when i was a kid

Being 25, I know I'm not very old. Very much still "wet behind the ears." But even though I haven't lived that long on this planet, I've witnessed a lot of change. The things I got to know as a kid, have changed dramtically. So I thought it would be cool to go back and visit just some of what the world used to be. When I was a kid. Here's some pics to help you remember. (Click on the pic to get a bigger version). Enjoy!

Ok when I was a kid, I liked to snack. Cookies, chips and everything else. Maybe it was because my mom wouldn't really let us, and she always would cook such great meals. Either way, I remember these. I would LOVE these, as I still do today. This is the only logo that I could find, but I swear there was another one, with the bag being orange. Pretty funny to remember though.

Yum Yum 


Now growing up, we were always mostly outside playing on our bikes. But I remember on Thursday's at 6 pm, me and my brother were at one place. In front of the TV. Why? The show. My show. The show that topped all others. See when I was growing I didn't have much of a father figure. But that was ok. Because my hero was not a man. You see my hero, was a car.

My Hero 


But when we weren't riding bikes, and watching Knight Rider, we were doing other more constructive things. Like playing Atari. Atari was the best, before Nintendo, before Sega, before any of them. I remember we had one, which was pretty odd now that I think of it, because we were pretty poor. But I remember using the round paddles for Pong, and playing so much the black cover of the joystick cracked and broke, revealing the white plastic below. I remember playing many games, but none more then this one. This game was hard back then, and if I played it now, I probably still wouldn't be able to beat it. I actually don't quite get the point of this game, I guess to run around and then somehow get your spaceship before the time runs out. And the name? Journey is for the band, Journey, and the escape is I guess what you tried to do. It's funny, because back then I didn't know, but the theme song to the game is actually the band's song "Don't Stop Believing" in a cheezy 80's Midi format. It was great though, I remember humming it for days.

My Favorite Atari Game 


It was hard 


Now on the rare occasion that my dad was actually acting like a good dad, he would take us to the movies. We would drive in his beat up brown Ford truck to The Galaxy. That was the coolest movie theatre of the day, and it wasn't really that far from where we lived. I remember there is where I found my favorite Arcade Game. Tucked in the back row of games, neglected because of newer games like "Bad Dudes" and "Road Blasters." But it called to me. In that unequivocal, that unmistakable voice, it called to me. What did it say you may ask, nothing else but "The Force will be with you, always." I remember pumping so many of my drunken father's quarters into this game, and never reaching Level 3. This too, was a very hard game. But I intend to beat it someday, when I own my very own arcade game of it, in my house somewhere in the future.

The Best Arcade Game Ever 


Just Awesome 


Even though growing up, I didn't have the regular definition of a "family" we still had our "family" moments. When my mom was tired of cooking, and we had money to eat out, we would go to a really fancy restaurant named this:

Our Family Restaurant 


I loved eating there, not only for the mashed potatoes, but for my treat that I got after I finished. See this brings back memories of my mom. Like I said before, my mom wouldn't let us eat tons of cookies and candy. She was always cooking nice meals, with vegetables and other healthy things. So when we went out to eat, if I behaved, I remember she would let me have my treat. I remember biting into it, as the chocolate covering flaked off the marshmallow. I remember just sitting in the truck as we drove home, enjoying every second of it. It's a great memory of my mom, and helps me not to forget what a great mom she was.

My Treat 


Well folks, that's all for now. I hope everyone had a nice time reading and learning a bit about me and my growing up. You know I remember talking to a friend once about the past. I remember laughing at what they said, "The past is a nice place to visit, but it's nowhere to live." And they were right. It's nice to look back and reflect and even learn. But really, the importance is on the future, not what we did, but what we are going to do. Now that I'm 25, I feel I'm starting over, and making a new future. I guess good Ol' Doc Brown was right all along. "It means that your future hasn't been written yet. No one's has. Your future is, whatever you make it. So make it a good one."