Hi, I’m Mike, and this is my website (dumbest first sentence I could have used). I am a big fan of video games, going way, way, way back to those days when Atari was the one thing every kid wanted for Christmas.
I remember when I got my first Atari. It was set up on a metal TV stand, the small TV on top and the console below with 2 joysticks. I don’t think my parents saw me for the first week. And, if they knocked on the door, I’d just tell them to go away.
My first games were Indy 500, Video Olympics and Street Racer. If I wasn’t doing homework, I was in my room playing the games over and over. The idea of getting better and better at the games to the point that I was beating everyone. I couldn’t get enough of gaming.
The technology back then… seemed like something amazing. And as time went on, I kept buying more and more game cartridges. Weekends…I was up to 2am and my parents had to drag me to bed. There came a point where my parents threatened to take the console away if I didn’t get outside and get some sunshine and exercise. To be fair, I was a little chubby. I made a deal that I’d do 30 minutes a day outside. If there were times when the console was taken away by my parents because of either grades or my smart mouth, the outside time would extend to 1 hour, sometimes 2 hours. Frankly, I think my parents just wanted to get me out of the house because I’d bother them through the day.
When I was 12, I started to take my Atari console to my friend’s house. Everyone in the neighborhood had an Atari and that meant grabbing everything and either walking over with a backpack with my equipment. Or, if it was a little too far to hike it, my parents would drop me off at my friends house. Those were the days when you could stay out as long as you wanted, and I did. Mrs. Bishop, the house that me and my friends tended to go to, often would give as way too much pop, and would feed us. I don’t know how she put up with it, sometimes there were 10 kids in the house all hopped up on caffeine.
What I remember the most is the smack talk. Jesus, we were all good at making fun of others if they couldn’t complete something of the game. Atari Jungle Hunt…for the life of me I sucked at that game. And, man, did that result in being called a lot of names. But, I wasn’t the only one. My friend Steve lost his shit on a game (can’t remember it), and threw himself on the floor, yelling and crying. The adult of the house would be horrified when these tantrums for kids would go on. I mean, this was real. Nobody wanted to fail the game and if you did.. WOW.
So, what’s the purpose of this site? Well, first, let me explain ‘Timeless Joystick’. It has a little bit swagger. It combines the nostalgia of classic gaming with the idea that no matter your age, the love for gaming never fades. I used timeless because, no matter how much time passes, the passion for gaming stays relevant. It’s a nice nod to both the longevity of gaming and the people who’ve been around long enough to witness gaming’s evolution.
I hope you enjoy the Timeless Joystick!
