For many years, when I was in first through eighth grade, my grandparents picked me up every Friday after classes ended.  Fridays had always been awesome to begin with, but this made them exponentially more awesome.  They had the incredible patience and generosity to take me to the places I loved, no matter how insane they sounded.  This included the giant Photon set-up in New Jersey, which was a massive laser-tag arena with fog, laser-lights and permanent score tracking.  But more often, it was simply the arcade.

I loved the arcade.  Who didn’t?  I got to play my favorite games and there were always some new contenders appearing as if by magic.  I still clearly remember the first time I saw a Dragon’s Lair machine.  My mind was officially blown and I thought my life would change forever.  Of course, actually playing it was a massive disappointment, but that’s another story.  There were always other machines to sink quarters into.

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