A 'Legend' 25 Years in the Making

As you can probably tell by now, this has pretty much shifted from a random thought blog to a memory blog. I'll get back to the randomness soon enough, but I have a little more nostalgia to get out, so bear with me.

Ask any male in between the ages of 25 and 35 what they remember about their childhood. You'll most likely get the expected responses such as playing tee ball or pee wee football, first days of school and going through grade school, going on vacations with family, or remembering the arrival of a little brother or sister. However I can almost guarantee that they will have another memory: Nintendo.

In October of 1985 the Nintendo Entertainment System was released in North America, along with 18 launch titles. After the video game crash of 1983, people were hesitant to purchase video games again, so Nintendo decided to call their little grey box an 'Entertainment System.' The system came with a pack-in game that would change the face of both the entertainment industry and a generation of kids: Super Mario Brothers. Tight gameplay, colorful worlds and a memorable score made both the game and the system a hit. Shortly after that, Nintendo and Mario were everywhere...cereals, TV shows, curtains (which I had), you name it and Nintendo was on it. It even made it's way into a quick scene in Ghostbusters II. Nintendo ruled the freaking world.

My 9-year old mind: BLOWN

My mother's friend Terri had one, and whenever I went over to her house I played it when I could and had a blast. Then, one birthday I opened the big box present from my parents and staring back at me was my very own NES. I played Mario and Duck Hunt for weeks on end, sharing Mario secrets with friends and trying to beat the game. (Oddly enough a feat I did not accomplish on the first Mario game until many years later)

Cut to Christmas, the season when little kids' dreams are filled with wonder and anticipation. What can really live up to that? I had no idea what to expect. I awoke Christmas morning and was pleasantly surprised with the games 'Kung Fu' and 'Mach Rider.' A karate and a motorcycle game? That's 'Kid Nirvana,' and I was riding high. I honestly thought I was going to die when I opened my Ghostbusters soundtrack tape....for me it could get no better. And I was wrong.

The last present I noticed was one more NES game that I hadn't heard very much of, but instead of the standard gray cartridges that NES games came in, this one was gold. It was 'The Legend of Zelda.'

Who gives a crap if it's good or not, it's freaking GOLD!

A whole new world lie before me, with no specific place to go and the ability to roam free through the land, this was the game for kids with imagination. You could lose yourself imaging what the creatures looked like and trying to figure out the puzzles to reach the underground labyrinths. My best friend Shaune and I double teamed the game, one of us would play through and the other would be the "map master" and would navigate and help with strategy to help the other make it out alive. Unlike Mario games, what made this one so unique was that it had a battery backup built in to the cartridge to save your progress (the first of it's kind), because the game was so big it couldn't be finished in a single setting.

After you fought your way through the 8 dungeons and collected the treasures within, slew the boss and collected the fragment of the Triforce, you made your way up Death Mountain. Epic stuff. You would then enter Level-9, which might have well been a game of it's own. It was HUGE! After you found the red ring and silver arrows, you would finally make your way to face Ganon, a pig-like monster who became invisible and shot fireballs at you. If you managed to hit him with your sword 5 times, he would turn red. Nail him with the silver arrow and poof! All that was left was the Triforce in a pile of dust. In the next room was Princess Zelda. The game was over and the credits rolled. But wait....what's this? "Another Quest Will Start From Here....Press Start." Hm. Okay, it looks the same....but it's not. Levels are moved, enemies are tougher. It's another game in one!

At this point kids everywhere were floored. Probably the only thing that floored us more (video-game wise) at this time was the discovery in the game 'Metroid' that the bad-ass gun toting, missile shooting alien killer was in fact, a woman. After that there was Zelda 2, which was completely different. It was a side scroller with RPG elements such as magic and leveling up. Many people were not a fan, and Shaune and I were no different. We played it because it was Zelda, but only in later years did I come to appreciate it more.

In 1991 Nintendo released the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, packing 16-bits of awesomeness that would melt gamers faces that were used to the 8-bit powered NES. We had no idea what the hell a bit was, but we did know that 16 was twice as much as 8, so it had to be twice as good. The next year we found out just how good it was when "A Link To The Past" came out. It returned to the top-down perspective that made the first one so accessible, and the expanded on every thing. The graphics were top notch, NPCs (non-playable characters) had a greater role, your inventory tripled with all kinds of cool stuff to use, and probably most importantly there was a back-story. Shaune and I played this game like it was our jobs (in between school and little league), and when we beat it we were the bad boys on the block!

Remember the first time seeing the rain? Freaking sweet.

After that the series got a portable game, which I'm playing now, however it did not get another console release until November of 1998. That being my junior year of high school I was too busy driving, working and trying to pass classes that my video game playing took a back seat, and I missed out what many consider to be the greatest game of all time: "Ocarina of Time." However, my brother who was 10 at the time had the game and carried on the Zelda tradition, something we still share today.

