The Atari...

As mentioned in previous blogs, I am not a very skilled competitor when playing video games. I just recently learned how to play the Wii and that would be the only time I have played a video game in about 15 years (I am not exaggerating). So the first day I went to my parent's to say hello to my brother and his family, he was in the basement playing Nintendo (the original nintendo) with his three sons. I sat and watched in amazement at how easy it was for my brother to pick up on all the old tricks of Super Mario Brothers. I had all but forgotten most of them. He challenged me to a game and I graciously declined. I was not about to be humiliated.

After a few minutes, my brother finished the game and then declared "I want to play Circus Atari". I looked at him and said "Circus Atari? Are you serious?" He said yes and instantly gathered up all the Nintendo stuff, put it away, and then pulled out our old Atari system.* I wish I had my camera with me to take a picture, but it looks just like this:




And we have pretty much all those games too! It's crazy to believe that my parent's still have the old Atari after all these years!** My brother hooked it up, put in "Circus Atari" and once again challenged me to a game. But I would still not give in. So, he challenged my mom. He creamed her in the first game so she wouldn't play another game with him after that. Therefore, he challenged me once again. This time I accepted. Final score: Nathan 1 million. Me 5.

Okay, I might be exaggerating on our final score. I can't remember the exact score, I just know that he toasted my hide. But my competitive nature would not give in so I challenged him to a game of "Knight Driver". He stunk. Big time. I laughed my evil laugh and said "Ha! Not so great anymore, are you brother?" He handed me the controller. I grabbed it, ready to show him how it's done. I stunk even worse. You might not think that possible. But trust me, it is. I sat there letting my ego escape from my overly inflated head and waited for my brother's witty retort. But my kind, loving brother didn't make fun of me. He just said "It's harder than it looks, huh?". What a nice guy. He doesn't deserve to have such a mean sister.

After that we ended up challenging each other in "Summer Olympics" and "Pac Man" before it was finally time for me to head home. He beat me in everything we played, but it was still a lot of fun. I hadn't played the Atari in 15 years and I haven't played with my brother in about that long either. It was so good to spend time with him and to embrace our inner youth.

*Atari: one of the very first home gaming systems that sold between 1972 - 1984. Was invented by Nolan Bushnell, a University of Utah graduate.

**My parent's Atari still works, though it malfunctions quite a bit. And the picture of the TV is very fuzzy. It was hilarious though to see how outdated the entire thing is but at the same time, it is still so much fun to play!