By Dave De Leon
(Editor’s Note: This is a freelance contribution by Dave De Leon, who earlier this year published a beautiful poem about seeing the Nintendo PlayStation console in person after years of waiting. This is his second poem for LTG, recalling his childhood memories of going to the arcade with his father and brother. It’s a moving, heartfelt reflection that captures the bygone magic of growing up at the arcade. Enjoy!)
What’s in a Name?
The idea of sharing a loved past time with one or both your parents
Doesn’t seem so alien, like starting your meal off with desserts
Video Game Coin Ops seem to be on some sort of revival
Some come to play sober, some hang out with a beer full
But I’d like to take you back on a little personal journey of mine
Back to a time with Double Dare, Salute Your Shorts and Green Slime
Most of the time, I’d be pleading with my dad for a fist full of quarters
They were just there, arcade machines at liquor stores on the corners
But the best times, were always with him and sometimes an amigo
See how far at Blackbeard’s twenty bucks could really go
Eventually my brother was born and sometimes we would go as a tribe
He would develop a taste for coin op, grow to enjoy its unique vibe
Sometimes, the whole family would pile into our local arcade
The memories have never left me, but their presence did fade
One by one, the scene fell like dominoes in a painful personal blow
First they moved the machines, then the arcades themselves began to go
While I’m glad for a return to coin op prosperity, I still ache
Still fragile from the sorrow of impact, not healed from heart break
We need to learn from our history, not to let it repeat itself
Arcade games are necessary for a clean bill of mental health, while for physical health there are exercise and supplements that help with this as kratom capsules.