Why I Felt Like a Jerk on the Best Day of My Life

[rbudrick]

I know you see the title on this piece of Lore, so let me be clear; an eight year-old hasn't had a lot of days to compare to yet, I know, but let me tell you, this day was the best day ever, and still stands out as one of the best, but man was I a jerk, and boy, did I know it! To this day I still feel kind of badly about it.

It was early 1987, I was almost eight, and I had been brought up with the Atari 2600 since I was probably four, maybe three. It was a great system. I had a lot of fun with it, but I didn't play it much anymore.

I walked into Milano's Pizza in Milford, NH, to pick up some food with my old man, where I had played arcade favorites like Legend of Kage and Arkanoid before, but this time, something different was in there...something so compelling, I would do anything if there were a home version. I had beheld with my virgin eyes Super Mario Bros. on a Nintendo Vs. cocktail cabinet.

There was an older, much more skilled, and cooler dude than I playing it. This teen was showing me the ropes of the game as I stared in awe. Some games had captured my imagination and heart before, but never before like this. He knew where all the secret blocks and warps were, and was happy to show off, being sure to make Mario dance on top of a vine.

I asked him if a home version existed, he said, "Yeah, on the Nintendo. They sell it down at Ames." I would do ANYTHING to own this game, I thought. No matter who I had to convince, and no matter who I had to step all over, this game would be mine. That was foreshadowing, by the way.

I had heard of the Nintendo. I had seen some unconvincing early commercials for it and some Sears catalog blurbs on it, but not much else. I figured it was just another one of those game systems that was going to come and go that no one else I knew ever owned. I never knew anyone who owned anything besides and Atari 2600 up until that point, except one kid who owned a Vic 20, and another who owned a Commodore 64, but to me, those were "just computers," and didn't count. SMB had changed everything. Nintendo was the future, and I had to be part of it.

After much nagging, my father agreed that if I could save half of the money, he would cover the other half. I had to save $70, as the Deluxe Set with R.O.B. the robot was $139.95. I slaved for six to eight months doing extra chores around the house, babysitting my infant brother, and generally doing anything I possibly could to earn pennies, dimes, dollars, whatever. For an almost-eight-year-old, $70 was a lot of dough. I knew this was going to be tough. But the day did finally come when I earned that 70th dollar.

This piece of Lore started with me saying how I felt like a jerk. The day I made my 70th dollar (the most money I had ever owned), was the fateful day. It was the greatest day ever until my dreams were momentarily shattered, then renewed, and I felt terrible for it. I made that final buck and demanded of my dad we run down to Ames RIGHT NOW and get the Nintendo. He said, "No, I don't have the money." I cried and screamed and told my mom on him. She gave him the third degree, demanding that he made a promise and knew how hard I worked on it and generally made him feel ashamed he was reneging. Finally, he caved in, and brought me down to Ames.

See, kids don't believe parents when they say they "don't have the money." Money grows on trees and the world revolves around you when you are eight. I refused to believe a dream so important to me was just about to be passed over, like throwing out a piece of trash. But, on the way to Ames I really felt terrible my mom had yelled at my dad. I felt really, horribly badly about it. Then I started to feel worse. See, when we got there, we started having the system rung up, and he asked what games I wanted. I knew it came with Gyromite and Duck Hunt, but I of course, asked for SMB, and noticed a few other games that looked interesting, and chose Kid Icarus, and Ice Climber. Then I really started to feel almost depressed and ashamed of myself. I had not only paid way under half when the games were included (I never thought to factor them in!), but my dad had his checkbook out and I knew he was going to float a check just to make me happy. He really didn't have the money and was probably going to bust his tail bigtime in the following days to not get caught for it, I figured. He asked if I wanted any more games, and pointed at Metroid, asking, "How about that one." I already got more than I deserved, thought it sounded too much like Meteoroid anyway, and that it was probably an Asteroids ripoff. I declined, with a feeble "No, that's ok." I think I had trouble getting those words out.

