So, this whole week I've thought nothing but Star Wars. I watched The Phantom Menace 5 times on May 19th. I have watched it a few more times since. Ok, like every night. I wasn't watching it intently but it was on in the back ground while I wrote these blogs and worked on other things. I can say that it was a pretty good week. It was fun going back in time and remembering the details of ten years ago.
I have also pulled out my memory box, per se, and found all my Star Wars Celebration souvenirs. I found the program, the badges, the freebies and the photos. It has inspired me to complete a memory-style book so I can appreciate these things easier. I have a big leather binder with all my photos from Celebration III and IV yet Celebration and Celebration II have been overlooked for too long. And right now most of the souviners are just sitting in a box and not being enjoyed.
I thought I would share a few things I still have in the box. And one in particular. Inside the box, I have two Darth Maul convention badges, 2 copies of the Program Listing and Program Guide, a couple Pepsi bags with draw strings and one pack of Farley's Episode I Mega-Duals Galactic Berry Fruit Snacks. These things really bring back some great memories.
So during the Summer of 1999, my friends and I must have bought a few dozen boxes of these Farley's Mega-Duals Galactic Berry Episode I Fruit Snacks. We liked to call them Jedi Snacks . They come fat free with a high source of Vitamins C, E and Beta Carotene. The bag has a picture of little Anakin with his pod racer helmet and the legendary red laser blast logo with Star Wars Episode I. The bag is still sealed but I can feel that these little fruit snacks are now as hard as little rocks. But I can still literally taste these things like it was yesterday. These Jedi Snacks were in our Jedi belt pouches on opening day. I can remember eating a couple packs during each viewing of TPM. I took them on vacation. I took them to the Ren Fair. I took them to work. I loved these things. They really aren't any different than the fruit snacks that you find today in the grocery isle but these were the first Star Wars ones. I remember there being two different kinds. There was the standard flavors and then the Mega-Dual. I must not have saved a bag of the standard flavors. I remember they were in the shapes of Obi-wan, Jar Jar, Anakin and Darth Maul. If memory serves, the Regular Flavors box was blue with a Battle Droid on it. The boxes were everywhere, Walmart, Safeway and King Soopers. Like I said, I must have bought a few dozen that summer. Why I saved one bag? I don't remember but I'm glad I did.
I remember when Episode II came out, I so craved some Jedi Snacks but couldn't find any. I don't think they ever made them to be honest. There was the rumor that many things that were made and promoted during TPM wasn't done for AOTC (Attack of the Clones) because so many companies had lost money on the over hype and promotional items of Episode I. The good news would be that when Episode III was released, Kellogg's had their version of Jedi Snacks. I immediately felt like a kid again and went out and bough box after box. Again, I took them to Celebration III and to the opening day screenings. They were always in my Jedi belt pouches. I don't think I saved any of those snacks save one lone bite size snack. It was a green Yoda head. It's as hard as a rock today too. I do remember saving one bag though and when Episode III was 1 year old, I remember breaking it open and eating them in remembrance of that anniversary. I also remember turning and saying to my wife, "when gone these are, the last of the Jedi Snacks they would be..."
Good memories...
