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In 7th grade I got to fly on a jetplane for the first time. My brother Rob (9th grade) and I took a flight from SLC to Denver, CO in the first part of the school year to visit our Uncle Gary (seem like everyone I know has an uncle named Gary). Anyway he was living in Sedalia at the time, and we were very excited for the trip.
Just before we boarded, our wonderful grandma gave me some money, like $20 or more, to "pitch in" toward having a nice meal with Gary. She told me, "Here, make sure he takes you some place nice to eat", or something like that. So, being the deviant that I was, I took that to mean---the money was only tied down to food if he didn't take us anywhere nice, but if he did---then the money was up for grabs.
On the way to Colorado I was feeling pretty good, partially because of a deal I'd negotiated with Rob (I got both window-seat tickets, and he got the shotgun-seat in Gary's car) but also because I knew I had this extra cash secretly stuffed away in my pocket.
We had a good trip with Gary, and he spared no expense making it nice for us--including getting us a nice dinner, among other meals. (Which meant the grandmother fund was free to invest elsewhere.) So, at the mall, one of our many stops, I searched out options for something to invest in, deciding on two things.
The first was a game that I thought looked pretty cool called Axis and Allies. I didn't know anything about it except for what the cover art told me ... "A man with cool sunglasses fights in World War II." (But it turned out to be a really good game I played hundreds of times.)
My other purchase takes a little bit more explanation.
My friends, the Lehmitzes, had recently been swept away by a new phenomenon called Pokemon that had infiltrated every school in America. It was a playing-card game and everyone was doing it, including some new friends I'd made at my new school
Now, I had never played a card game outside of solitaire, hearts, egyptian-rat-killah etc, but I saw the packs of cards in front of me as an opportunity. So, on impulse, I bought a bunch of them--as many as I could, supplementing the purchase with my own money since Axis and Allies had gobbled up most of my grandmother's "donation".
I got the cards out later at Gary's house, alone--somewhat self-conscious because they looked more cartoony and cheesy than I'd expected.
There, in the upstairs, I tore into them and looked them over. They all had silly pictures and numbers and stuff on them, but I didn't get how to play. And, being a typical guy, I'd already thrown away the instructions. So I made up my own way to play, something that contributed to my opinion that the game wa sonly subpar, but.... fun enough. And I decided I'd bring the set to school and show it off to people, maybe others would teach me how to really play the game, etc.
Well... I got the impresison early on that I had some pretty valuable cards. I didn't know any of the specifics, for example who Charmonger and Alakazebra were, or whatever, but I took note of which cards stayed in kids hands the longest while they stared at them, envy in their eyes. I was able to guage which cards were most valuable and then ask my friends (those who were really into it) how much $ each card was worth brand new. With this information, I started a small operation at my junior high where I sold them and, when-possible, I auctioned them to the highest bidder. This new business venture was very lucrative at first, giving me all kinds of payoffs besides just money, candy, food, soda, free-assignment coupons, and other bonuses, so I decided to grow the business.
One kid in particular I remember... he was this really skrawny boy in gym. I don't know why I tried to work with him, I didn't even hardly know him, but he seemed to have a way of buying new cards--something I lacked, and he was willing to work on my terms. (I think I was trying to cut a deal with him where I would use him to buy the decks, I'd pay him the money for buying them, then I'd give him a small cut of my profits when I peddled the garbage to other students. I'm sure I had somehow manipulated him into getting like 1% of my take, or something ridiculous. An alternate plan I pitched to him was that he and I shared the costs of the new cards, I sold them, and I'd pay him back his half of the fixed-cost, but then keep all the profit from the sales myself. I can't remember exactly what he accepted, but I assure you it was in my favore) so one day while working out, we paused so I could give him the first bundle... about $10, mostly in quarters.
I never saw any of that money again, or any cards, and he ultimately is the one who drove me out of business I'm pretty sure. Not so much because he embezzled $10 of company money, but because it was in that same class that my collection (which by then was delicately kept inside plastic sheets in a thick binder) vanished without a trace. This kid knew where the cards were, I doubt others did. But innocent until proven guilty and it wouldn't have been the first time someone had something stolen in gym. But anyway, whoever it was went through my stuff and cleaned me out, and after that upset I quit the card-trading business forever.
"It's a stupid game for babies, anyway!" Became my official stance on Pokemon after that, and I didn't buy any more cards.
I felt like I'd been kicked in the teeth and stabbed in the back at the same time. So, instead of blaming myself, it was much easier to blame the game, a fad and sensation that quickly evaporated out of sight out of mind.
But now that I'm thinking about it again...
I never actually learned how to actually play the game... It had been a business to me, nothing more.
