The Heart of Baldness
NES Series Entry: I
Happiness is a Warm NES
By Just a Bald Guy
Way back in the day when you wanted something for cheap you’d look in the classified section (aka “want ads”) in the newspaper. I’ll spare you the Boomer humor jokes to simply say long before the internet this was how people bought and sold things directly to each other. Like a print version of Craig’s List.
(I wonder if Dennis ever made it to a hard working rock band?)
This is what it might have looked like. I’d comb through these regularly, mostly out of curiosity. There was a section for Electronics and that’s how I found my Nintendo Entertainment System. It’s also how Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich recruited guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield but that’s a different story.
It was the early 90s, and I was in 4th grade. The NES was the hot rage, so naturally I’d only recently received an Atari 2600. My dad’s friend’s son sold us his full set for a great price, and we got a ton of Atari cartridges. Prior to owning my own Atari the only one I played was on my neighbor’s black and white TV. One kid at my school would regularly trade me “Atari tapes” for parts of my lunch. That was a sweet deal, though this guy was so sketchy my teacher called my mom to warn her I was hanging out with him.
The Atari held its own well enough, but the allure of Mario was too strong. Every time my brother and I saw one at a friend’s house, we dreamed of a NES in our own. My brother and I would watch our friend Matt nonchalantly play Mike Tyson’s Punch Out!! and practically drool with envy. He’d “get bored” and swap the game out for something else, like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I’m pretty sure he was showing off, but it worked. Freakin’ Matt.
I remember jumping around my house like Mario, complete with my attempts at the sound effects. I’d draw the games like screens, and do everything I could to drop the hint of how much a NES would improve life in the Baldy household.
So after talking my parents into it, I started combing the want ads. Eventually I found some deals, and ended up with two great purchases. I had my games first, a collection of Super Mario Bros. 2 and John Elway’s Quarterback. The former would go on to be one of my favorites ever, while the latter was a game I had.
(Tecmo Bowl, this was not)
Then I tracked down the NES, used and in great shape, box and all. Found an ad, called up, and got it squared away. Mom mom drove me out to Rabb Rd by a redneck bar called “The Waterin’ Hole” across the tracks. I got it from a guy about my age, and I’m sure he told me what he was buying with the money but I don’t remember. I believe I paid $80 for the NES with everything it came with. I don’t recall other games.
Somehow, and I’m still surprised, we got permission to have the NES in our room with a TV. No cable, but we didn’t care. We had a meticulous set up with our tiny library of titles proudly displayed. I had a way to hang the controllers through the part of the table on the corners. Every day after school we’d run upstairs and fire up something in 8-bit glory.
So how’d we get all those amazing titles? That’s the next story.
