When I was 7 years old, my family was very poor. We couldn't afford much.

That was the year Pong came out. And I scraped for a single quarter. Didn't often get one. I watched a lot more than I played. That's how arcades were for a poor kid.

Then, the Atari 2600 came out (though it wasn't called that to start). I couldn't afford one, knew a bunch of people who had one, so I saved every penny for literally years so I could purchase a used Intellivision. My friends and I shared cartridges and played all we could.

As the years passed and I matured and made more money, I was able to play through all of the generations going from a SNES to a Genesis to the next and the next. I had a PS1, a Dreamcast, an Xbox, a WII, a PS3, a Switch, until my present system, a Series X.

Video games have been a huge part of my life. And now, as I near 60, my abilities are falling off and I play slower games. But thanks to GamePass, I get to try a little of everything. I might not be good but I figure you don't have to be good at rides in an amusement park so I can goof off on whatever game I like.

I recently got addicted to Dysmantle, btw. It's cotton candy for the OCD brain.