When I got home, I had a lot of fun with the system, no doubt. However, the idea that I felt I had been so mean to my dad has always haunted me. Yes, I know it was 20 odd years ago, but whenever I think of this happiest of days, it is still a mixed feeling, as if behind the joy there was a bit of dread and then I remember why.

Maybe people will read this confession of sin and I will have finally redeemed myself. Thanks, Dad! Thanks so much for everything you've ever done, but especially for making me the happy gamer I am today! Oh, and sorry about that whole putting you through the ringer thing when I was eight. You're the best!

-Rob

[agbulls]

Great story. I have no doubt that I guilt tripped ---or is it conned?--my Mom and Dad into numerous NES games during the late 80's and early 90's (I'm currently 27) at Montgomery Wards. Double Dragon 2 comes to mind for some reason.

I will say this -- you at least chose some of the best games on the NES. It would have been really terrible to have guilt-tripped your Dad and to come home with Fester's Quest, Bigfoot and Sesame Street 1-2-3.

[Pantechnicon]

Thanks for sharing this. I hope this one makes the cut into the book if for no other reason than to serve as a cautionary lesson as to how easy it is for gamers to become short-sighted and selfish over these things while in the moment.

I had once subjected my mother to a similar hissyfit over a game that I just had to have. Never mind her patient assertions that she couldn't afford it. I figured there had to be a way for her to afford that game (never occurred to me to maybe get off my gamer butt and go earn the money myself), but she stuck to her guns and said no, or at least "not yet". I'm glad she did, because the game in question was Atari 2600 Pac-Man .

[Flack]

So did you ever pay your dad back the money, rbudrick?

I remember one year my grandma kept asking me what I wanted for Christmas and all I would tell her was Keystone Kapers for the Atari 2600. I wanted that game SO. BAD. Usually I got crappy gifts from her, like homemade mittens or something. So of course that year I got Keystone Kapers and I was so happy and I played it forever.

Then one year my mom told me that the reason we got homemade gifts from my grandma all the time was because she was dirt poor, and to afford that game she had to collect cans off the side of the road for like two months. I felt pretty low after that.

[Dire 51]

I've got one that's worse than all of these combined, and it's not easy for me to say this. Who knows what you'll all think of me after this?

In the early '90s, I ripped off my own grandmother just to get a Super NES game. I just wanted it that badly, and I wasn't working nor did I have any way to make money at the time other than finding work. After a while, I felt pretty horrible about it, but I could never bring myself to confess to her what I did.

She died less than a year later.

I started working a new job shortly after she passed away, and I was with that company for four years. When I first heard they supported the United Way, I decided to donate $5 out of every check I got to the UW in my grandmother's name.

I did that the whole four years I was there, no matter what I had going on - including paying rent, car payments and whatnot, and I was only getting an average of about 28 hours per week and was only making a bit over minimum wage. Believe me, there were times that even that $5 was sorely missed.

There are still some days I feel a little guilty about that, but I'd like to think I made my peace with what I did a long while ago.

[RPG_Fanatic]

Rbudrick you should pay him back now and tell him your story just to see if he remembers. My dad passed away last Oct. and never played video games but i showed him Halo and he bought an Xbox. Me and him played halo together and it brought us closer together before he passed. You never know how much time you have till their gone.

[8-bitNesMan]

Rbudrick you should pay him back now and tell him your story just to see if he remembers. My dad passed away last Oct. and never played video games but i showed him Halo and he bought an Xbox. Me and him played halo together and it brought us closer together before he passed. You never know how much time you have till their gone.

QFT... I have lots of good memories of growing up gaming and spending time with my dad. Let them know how much you love them while they're here with you.

[rbudrick]

No, I never did pay him back, but I do spend good time with him. I actually did almost lose him recently (It was damn close). Most nights, I leave work, go over my g/f's, then around 11PM I go home or maybe hang with some friends until 1 or 2, depending on what mood I'm in or what kind of crap I have to do back home. But, I do go hang with my dad sometimes instead. I try to do that once or twice a week. Lately, we've been going through all the seasons of Hogan's Heroes. We're on Season 4 out of 6.

