciation for Star Wars didn't really hurt.
I never rediscovered my previous fandom, though. To an extent, I was highly disappointed with the prequels and Lucas' incessant tampering with the original trilogy. There was also the difficulty, as I got older, in experiencing the things I relished as a child, in exactly the ways I did when I was younger. I still enjoy the first three films, and our house has accumulated a few more Star Wars knick-knacks than is strictly normal, but that's about it.
What I truly value about my history with Star Wars are all the lasting side effects. I'm still diligently shopping yard sales, thrift stores, and flea markets. I still have the know-how to dabble in the collectibles market. I've made a hobby of the same sort of stereo equipment I might have seen in those catalogs. Perhaps most tellingly, I've embraced much of the 70's material culture and aesthetic sensibility that I once immersed myself in, a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away....
Part of my obsession involved memorizing dog-eared, obsolete catalogs from Sears and JC Penney, Star Wars stuff spread through every section. There were all sorts of other treasures in those pages, though. I reasoned that if I was diligent, I might someday dig them up. The 1970's, barely a decade past, seemed ancient and exotic.
Some time in adolescence, I filed Star Wars away under "Childhood Interests That Won't Get Me Laid". I sold my collection, financing my first two cars. I nonetheless didn't get any action until college, when a healthy appreciation for Star Wars didn't really hurt.
I never rediscovered my previous fandom, though. To an extent, I was highly disappointed with the prequels and Lucas' incessant tampering with the original trilogy. There was also the difficulty, as I got older, in experiencing the things I relished as a child, in exactly the ways I did when I was younger. I still enjoy the first three films, and our house has accumulated a few more Star Wars knick-knacks than is strictly normal, but that's about it.
What I truly value about my history with Star Wars are all the lasting side effects. I'm still diligently shopping yard sales, thrift stores, and flea markets. I still have the know-how to dabble in the collectibles market. I've made a hobby of the same sort of stereo equipment I might have seen in those catalogs. Perhaps most tellingly, I've embraced much of the 70's material culture and aesthetic sensibility that I once immersed myself in, a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away....
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