My Favorite Store

Energized. That's how I would describe my mood after stopping in at Don's Star Wars Shop in Aberdeen, Washington.

We had the pleasure of stopping for a third time at the little shop along Aberdeen's main drag yesterday afternoon. Don, who is the very friendly shop owner, was thrilled to see us once again. He knows I'm an avid Obi-Wan fan, so he was ready for me.

The first time we stopped was quite a while ago, right after they moved from a house just north of town to the shop downtown. I was not impressed with the prices, the dust on the merchandise and the two lethargic post-teens working behind the counter. We didn't stay long, and I avoided the shop after that. However, as my Star Wars geekiness increased, I felt again drawn to the little shop with a standee of Padme taunting me from the window.

When you walk in, your senses are immediately met by sounds of dueling Star Wars episodes, each playing on their perspective sides of the sizeable store. Don is no fool; an episode of the original trilogy on one side (for those that insist that they are better than the newer offerings), and either I, II or III of the latest in the saga on the other. Lifesized cardboard cutouts of Darth Maul and Princess Leia in the bikini watch as you are captured by the many action figures and promotional merchandise everywhere. I can easily get sensory overstimulation in just a few minutes in this Star Wars geek heaven.

Last time I was there, Don said he would order me the Obi-Wan padawan standee I was looking for - hurray! I also picked up some very cool Episode I gift bags and something else, but I don't remember what now. At the time, Don shared with me his fondness for Princess Leia, and the sweet actor, Carrie Fisher. He had the Princess tatooed on his arm, and was proud to share that with me, but only after he told me a story.

He had had the pleasure of going to Celebration IV in Los Angeles this year, and stood in line to get Ms. Fisher's autograph. When it was his turn, he requested that she autograph his tatoo of her on his arm. She happily obliged and then posed for some really fun pictures with him, grinning from ear to ear. After that, he tracked down a tatoo artist, and for some rare Star Wars artifact, the artist agreed to tatoo her autograph on Don's arm. It is quite a sight, this tatoo! No one else has a tatoo like that one, that's for sure! (Don says that it's the only collectible that he can't sell!)

So, anyway, this time I went to pick up my Obi-Wan. Unfortunately, the distributor has discontinued what I wanted, but my friend Don fixed me up with another Obi-Wan standee instead. He also ordered me the Ep. III Obi-Wan, which I absolutely could not resist. I also got several of the mini hologram figures, a figure of little Annie, a slightly damaged Ep. I movie poster, an R2 keyfob, and a couple of Darth Vader peechees. Wow! What a score!

The kids are lukewarm on visiting the Star Wars store (it's bad enough for them that they have to listen to SW music in the car). My youngest is the most avid fan of the three, wanting to buy every thing that catches his eye. He and Don had quite a time discussing the finer points of R2 action figures and looking for every Millennium Falcon in the shop. My daughter is completely bored and embarrassed by my fascination, and my middle son, well... who knows what he thinks. He keeps his opinion to himself (smart boy).

Yes, I was definitely energized upon our departure from the store. It was quite funny trying to fit the lifesized cardboard cutouts into UTY (Padawan's car), but with a little coaxing, it went in - the Force was with us! I'm considering a really cool 'Unleashed' figure of Obi-Wan and a 12" Padme doll in the black Ep. I dress with the feather headress for the next time. Do I need these things? No. Is it fun to collect them? Yes!

And that's the report from this Star Wars geek... now back to incognito. If you are in Aberdeen, you can stop by Don's Star Wars Shop and say hi. Tell him the Jedi with the perfect smile sent you!