Video games. As a kid, it is like being in a movie. You have the lights, the intense music, and you are in control. You, are player one. Video games sure have changed in a lot of ways over the years. I think my first introduction to video games were pinball machines at Hungry Hermans.

Mom and I would go to Hungry Hermans in College Park, Maryland. You walked in and they had pinball machines up one side and down the other. They were all clanging or flashing, calling my attention in one way or another. We would get cheesesteaks, fries, and play pinball games. To little me under ten, this was ahhhhmazing.

A few months ago, Frisco has the Texas Pinball Festival. I was lucky enough to get Mom out for a visit and we went. Definitely stimulation overload. There were machines all over the place. Older machines. Antique machines. Newer games. The new new games. So many lights and blinks and bells and whistles.

There were booths with people selling repair parts for the pinball machines. There were booths of people selling video game inspired merchandise. There were even some vendors who brought vintage machines. It was all pretty incredible.

When you found an open game you just hopped on and played. It was fun. The newer and more popular games had a bit of a line. You can tell Mom’s done this before: purse tucked up under the arm, staggered stance, pure focus, pinball professional.