Tiffany Erwin Fundrasier

Troop #29

Tiffany Erwin is a 13 year old Seffner Florida resident that has recently been diagnosed with brain stem Glioma, an inoperable and terminal brain cancer. On Sunday March 1st a group of 501st members participated in an event in efforts to raise money for the family. The family was thrilled to have us there and our group got to meet Tiffany in person. We also met the parents of Tiffany and found ourselves holding back our emotions as we learned that this is the second child that the family is dealing with losing.

This fundraiser personally left me with a bitter taste in my mouth as this event fell on the same day as another event, which raises no money whatsoever, but allows members to get together and get shit face drunk and square off against ego's. The other event drew a total of 73 501st from around the state of Florida. This fundraiser brought 7. The 7 of us who did show earned our title while the other 73 members from around the state spent their weekend doing absolutely nothing but drinking, choosing cliques, and laying out the direction of the Florida Garrison for the upcoming year. As the 501st Legion is a member group made of all volunteers it cannot be mandated to attend important events over "look at how awesome we are" events. My vitriolic view was only further highlighted after finding out that no leaders were willing to make a statement - leading by example. But I digress...

After the event I put up 78 Star Wars action figures (out of my personal collection) on the 501st Legion Florida & main Legion boards in an effort to raise as much money as possible. The auction ran for three weeks and had not a single bidder or participant. During the three weeks that the auction was up and open for bidding there was a total of $2,718 spent by Florida members on new costumes, upgrades to their current costumes, shirts, stickers, etc. Again...I digress...

Unlocking Autism

Troop #28

A newer member (Jim aka HKiller) did this troop alone in Springhill. It would have been a good fundraiser had any more than two of our nearly 150 members in the state of Florida come out for it. Oh...that's right, Saturday was too important to do charity; there was a convention drink fest planned instead.

Oh, and Jim forgot his helmet for his TK. So we winged it: he was now Han in the trash compactor for the event.

Geek Fest @ Hard Knocks

Troop #27

There is match.com and eharmony.com out there. And yes, they serve some purpose. However they entirely ignore a very large demographic of single people: nerds. Taking this niche to a new level is sweetongeeks.com and they are doing very, very well.

A place out in Oviedo Florida called Hard Knocks hosted the event. Basically it was setup for nerds to gather together in a nerdy setting, doing nerdy things, and be socially inept together for a bigger purpose than leveling their level 78 Necromancer. It sounds good on paper and a lot of work was put into this by the lovely owner of sweetongeeks.com. However the stuffy all-young-plastic-hot-female staff was barely beyond tolerable and acted with complete disinterest towards the event goals and the 501st Legion members who were attending.

No photography was allowed inside the building so no photos were taken. Again, really hostile hosts. We did entertain the crowd of 25-50 people for a few rounds of Rock Band in costume before the staff decided it was drawing too much attention away from their egos.

Highlight of the night: seeing somebody I miss very, very much at Broadways Pizza near UCF.

Family Fun Night

Troop #26

Hosted by Gulf Middle School (where one of our local Squad members is a teacher) - this annual event brings the families of the children who attend the school together to meet and greet with teachers and staff. Food, activities, and so on are provided. This marks the second year the 501st Legion has been invited out. We were a big hit with the children and adults alike.

Pinellas Park Parade

Troop #25

The 36th Annual Pinellas Park Parade brought out about 30 members from the local 501st Legion. A 2.3 mile walk in full armor is more than taxing on your body but well worth it. Seeing the families reaction as we came walking down Park Blvd. was an astounding feeling and at times made you forget that you lost feeling in your legs long ago. We had a good respresentation of all Star Wars characters from Storm Troopers to Vader himself. We also had a competition show truck decorated with our banner. Awesome troop & I cannot wait until next year to do it again!


That Guy Brian (our local Vader) hosted a pre-parade BBQ for the troops. This was especially cool because it marked the first appearence of another member of ours, Shadow Scar (Robert) who had previously broken his leg in three places at another event November 2008. Shadow Scar's costume is of a Black Hole trooper, or Shadow Trooper which is basically an all black Storm Trooper. So...with plenty of time on my hands I found an action figure of his character, got some white athletic tape, Elmer's glue, and went to work on a special gift to show our appreciation for his dedication to trooping. That Guy Brain helped removing it from the package carefully so we could operate on the figure and return it to the package without notice. Below are the pictures of Robert and his new gift. He was still in his wheelchair at this event and his spirits were quite down due to his injury preventing him from being able to work. And to speak even further to Robert's love and dedication to trooping, he suited up in his costume sans the legs, got into his wheelchair, and strapped it into the back of the truck so he could do his part in the parade. Bravo Robert.

