Droolicious

Aaron, I gave mine away too when I was in my mid-teens.  Surely this is in my top 10 list of all time regrets.

I was 10 when the first Star Wars came out in 1977.  It rocked my Universe.  I had most of these, and the Tie Fighter, an X-Wing and the Land Speeder.  When I was about 16, my mom commented that I wasn't "playing" with them anymore and seemed to hint that it was time for me to grow up and ditch the toys I was still hanging onto.

Now that I am 40, I look back and can easily recognize that there are some things that should absolutely be saved in a box somewhere.  Not only toys like this, but little memorabilia can be equally great.  For example, I just the other day I scanned some things into the computer to archive, like my grandmother's "Dance Cards" from the 1930's when she first met my grandfather at a small town mixer.  And I have a trolly token from the 50's that my dad used to ride.  Something tangible like that is great because old photos of the street cars and tracks and brick streets only show you what it looked like, but a thing like this can help make you think what it must have actually "been" like, however small a thing.

So, now I am a moderate pack rat, but losing my Star Wars "guys" helped me realize what is going to be worth saving for some nostalgic day and those things that my future generations will love to see one day.