The Best Stuff 2: Star Wars (1977)

Star Wars is ingrained into my childhood. I remember at age 9 dramatically reporting my weekend to my summer recreation counselor: "I experienced Star Wars."

After we first saw it at the theater, my Dad let us stay and watch it a second time in a row. I couldn't believe we got to do that. When it was re-released the next year we piled into our van and saw it at the drive-in at Deerfield Beach. It was like nothing we had ever seen. My uncle somehow got a Betamax copy of the movie and we watched it endlessly when we visited his house. Fantastic.

From the Scholastic Book Club at school I bought "The Story of Star Wars," packed full of photos from the movie. It was my reference to memorize the ships, costumes and story so I could draw everything, and build them with Legos. This is all you could do in the days before home video.

I had an LP dramatization that helped me learn the lines with precision. I can still nail Obi-Wan gazing over the mesa: "Mos Eisley Spaceport. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious." No need to check the quote, I know it's right.

I made my own costumes with my Mom. For Halloween one year I was Luke Skywalker, and a Tusken Raider for another. I tried building a stormtrooper mask out of chipboard, toilet paper tubes and masking tape but it didn't really work out. In middle school art class we did batik on fabric, I dribbled wax on drawings of R2-D2 and C-3PO.

I had all 12 original Star Wars figures, they were $1.88 each. There were six that were incredibly hard to find for a long time, but on one visit to Lionel Play World the last six I needed were all in stock! I couldn't believe my luck as I cashed out. Some of these are still floating around the house.

The design of the Star Wars universe affected everything I did, and still creeps in. A couple weeks ago I saw a car on the Thruway that had some of the same lines as an Empire Strikes Back snowspeeder.

As the disembodied voice of Obi-Wan pronounced to Luke in the X-wing cockpit after destroying the Death Star, "The Force will be with you, always." More truth there than I ever knew.