Planet Jump

Troop #24

The 501st Legion received an invite to participate in a birthday party for a young boy who is particularly fond of Star Wars. It was hosted at a place named Planet Jump in Largo, FL. The establishment houses large inflatables, similar to what people my age refer to as a "moonwalk". They had a cake made for the event that resembled a .75 scale R2D2, which not only looked awesome but tasted just as amazing.

There were about 15 kids at the party and it was a lot of fun. Then it happened....

After we got out of costume the family invited us to stay for a while and hang out. I was meeting with my family about 25 miles away so I dipped out, the others stayed behind to play on the inflatables. So about 30 minutes after leaving I get a call saying "we are taking Robert to the hospital, he broke his leg." Purportedly he had been on a large inflatable with a long slide and made an unfortunate turn at the end, snapping his leg in 3 places.

No good deed goes unpunished.

Tampa Bay Squad Dinner

We all got together at a Chili's, ate food, drank beer, smoked cigarettes, and one lucky gentlemen got the Father Nelson courtesy of Pug. Nong.

Trooping For The Troops

Troop #23

We visited James A. Haley Veteran's Hospital located in Tampa, Florida to show our appreciation, respect, and admiration to the soldiers who are there in recovery, permanent residency, or treatment due to injuries obtained in the line of battle. Fair warning: the images below are very graphic.

As many of my friends and family know I am vastly opposed to war. I know, I know...everybody is, too. But I find it a repulsive example of our inability to evolve as a species beyond murdering each other in countless numbers for pride, resources and sovereignty. After a long debate on whether I should go or not I decided that I would go just to support a fellow members' troop regardless of my opinion. I am glad that I went.

We met some pretty amazing individuals that ranged from young to old. Every war within recent, modern history is covered here within it's patients. Seeing the death tolls rise on television, hearing about suicide bombings in Iraq and Afganistan, and hearing the horror stories about Vietnam is commonplace for us Americans, thanks to our ever-so-agenda setting media. But seeing the result(s) of war firsthand was a life changing experience. Standing beside the bed of a man who is only alive because of artificial means while looking up at the wedding pictures of him as a healthy young man 11 months prior changes your perspective on things to say the least. My opinions slowly started to melt away and I felt like my chest was going to collapse. Do you say "thank you" to them? Do you see this and realize just how much more you hate war, or more appropriately, the reasons and pathetic existence of war? A great divide indeed. But how about both options?

One mother in particular made me lose my invariable position and mindset. She wheeled out her son who I am guessing is about 23-25. He can no longer speak, walk, use his arms, feed himself, shower, play sports or video games, hug his loved ones, or create a child. As she brought him to us she was very excited and announced "I told you I'd bring you Star Wars for your birthday! Here they are! Look!" His face brightened up enough to be visibly excited about being within a foot or so of Darth Vader and other Star Wars characters. As his mother repeated to him her excitement for him experiencing this she started to break down and cry, reaching quickly to one of our members and holding onto them. This was the one and only time I have ever been thankful that I was wearing a helmet hiding my face because I was no longer able to hold back my emotions.

Did this troop change me? Absolutely. Did it make me sympathetic to the reasons for war? No. I learned and grew emotionally and mentally from this event. Though I despise the fact that war exists and bite my tongue at most pro-war idiots out there, being able to spend time with and brighten the day of somebody who was dedicated to something knowing the risks is much, much bigger than my opinion or ego. They did something selflessly because of passion, it's only right that I do the same.

Star Wars Extravaganza

Troop #22

CDR Thire (Geoff) is a member of the local 501st Legion -Tampa Bay Squad. He is a very kind person who has a big heart and show this by hosting an annual get together for us Star Wars at his home. At this event there are raffles, Star Wars themed foods, and best costume contests. Of course, this is our one chance to make fun of ourselves in a way. So our costumes can be serious, not so serious, and absolutely pun-based. All the money raised through the raffles goes towards Autism Awareness. So not only do we get to be nerds (shocking) but it benefits others.

We had some misidentified Wampas, Fem TIE's (bleh), George Lucas imposters, Han in carbonite, kilted Storm Troopers, and more. It was a great night! Torment (Jason) and I have an exceptionally awesome idea for a costume for next year. Brace for epic.

The Force Unleashed Premiere

Troop #21

The Force Unleashed came out for gaming consoles at midnight. So any nerd that can drop $600 on a new gaming system can also drop $60 on the game and be Darth Vader for 11 minutes. Ooops. Should I have stated spoiler alert first?


Wing House chicks, free food, & nerds. I can't ask for a better night. Actually..I can...this is the night Rick Wright of Pink Floyd was announced as being dead from cancer. Shine on you crazy diamond...