This is a story that i had to tell & very well wanted to tell. i recieved a pm today from the user on this site that goes by "" 11MBStarWalker "" . Now Normally i thought this was a trade offer because the Pm was labled Revan, & Revan is a piece that myself, my son & my nephew were really looking to get. There user names on here are my son is ( Mr Skywalker2001 ) & my nephew is ( TpBunghole1 ). Anyways all who traded with them or myself before know i look after my nephew & got them into the game for purposed ranging from, teaching them things, keeping them out of trouble & bonding with them. & SWM is a great way to do them all. Anyways back to the story, i recieved this pm that said that following:

"You really seem to want Revan.
My trade list is not 100% accurate.I actually have 3 Revans.I suppose it is just extraordinary luck.
There doesn't seem to be a great sense of community or wanting to help another member. Strong personalities and all that.I don't even post squads on this site anymore as there are never any constructive comments.All of my squads are on Shoebox.It takes forever to import them and edit them, anyway...

There really isn't a piece that I have a strong desire to have.I have well over 1000, and I haven't had the time to properly inventory them.

I'll make a simple deal with you. Tell me what you'd do with Revan, PM that and at least one squad you'd create with the piece, and PM me your address. I'll send you a Revan. It will be an opened one, but the piece and card are both mint.I still want to keep one unopened one

When you receive it, you can decide if you want to post my generosity. Maybe it will convince others to do something to help another member.

And, no, I'm not joking.

--11MB "

Now i sent him the following things he wanted me to send & guess what he is sending me a Darth Revan.He told me to tell everyone because he heard that the reason why i play mini's & trade mini's is all for my son & nephew, whos father isnt around right now & needs a father figure to look after him untill he is back. & i use SWM's to bond with them & to teach them alot of values that you can learn from the game which can be used in Life. & to keep them out of trouble & in school showing that if you work hard, good things come to you. May take awhile but they do.

He also wrote to me "
If you post on Bloomilk, WOTC, or elsewhere, just be sure to relate how you use the game to influence the kids in your life. That was the important thing. People can make what they want out of my generosity. It is what you told me about the kids that made the decision easy. I really don't care what Revan is "worth." I think it will be "worth" more to the kids that you have introduced to the game, and they'll love it, because it really is such a great looking piece:) "


So the morral of this story (& this is a true story that just happened to me today) is that i think we have such a great community & he does also but there is alot of arogance & him & myself would like to see more situations like this to happen to others. Imagine if we had a community like this to help the kids & even older people who play who dont have finacess to get figures like this. Everything dont always have to be a trade, if we can help alot of players recieve figures they really want & will use but cant afford to trade or buy for them, then this would be a great way to bring our community together even stronger.

I Mean, this is SWM community, the great community in the world. I've met tons of great people & now friends that i probably would of never met if it werent for SWM. & for his Kindness & looking out for my children who have no relations to him, he is up there on my best friends list, all though i never met him but to just know someone thats kind of heart like 11MBStarWalker has, my children & nephew are so excited & thankful that he gave them a piece they love & wanted to bad & i have been trying to trade to get him off of everyone. I never told people that i wanted revan so bad because it was for my little ones, they are my hearts & i would die before i would let them feel unhappyness. But that is my story. Comment if you like & tell me what you think about this story if you like. I just thought this story had to be told because in a world for of so much Chaos & Violence. there is a shine of light in 11MBStarWalker. i know SWM is just a game but its a start to a better world. Thank You For Reading this & Your Time & Thank You Once Again 11MBStarWalker from me, Bobby Pirrone, my nephew Tony Pirrone & my son Robert Pirrone jr.

p.s. sorry for such a long thread & sorry if i mispelled alot thats just who i type. & i needed to tell this story

That is awesome. Both what Starwalker did, and what you are doing. Just to give so much time and money for your son and nephew, is, well, awesome :). And StarWalker, if I wore a hat, I'd tip it to you. I always love to hear about the good things people have done, as media always focuses on the bad, but thats another discussion.

see starwalker didnt even care if he got recondition but you know what he deserves that, as said up above this, these times are hard & me myself i only have so much money to be able to keep my son & nephew up todate with the newer figures they want so i share my collection with them but at the same time i let them have there own collections just so they feel they have there own also. thats why im sure you's all see me on here making alot of trades. bottom line is, its a kids game & they are the future of it. & not only that it teachs them stratgy, patience, kindness, & alot of lessons you use in life & keeps them out of trouble & im all about doing that for the kids.

