Last night while working on my newly acquired arcade game, I began feeling guilty and a little bummed out. While not directly responsible for Star*Cade’s closing, I guess we are all a little bit responsible. When I was a kid my parents took me to the arcade all the time, and I’m sure every quarter I pumped into a glowing machine helped with the rent. These days, Mason is content to sit at home playing Xbox games, and I’m content to sit here and watch him. It’s much more convenient and inexpensive than loading kids up into the car and spending quarters in some arcade across town. So when yet another arcade permanently closes its doors, I do feel a little guilty. Of all people, I should be the guy taking my kids there regularly, supporting them. If not me, then who?
After lunch today, Mason and I dropped Susan and Morgan off at the house and then headed out to Cactus Jack’s. Mason and I played Star Wars Pinball, The Simpsons, and Galaga together. And then, Mason looked up at and said, “when are we going to play the games I want to play?” I never really thought about it before, but I suppose he’s right — we usually play the games I consider fun. And so, with another five bucks in tokens at his disposal, we played the games he wanted to play: skeeball, basketball shooting, “Feed Big Bertha”, air hockey, and others. Someday when Mase looks back on his time spent visiting arcade, I want him to remember his experiences as fondly as I do.