As a young padawan I remember well the read along book and tape set for Return of the Jedi. You know the one where you know it's time to turn the page when you hear R2-D2 beep? Yes, that one. For whatever reason, the end of that book always stuck with me. As Luke looked at the funeral pyre for his father and then saw the Jedi sprits, he felt a sense of loss at the death of his father. And then he turned to once again enter the circle of his friends.

As I was sitting in the theater tonight watching The Clone Wars, I began to realize just how much I missed Star Wars. For a variety of reasons, I've just sort of drifted in and out of fandom over the last couple of years. Sure, I've still picked up Star Wars collectibles here and there. I've read just about every book that's come out, but sometimes months after it was released as opposed to buying it within days of release. As I was reading some of Stooge's recent entries tonight, I realized that I too had suddenly slipped into black.

And the more and more I thought about it, the more I realized that for me, slipping in and out of fandom has been a bad thing. In many ways, writing about Star Wars here on the blogs has become a tremendous release for me. There have been numerous occasions in which I've been able to find some insight into something going on in my life through either writing or reading about the films here on the boards. I found that I really missed the sense of camaraderie that exists here on the blogs. I missed being able to celebrate someone finding some great new collectibel that they had been searching for. I missed Stooge's wit and Rocky and Bullwinkle-esque(that's a huge compliment by the way) puns about Star Wars. And I just flat out missed reading the many wonderful thoughts and ideas that so many of you have expressed here over the years.

As assorted events have caused me to examine my life over the last couple of weeks, I've come to realize that I need to exercise my creativity more often. I've found that the stories that inspire me most also help me to better work through the challenges that I face in life. Many times I could do that through blogging here on the boards. For here I found a community of people who understand well the stories that have had such a huge impact on my imagination. I don't have to feel weird when I express some idea in Star Wars that helps me better understand something in my life that I'm working on.

I've come to realize just how much I need the intellecutual stimulation that comes from this community. And this applies to all of you, no matter what you choose to focus on in your blogs. In some way, so many of you have touched me through either a kind word, a nice thought expressed in your own blogs, or just your embracing of Star Wars. Yoda said that "a Jedi must have the deepest mind, the most serious commitment." And so it is that I hope to more actively engage myself in a wonderful circle of friends.