---
On that same trip to CO my uncle showed us the very funny movie "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles," after we saw it it, Rob realized it was rated R and that crushed him. He was seriously devestaed, a fact I couldn't help but laugh at. I remember he'd made some kind of goal in seminary and now he'd violated it, which caused him distress until long after the trip was over.
Just before we boarded, our wonderful grandma gave me some money, like $20 or more, to "pitch in" toward having a nice meal with Gary. She told me, "Here, make sure he takes you some place nice to eat", or something like that. So, being the deviant that I was, I took that to mean---the money was only tied down to food if he didn't take us anywhere nice, but if he did---then the money was up for grabs.
On the way to Colorado I was feeling pretty good, partially because of a deal I'd negotiated with Rob (I got both window-seat tickets, and he got the shotgun-seat in Gary's car) but also because I knew I had this extra cash secretly stuffed away in my pocket.
We had a good trip with Gary, and he spared no expense making it nice for us--including getting us a nice dinner, among other meals. (Which meant the grandmother fund was free to invest elsewhere.) So, at the mall, one of our many stops, I searched out options for something to invest in, deciding on two things.
The first was a game that I thought looked pretty cool called Axis and Allies. I didn't know anything about it except for what the cover art told me ... "A man with cool sunglasses fights in World War II." (But it turned out to be a really good game I played hundreds of times.)
My other purchase takes a little bit more explanation.
My friends, the Lehmitzes, had recently been swept away by a new phenomenon called Pokemon that had infiltrated every school in America. It was a playing-card game and everyone was doing it, including some new friends I'd made at my new school
Now, I had never played a card game outside of solitaire, hearts, egyptian-rat-killah etc, but I saw the packs of cards in front of me as an opportunity. So, on impulse, I bought a bunch of them--as many as I could, supplementing the purchase with my own money since Axis and Allies had gobbled up most of my grandmother's "donation".
I got the cards out later at Gary's house, alone--somewhat self-conscious because they looked more cartoony and cheesy than I'd expected.
There, in the upstairs, I tore into them and looked them over. They all had silly pictures and numbers and stuff on them, but I didn't get how to play. And, being a typical guy, I'd already thrown away the instructions. So I made up my own way to play, something that contributed to my opinion that the game wa sonly subpar, but.... fun enough. And I decided I'd bring the set to school and show it off to people, maybe others would teach me how to really play the game, etc.
Well... I got the impresison early on that I had some pretty valuable cards. I didn't know any of the specifics, for example who Charmonger and Alakazebra were, or whatever, but I took note of which cards stayed in kids hands the longest while they stared at them, envy in their eyes. I was able to guage which cards were most valuable and then ask my friends (those who were really into it) how much $ each card was worth brand new. With this information, I started a small operation at my junior high where I sold them and, when-possible, I auctioned them to the highest bidder. This new business venture was very lucrative at first, giving me all kinds of payoffs besides just money, candy, food, soda, free-assignment coupons, and other bonuses, so I decided to grow the business.
One kid in particular I remember... he was this really skrawny boy in gym. I don't know why I tried to work with him, I didn't even hardly know him, but he seemed to have a way of buying new cards--something I lacked, and he was willing to work on my terms. (I think I was trying to cut a deal with him where I would use him to buy the decks, I'd pay him the money for buying them, then I'd give him a small cut of my profits when I peddled the garbage to other students. I'm sure I had somehow manipulated him into getting like 1% of my take, or something ridiculous. An alternate plan I pitched to him was that he and I shared the costs of the new cards, I sold them, and I'd pay him back his half of the fixed-cost, but then keep all the profit from the sales myself. I can't remember exactly what he accepted, but I assure you it was in my favore) so one day while working out, we paused so I could give him the first bundle... about $10, mostly in quarters.
I never saw any of that money again, or any cards, and he ultimately is the one who drove me out of business I'm pretty sure. Not so much because he embezzled $10 of company money, but because it was in that same class that my collection (which by then was delicately kept inside plastic sheets in a thick binder) vanished without a trace. This kid knew where the cards were, I doubt others did. But innocent until proven guilty and it wouldn't have been the first time someone had something stolen in gym. But anyway, whoever it was went through my stuff and cleaned me out, and after that upset I quit the card-trading business forever.
"It's a stupid game for babies, anyway!" Became my official stance on Pokemon after that, and I didn't buy any more cards.
I felt like I'd been kicked in the teeth and stabbed in the back at the same time. So, instead of blaming myself, it was much easier to blame the game, a fad and sensation that quickly evaporated out of sight out of mind.
But now that I'm thinking about it again...
I never actually learned how to actually play the game... It had been a business to me, nothing more.
---
On that same trip to CO my uncle showed us the very funny movie "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles," after we saw it it, Rob realized it was rated R and that crushed him. He was seriously devestaed, a fact I couldn't help but laugh at. I remember he'd made some kind of goal in seminary and now he'd violated it, which caused him distress until long after the trip was over.
