How It All Began

Some say sons are born with the desire to be like their fathers. That could explain why my toddler is already into Star Wars. But I also think that this one object helped him start his fandom. My sister gave me a Darth Vader bank for my birthday; it was just after my son was born.

It was pretty neat. If you put a coin into the bank, the Imperial March would play, Vader's lightsaber would light up as his arm raised up, and his torso would pivot left and right. After the music, Vader's voice would say, "The Force is with you young Skywalker. But you are not a Jedi yet." But it was also a little annoying in that the music sample only included the first nine notes of the trumpets and it repeated it twice.

When my son was one year old, he found the bank and discovered that if you press the Star Wars button on the base of the bank, it would play as if you put a coin in the bank. At first he was scared of it, but still really interested in it. Over time, he got used to it and would press the button over and over again, much to the chagrin of mama who had to endure it all day!

When I was changing his diaper one evening, he started saying, "ba ba ba blblb ba." It took me a little while to figure out, but it hit me that he was trying to sing the Imperial March song! It was the first time he had actually sang something.

Today, years later, the bank is not in good shape. The arm has broken off and the batteries have worn down (mama is happy about that!). But even though the toy is broken, the fandom lives on: Star Wars is forever!