Rbudrick you should pay him back now and tell him your story just to see if he remembers. My dad passed away last Oct. and never played video games but i showed him Halo and he bought an Xbox. Me and him played halo together and it brought us closer together before he passed. You never know how much time you have till their gone.

Well, I figured, if it gets printed in the guide, that would be the coolest way to repay him ever. I think he'd get a real kick out of it.

I do realize that we never know how much time we have. I think about it all the time. It sucks.

-Rob

[GarrettCRW]

Jesus, you guys are evil! The closest thing to this was when I saw Zelda at Target for the low, low, low price of 20 bucks, and my parents refused to let me buy it (even though I had the 20 bucks). The next day, my mother indignantly tosses a copy of said game, informing that I was out one birthday present and 20 bucks (with my birthday over 4 months away).

Karma was immediate, as in retrospect it proved to be one of the two warning signs that I needed glasses when I had to move closer to the TV in my bedroom in order to see what was going on.

[DaBargainHunta]

Very touching story, rbudrick. Definitely the most emotionally impactful one so far.

Jesus, you guys are evil! The closest thing to this was when I saw Zelda at Target for the low, low, low price of 20 bucks, and my parents refused to let me buy it (even though I had the 20 bucks). The next day, my mother indignantly tosses a copy of said game, informing that I was out one birthday present and 20 bucks (with my birthday over 4 months away).

Karma was immediate, as in retrospect it proved to be one of the two warning signs that I needed glasses when I had to move closer to the TV in my bedroom in order to see what was going on.

How did you do anything wrong? Sounds like your parents were being unreasonable pricks (and, yes, they were). You had the money - they should've let you spend it however you wanted to.

For them to buy the game, THEN take your money AND say it counted as a birthday present is just ridiculous.

Or had they ALREADY bought the game for you before you saw it in the store that day? I must be missing something w/ your story.

[GarrettCRW]

Or had they ALREADY bought the game for you before you saw it in the store that day? I must be missing something w/ your story.

Beats me-I related the tale as I recall. I was just happy to finally get Zelda (as the true story of how me and my brother got the four games we did with the Action Set is less pleasing than this tale).

[Gabriel]

I remember making a bargain with my great grandmother where if my report card grades were a certain level or higher, she would buy me an Atari 7800.

Anyway, I busted my ass for the next 3 weeks to improve sagging scores and meet my end of the deal. Report card day came, and I had met my target, exceeding it by quite a bit. (I went from Ds and Fs from total apathy to Bs and As.)

That was when my great grandmother suddenly changed the terms of the arrangement and reneged on the whole thing. It was really the only time she had ever maliciously lied to me, and it hurt. My motivation for doing well in school was pretty shot to hell after that.

Several years ago, when I got my current job, the first retro-system I grabbed on ebay was an Atari 7800.

[rbudrick]

Very touching story, rbudrick. Definitely the most emotionally impactful one so far.

Wow, cool, thanks, man!

-Rob

[Kid Ice]

I vote this one in on the basis of the title alone.

I felt bad when Dad paid for Pac Man because it sucked so much and I knew I would never play it again. That night I dutifully played it for hours just thinking "God this sucks so much, what happened here?"

[smork]

Great story -- a sure one to be included, I think!

It's funny how these childhood regrets sting worse than the adult ones. Maybe it's because as children we don't have a very good sense of decorum and can be real shits, whereas when you're an adult at least you know you're being an ass? Or maybe it's because you're being a jerk to those who are most important? I know 90% of the things i've done that i've regretted have affected my mom, dad, or sister....

Kid Ice -- I had the same problem with Pac Man! I had to have it when it came out, and it was probably the only game I ever got at full price, and man did it suck. I felt so bad for having my dad pay so much!

[RickHarrisMaine]

I did the same stuff with videogames, and especially Star Wars figures when I was a kid. The emotional blackmail I put my parents through, its terrible really. But there's a silver lining, at least for my parents. They really get a kick out of going to the store with me and my boys, and watching them pull the same crap on me. They laugh their heads off, actually!

