My Life's Addiction, Part 3: The 386/SX 25

My parents have always been neurotic, almost psychotic about ensuring that they never show favoritism between either of their children. I can't think of anything offhand that would trigger it to the depths that they go to, since my mom was an only child and my dad's younger brother was like 12 years his junior, but it exists nonetheless. Certainly better than the alternative, it's still a trait they tend to take too far. A couple of months ago, they gave my brother and sister-in-law their hand-me-down fifth wheel, and tried to tell me that they were intending to gift me something of an equal value. I actually had to tell them, "Look, my brother is married, with two kids, and his wife isn't working because of them. I am single, and I make more than he does anyway. I'm considering blowing four grand on a laptop I don't really need, but definitely want. He can use your help. I don't particularly need it."

Back in my formative years, however, the nobility of that impulse was certainly overridden by a discernable practical streak, coupled with the knowledge that my means were somewhat more limited. Thus, when I was getting to the Junior High School sort of age, when my parents announced that they were going to buy me a computer, as they had done for my brother when he made it to Junior High, I certainly didn't even think of raising an objection. Hey. I could use a computer.

This was not the early eighties any more, though, and in the years since our original computer purchase, the world had advanced, more than a bit. The PC revolution was just now gaining steam, and the 386 was a relatively new chipset from that hotshot company that everyone involved in technological stuff was talking about: Intel. It didn't take long to figure out that that was the kind of computer that I would want.

The OS was DOS 5.0, if I recall correctly, and it ran Windows 3.0, though I learned very quickly to eschew the cutesy Mac-like interface unless it was absolutely necessary. I took to the computer like a duck to water. We located it in the basement, on an old card table, and in the years to come, that basement was to become my office, through High School and beyond. I staked it and claimed it as my own; my brother, now in High School, would have to find a different place to run with the girls he was starting to date to find a little privacy. The basement was mine. It made for the perfect solution. Its properties included:

- Being finished, so it resembled a proper room, with carpet and everything, an appropriate place to entertain friends and, later, of course, girls.

- A couch with a hide-a-bed, where I would sleep in the summer (it got hot up in my room; my parents were frugal when it came to A/C), and upon which, shall we say, more than a few makeout sessions would eventually be held.

- Housed the ping-pong table that my parents bought at some point, and that I nearly wore out. I was an absolute fiend when it came to the game; it wasn't until College that I would run into anyone that could remotely challenge me at the game. The table also proved to be an ideal surface on which to play the large, complicated board games that I would eventually come to favor. Many an empire was raised and crushed on that thing.

- A phone line and cable connection, so I could hook up a TV (with the Nintendo, of course), talk with friends, and eventually connect to the Internet.

Of course, I did actually use the computer for its original intended purpose. I was a good student, and I'm sure my teachers appreciated the nice, double-spaced, spell-checked papers and reports. But everyone in the household by then knew that the computer's primary use would be as a vehicle for games. My parents didn't necessarily approve, but by then I was working two paper routs, making over $100 a month. Since all my necessary expenses were paid for, that money kept me in all the games I needed, with cash left over.

Strangely enough, I don't remember much about the specific games which occupied my time. I had been into D&D for a while, more as an observer than a participant, but still naturally gravitated to the many D&D-based RPGs out there. The ones that stand out most in my brain are the two "Eye of the Beholder" games. I also got into Ultima, having played III and IV for the Nintendo, and VI on the PC (later iterations on later computers). I also specifically remember "Ultima Underworld" and its sequel, groundbreaking technological achievements that haven't gotten nearly enough ink over the years.

That doesn't sound like much, and there were in fact other games, but those were all long RPGs and I played each and every one of them to completion. It's not hard to burn through a few years like that.