My brother was a Star Wars fan through and through—so much so that Yoda became his nickname. While I’ve only truly loved the original trilogy, we still shared a deep appreciation for the saga, making Star Wars a special part of our connection. It even became a tradition for us to go to the movies on Christmas when the newer films premiered. Beyond Star Wars, we also bonded over other franchises like Transformers (though we never got around to seeing Bumblebee) and Fast & Furious. The only Star Wars book I own is Star Wars Rogue One – Junior Novel by Matt Forbeck (from our hometown), which might have ended up in his collection by accident. I had wanted to get it autographed for him but never got the chance before he passed away.

He was a gamer at heart, deeply into Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering. I attempted MtG but never quite got the hang of the card game—though I enjoyed the mobile app version since it guided my turns (lol). Interestingly, D&D has roots in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

Another shared interest was Dork Tower. My brother had a few of the comics, which I loved, especially Gilly (Perky Goth)—I even named my youngest cat Perky in her honor. I own all the Dork Tower volumes and admire John Kovalic’s work. He’s from Madison, Wisconsin. I have his board games Dork Tower and Munchkin, along with some expansions, in my collection. I wish I had Illuminati: New World Order and Apples to Apples with his illustrations. The original Illuminati is out of print, and I’ve heard newer versions of Apples to Apples may not feature his artwork. I also own Dork Tower miniatures, though they remain unpainted due to my arthritis.

We tried playing Minecraft together, but I am terrible at video games. The Sims was fun while it lasted, but my interest eventually waned.

Beyond games and movies, he was a devoted Doctor Who and Star Trek fan—two franchises that never quite caught my interest. I once had a T-shirt featuring a Dalek that read, “OMG! It’s R2-D2—I Loved Him in Star Trek.” He wasn’t thrilled about it, but even he couldn’t help laughing when I got it.

Other shared interests included the original V series, Stephen King’s books, The Walking Dead, and My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.

It’s funny how reminiscing about Star Wars opened the floodgates to all these memories—things I hadn’t thought about in a while.