It went from Lego to Star Wars to comics. Those that know me already are well acquainted with my love of the plastic brick.

I must have been about three years old when my grandparents surprised us and announced that they were taking us to Disney World. Shortly before the trip I became very sick and it was questionable whether or not we would even go, let alone postpone the vacation. After all, my grandparents wanted us to see Mickey Mouse but wanted us to do Disney at full capacity.

I was the first grandchild and my maternal grandfather, Andy Buzzetta, who I have made mention of before, brought me something that completely changed my world. He brought me my very first Lego set. My grandfather, a WWII combat veteran, was not a cruel man or a stone faced hard man by any stretch of the imagination. But, as my mom told me, he was a bit distant at times when they were growing up. He was VERY strict and demanding but always loving. We began to understand the motivations behind this years ago as Tom Brokaw explored "The Greatest Generation" and this seemed to be common among WWII veterans where there seemed to be a distance between their own children and themselves, but they grew very attached to the grandchildren. In fact, he opened up about certain aspects of the war to me when I would ask him about it when I was in second grade, shortly before his passing, which was something he never really spoke about to my mother.

Anyway, when he heard how sick I was, he came to visit one day with a gift in hand. He doted on my brother and I. I unwrapped it and there before me was a toy that was unlike anything I had ever seen before. It was my first Lego set. My parents and grandparents explained to me that with that set I could build anything I wanted. To me that was the game changer. Build anything I wanted? I most certainly did. My grandfather crafted most anything out of wood in his workshop. I was now given that opportunity with plastic bricks. With that set, began a love for the plastic brick that has lasted into my late 30's.

Now, back then Lego made basic bricks with few specialized elements. There were basic rectangular bricks and a few doors and windows. There were pictures, but no instructions. It was up to you and your imagination. Those bricks were eventually absorbed into my collection and I could not tell you which are pieces from the original set. However I made it a quest to track down what that original set was and to find a box complete with tray and liner. I knew that I would have to source the parts myself.

About a two weeks ago, I finally found it and sourced the vintage parts, quite a few of which are no longer in production, to recreate a complete sample of my first Lego set. I present to you, Lego set 110.

To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.