[skaar]

Jesus, you guys are evil! The closest thing to this was when I saw Zelda at Target for the low, low, low price of 20 bucks, and my parents refused to let me buy it (even though I had the 20 bucks). The next day, my mother indignantly tosses a copy of said game, informing that I was out one birthday present and 20 bucks (with my birthday over 4 months away).

I bet your mom had already bought it and was hanging onto it until your birthday, then figured she'd just give it to you early.

You spoiled her surprise!

[Fuyukaze]

As kids our ability to understand money is extremly limited. We didnt think about rent, we didnt think about groceries, we didnt think about health care, hell, we only thought about us more often then not. We'd use anything and everything to get what we wanted. Guilt trips, broken promises, and lies were our tools of the trade. We were kids though and didnt realy know better. Your father sounds like a fairly good guy to me. I hope your story gets picked to be added.

[Lerxstnj]

I vote this one in on the basis of the title alone.

I felt bad when Dad paid for Pac Man because it sucked so much and I knew I would never play it again. That night I dutifully played it for hours just thinking "God this sucks so much, what happened here?"

Yeah, around $60 for that crap and today great games are the same price or less 25 years later!

[mills]

great story, budrick. I think I did the same shit when I was a kid.

[shopkins]

I had sort of a similar experience. My dad took us out one day to Kingsport, Tennessee, which was to me a big city with cool stores. I remember playing a bunch of arcade games, him buying us things and generally having a great time. When we were headed home I thought I'd top off the day by renting an NES game and he agreed to it, but when we drove by the video store he and I both forgot about it.

I asked him to go back but he didn't want too and I threw a small little fit about it, not much but enough to make me feel bad for adding a sour note to the day. Later on that weekend, somehow, I did get to rent Bucky O'Hare and though I enjoyed it, I had a little less fun with it because of guilt over how I'd acted.

My dad died when I was in my early 20s and although this isn't one of my major regrets, not even close, it is an example of why you should enjoy the good times when you can and not get caught up in the small stuff.

[Cambot]

Yeah, the more I think back, the more I realize that I was a pretty big brat when it came to video games. I was not spoiled at all, and generally a good kid (my mom always mentions what a good kid I was to this day).

But I remember Christmas of 1991 and how much I wanted a SNES. On Christmas morning, when all the gifting was over and I hadn't gotten it, I remember pouting like a little jerk and not making any secret that I was dissapointed that I hadn't gotten one. Then my mom sends me to the closet to get something and there's the big giftwrapped SNES box in there, and I pause for a minute and hear my mom go "surprise!"

I always felt guilty about that.

Also, there was the time we had just gotten back from Toys R Us after a rare non-holiday/birthday game purchase with my new copy of Mike Tyson's Punch-Out! It was just in time for a thunderstorm to roll through, knocking out the power for the night. In the morning, my sister, who must have only been in 1st grade, woke me telling me how you just keep getting knocked out and fly off the screen. I was so mad that she had gotten to play it before me. I just chalk it up to sibling rivalry, but man, what a brat I was.

[bruhaha69]

Nice story, Rob. How are ya?

[rbudrick]

Whoa, hey Mike....haven't seen you in about, oh, I dunno 4 years?

How's life? PM!

-Rob

[ReaXan]

Then one year my mom told me that the reason we got homemade gifts from my grandma all the time was because she was dirt poor, and to afford that game she had to collect cans off the side of the road for like two months. I felt pretty low after that.

I think we forget that game cartidges were considered a high priced gift to parents during the Reaganomic 80's and George Sr. 90's since they for the most part,didnt grow up playing them or understand the appeal we did for them.Great story though,your grandma seemed to just want you to be happy,I can remember my dad spending his last 50 so I could get a game that i got bored with after 2 days.

The only games my dad played with me was Super Mario Bros for one night and Need for Speed{Only because i had the steering wheel set}.He came from a generation where video games were in their true infancy,so I understand now as an adult why he hesitated on the purchases of games.My uncle was into the NES for a while in his late 20's,but never bought a new system after that.