& starwalker seen what i was doing with my 2 & thats why he wrote me he said. im sure alot of you's i traded with in the past i mentioned about my son & my nephew & his situation with his father & everyone that wrote me saying keep it up means alot also to me , its good to hear that. if i didnt hear that i would obviously do it anyways but it feels good to hear it.. so thank you to all & above all. thank you so much StarWalker for this gift. & im glad people are seeing & reconizing the great deed you did.

-Bobby

That was quite nice.

Wow, what a great story. That's what its all about folks. Help someone out if you can, whether its SW minis or anything else.

We might not be able to change the world, but with enough of us doing good deeds it will certainly make our little corners of it (and others) a better place to be.

I discovered how great the SWM community is when I started taking my son to tourneys at our LGS. I played with him at home for fun (and lost all the time), but after meeting the other players there I decided to get into it myself. I couldn't imagine a nicer bunch of people for him to be around, and it has been great for him to see that adults are not the enemy (except when on the other side of the map ).

All the good things Bobby wrote about this community are true of my local one. To see that guys like 11MB Starwalker are out there helping total strangers in faraway places just confirms that my own experience locally is consistent with the larger SWM community as a whole, and gives me that much more incentive to keep doing the little things I do here and there to help out a young (or older) player.

A good deed is it's own reward. Hopefully more folks will come to see that around here and everywhere else. It's great to see such a fine example of pure kindness.

Thanks for sharing that Bobby, and thanks to 11MB. SALUTE!

I have to disagree with the opinion of people using this site. I have found alot of great people while doing trades. The ones that answer the rules questions are also very eager to help and do not seem arrogant in their answers to me. I don't pay attention to squad building here so maybe they are all in there

Unfortunately there are always going to be those kind of people, especially online. It seems since you are not face-to-face with some people they will do anything without remorse since there are no reprocusions for their actions. I've gotten into the habit of just ignoring those people.

I think my generosity comes second to what Bobby does for his son and nephew. Taking the time to teach, and play, a fantastic game with kids is commendable. That, alone, made the decision very easy. They will find more enjoyment from having Revan than I'll ever have, no matter how many I own.

All of asked of Bobby was the reason he was so interested in Revan and what he would do with the piece. I stopped reading his reply after he told me the interest that the kids had in Revan and in the game.

People make the biggest difference in life. It is not what we have, our accomplishments, or success that matters; it is what we can do for others that is the most important. To me, that is what "community" is.

Any information about me is fairly limited. Even my screen name has nothing to do with me. It is simply the name of a pen. I'm an historian and writer. It is very hard to make a living writing about history or fiction (I have a degree in English, too). Most professional historians in that position teach in order to have a steady income. I've even had some students write essays connecting Star Wars to history topics and themes. I play SWM with them periodically, too. And they know that I can easily digress when Star Wars is mentioned.

My screen name is enough, as there is a lot of information about me in the public domain. It is very easy to determine where I work, live, where my degrees are from, the awards and prizes I received, my publications, email addresses, and phone numbers.

In order: I'm an historian, a writer, a history instructor, a reader, a pool player (preferring 9-Ball), a musician, a mountain biker, I travel, and I like Star Wars (I've played the game for years, but have only taken it to a higher level in the past 2 years). You can never let any one thing become your life, hence I have many interests. What I can offer students and others that I encounter in life means more to me than the material possessions I own, or the awards, honors, prizes, publications, and recognition I've received for my work.

