Used Cartoonists and Helmsmen

Recently I have had very good luck finding "used" autographs of a few celebrities. How does one do this, you may ask?

You must haunt the hallowed halls of musty used book stores with the tenacity of a man who wished the world would end so that he would not be disturbed during his reading...

It is actually as if you stumbled upon a small hidden treasure that no one else seemed to notice. My case in point: Recently when awaiting a large payout for a large amount of DVDs that we no longer watch, I sauntered over to the Entertainment section in our local Half-Price Book store. While perusing the wares (Copies of "Roger Ebert's Movies" and Howard Stern's "Private Parts" and "Miss America" caught my eye mostly) I noticed a very clean spine that didn't look too beat up. The title was "To the Stars: The Autobiography of George Takei, Star Trek's Mr. Sulu." I was instantly intrigued as I had heard George Takei speak about his book...at length...during the many appearances on the Howard Stern Show. I thumbed open the book, and there smack dab on the front page was his autograph! It read "To Ben, All the Best George Takei." My heart skipped a beat for a moment, as I thought that there would instantly be a hundred people who would want to purchase the book just on the fact that he had touched it at some point....like Gollum I cradled my preciousssss close to my chest as I awaited the keeper of the sales to announce whether or not I would get a decent amount of money for the crate of merch I had just brought in. I then realized that I must be a truly paranoid person... how many people who aren't Star Trek fans, let alone fans of George Takei would be in the store at that very moment thinking "Gee, I wonder if they have an autographed copy of his memoirs lying around?"

Not only was I lucky with Mr. Sulu turning up in the store, but a few months back I was able to snag Berke Breathed's signature as well. For those of you who are not "in the know," he did a little comic strip called "Bloom County" back in the eighties and another strip called "Outland" in the nineties. It on a copy of a children s' book he had written entitled "Mars Needs Moms."

I just feel rather fortunate to have a piece of Takei in my home now. Years ago, way back in 1987 or 88, George Takei came here to Lexington to a Star Trek convention. As part of the convention he appeared at a run-down video store in Eastland shopping center to promote the release of "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" on VHS. I have a very cold and distinct memory of my father and I waiting in line at that place in the cold to meet "Some guy from Star Trek" and get a movie. I was ushered in (I guess I was 5 or 6 at the time) and brought before Mr. Sulu and couldn't have been met by a more friendly and accommodating guy. I didn't really know who he was and he explained who he was and taught me the vulcan salute. Somewhere in the great beyond there is a picture of George Takei teaching me the Vulcan salute, and I wish I still had it. I have a fond memory of that afternoon and I am glad that I have his autograph once again. Sorry Ben, you missed out.