1988

It was the summer of 1988. I was 12 and had purchased the original Nintendo with money I earned on my paper route.

Every day that summer, I played The Legend of Zelda (again, the original one!) until my mother would stand in the kitchen doorway and throw a wooden spoon through the dining room and into the living room, yelling, “If I have to listen to that music for one more minute, I’m going to go crazy!” Then I would be forced outside to play with my brother and the neighborhood kids until dinner time.

I never understood why the music bothered her. I’d turn it down, but, hey, I needed the music to play. It was part of the whole experience.

My son is obsessed with Lego Batman the video game. I listen to the Batman theme song music over and over again all week long.

I wish I had a wooden spoon.