If anyone was offended by my comment about "arrogance," then I apologize. It mentioned no specific name; it is merely my perception of what occurs in the SWM community, on this site and other forums. I truly appreciate all of the answers to rules that I have posed. My point was that we should all embrace a greater sense of community, and offer help and guidance to others. I enjoy reading through posts on this site, and I've spent hours studying squads that some of the best players have posted here. I learned much just from that. Add that to studying and learning about gambit, and my gameplay has improved by at least 200%. No strict criticism was intended or directed at anyone. Again, I apologize if that was the perception.

I can't even begin to account for the number of students I've taught. Even if I've made a difference in the life of just one, then the job is worth it. I admire Bobby for what he does for his son and nephew. In the SWM community, if I've made a difference for them, then it was worth it, irrespective of what Revan is "worth."

I hope they enjoy adding Reven to their collection and play with him frequently.

For other comments, I didn't ask for any special recognition. It was his choice to post this story. Karma I can accept, and believe in. And I believe that there is rarely a coincidence in life.

In my opinion, what I did for Bobby does not even compare to what he does for the kids in his life, which as he clearly stated, means so much to him.

--11MBStarWalker

It's refreshing to see something good past the SWM game itself, but influenced through the game.

As for any mention of myself, just trying to help fellow gamers out. :)

I originally bought up to about 79 Ugnaught Demos with intention of buying them cheap and offering them for the same price as what I bought them at to fellow players. (about $2 each after shipping) I even bought a bunch from England. I know people can get greedy and want to resell limited minis for higher prices (trust me, I thought about it), but how does that further the game experience?

You have to take time for newer players and help them out. Most people I've talked to will do that. When I started playing on Vassal, I had no idea what I was doing. A couple players on there really held my hand and walked me through it all. Painstakingly, I might add. But I expressed my gratitude, win or lose, for their help. We're all in it for the FUN of it.

Also, along those lines, I can understand why newer players get frustrated with the "veteran" players and how they answer their questions. I was like that. I wanted the answer and quick. However, what I've found is that I appreciate it more when I know WHERE to look for the answers. Once you get in the habit of looking up all the resource materials (rulebook, rules inserts, cards, FAQ, Errata and Wizo forums), you will usually find the answer. Trust me on that. There are rare instances of something that won't make sense to you, but after posting it you smack yourself in the head after reading the first reply. (done that too) We're all human.

(and remember, unless you are Quigon, you can't control the dice! And yes, I'm still learning this one too)

No, you definitely can't control the dice:)

It reminds me of a quote, and I can't remember the source, that I often repeat to my students: "You cannot always control what goes on outside. But you can always control what goes on inside." It is a lesson about decision-making.

Revan is certainly a hard piece to play. I find it challenging to use him effectively, and most long-time players would probably agree. I hope that Bobby, his son, and his nephew enjoy and embrace the inherent challenge in playing Revan.

But the game, as Bobby wrote to me, is about strategy, math, counting, thinking, and analysis. He uses a wonderful game to teach those skills. And even the best teachers I know, including myself, can't do all of that at once.

I teach European and American History, writing, and critical thinking skills. And that is over the duration of a semester. Rarely can I accomplish all in a single meeting.

Bobby uses a game to do more than what I do, and even though I do form some close bonds with a few students, and some of them stay in touch with me after they have moved on, they aren't related to me.

Bobby does this with his son and nephew, also writing that he hoped to add his daughter one day as well. That is the mark of a great father and role model; his concern for keeping them out of trouble certainly reflects that.

Sure, many aren't able to buy all the pieces they want and tirelessly try to trade for the those that they do want.

Until Bobby wrote to me, I had no idea of his story. I had asked him to identify some squads he'd make with Revan in addition to the reason that he wanted the piece so much. I stopped reading after he discussed the importance of the kids in his life. I didn't even look at the potential squads he typed up.

The story is an example of a man dedicated to children, an example of what the Star Wars Community can be, and what we can all do for each other. Sending him one of the most expensive pieces in the game might not be for everyone. But "cost" and "worth" are relative words. So is money. I'm not happy to have to look at disappointing investment portfolios, but life isn't about those money or possessions. It is about people.

We all don't have to donate a material item to perform a good deed. Sometimes the mere act of offering one's time and insight to help another person is just as good.

--11MBStarWalker