Over the years many new Zelda games have come and gone, and I've played and beat most of them. While they're all great games in their own regard, they can't really top those first games for me. They may be dated graphically and the technology held the storytelling ability back, but the gameplay was all you needed. I like to look at those games and remember the sense of wonder that came with them, from the opening of the golden cartridge to stretching my brain trying to figure out the puzzles and where to go. It encouraged gamers to talk and share their secrets, and through that bonded friendships. The series turned 25 years old this year and every new title is just as anticipated as it was in the late 80's and 90's. That's legendary.

Side note: I've been doing this for a month now and have really been enjoying it. Are you? I would love to hear (or read) your feedback!

Hanging by a Moment While the World Held Its Breath

For most Americans, 2001 will always be remembered as what happened on September 11^th. While that’s true for me as well, the fall of 2001 was an incredible time for me that I revisit in my memory time and time again due to an album. Freshman year was fantastic. I was involved in some great organizations and met some really great friends. Headed into sophomore year was gearing up to be quite fantastic. I was the head of the film committee for ACE (Association for Campus Entertainment), was the praise and worship leader for Intervarsity Christian Fellowship (IV), and had an on-campus apartment with my roommate from the year before and two other guys. It was going to be a great year.

The summer before was great, I spent the summer working the early shift at Target. Working in the back room pulling inventory wasn’t exactly what I wanted to come back to, but it was work. My brother and I would stay up late watching Conan, and then playing Playstation/N64 games until the reruns of older Conan episodes came up in the wee hours of the morning. Those were fantastic times. His friend Steven also let us borrow a few of his CDs to listen to and/or copy. One of those just happened to be “No Name Face” by Lifehouse. I listened to that album a few times over that summer (along with Weezer’s Green Album….still my pick as their best), and thought it was pretty decent, particularly "Hanging by a Moment". Eventually I would identify the entire fall semester with that album.

I was able to move in early due to working with ACE, so having an apartment on campus to myself for almost a week before 90% of the rest of the students moved in was awesome. When people moved in and started joining ACE and IV, there was hardly a time that I would walk around campus without seeing someone I knew. It was a good time, although it wasn’t without its hitches. I broke up with my girlfriend most unfairly. She was very timid and at the time I was not. We would never fight, but when we went places, it didn’t seem as if we were together. It’s probably the most jerk thing I’ve ever done, and I probably should have handled it better. I remember listening to a song from the album called “Simon,” where he talks about self-worth and how you should hold your head high. I didn’t feel like holding my head high, but I knew I had to. A few weeks later I met a girl whom two years from then I would end up dating for just around 4 years…but that’s another story. Like I said, it was a crazy time as well!

Classes began in full swing and I met some really great guys in my computer science classes. I met Mike, who I found out was from Wilson, which is 15 minutes away from Rocky Mount, so we became friends pretty quickly, and remain friends to this day…and every time I talk to him he still asks me when I’m moving back. We had our new student outreach for IV and I met Allen. We both shared a love for music and while I was able to play guitar, Allen could only write lyrics and hum what he wanted the melody to be. We sat down one evening in his suite room and I threw some chords together to a song of his called “Wheel of the Potter.” I had no real clue what I wanted it to sound like, and neither did he, but I took one of the Lifehouse songs called “Somewhere In Between” and rearranged the chords and put his words to it. With the “Lifehouse Remix Song” put down we reached out to our bass player for IV; a younger guy named Ian who was completely on board. We got together at Ian’s house (he was a Wilmington native and lived at home) in his garage, and our band “Better Luck Next Time” was born. We wrote a few other songs that fall, and Allen and I still play them today when we get the chance.

One Tuesday morning Sarah (my girlfriend at the time) called me at 8 in the morning, which was strange since my Tuesday classes were not until after lunch. She told me that a plane had hit the World Trade Center and that they were covering it on the news. I thought that was odd, and since I was already awake I might as well get up and check it out. I got out of the shower and got dressed just in time to see the second plane hit the WTC. It was unbelievable to say the least. I woke my roommate Dan up and we sat and watched in horror as the events unfolded. I left to go get something to eat and walking to the Hawk’s Nest all I saw were people on phones and crying. The university union had closed circuit TVs all over the place broadcasting campus news. On that day they were all on CNN and every TV had no fewer than two dozen students crowded around them. It seemed as if the whole world had stopped. We were confused, sad, angry, and lost. As anyone can tell you, things were never the same after that.

After that, we tried to return to normal. Midnight Madness came and ACE put on a heck of a show. We had American Gladiators style jousting, Surf 107.5 was giving away CDs and swag, we had t-shirts and contests, it was a lot of fun. 

Shortly thereafter, the air became cool. UNCW is a fantastic place in the spring, summer, and fall; but for me I always liked it in the winter. While not overly cold, there was always a chill that kept most people inside. The campus looked even more spread out with fewer people around, and it just seemed more serene. I always found it quite peaceful, and when I go back in the winters, it’s a lot of fun to walk around a semi-deserted campus. I know, I’m weird….I’m okay with it. I have great memories of walking to class in my pea coat (I loved that coat!) and my headphones on, listening to No Name Face. Every time I hear “Breathing” from that album (a song that I still think is one of the most beautiful songs ever written) I can see the leafless trees and people bundled up while headed to and from class.

Right around Christmas I was approached by Shannon from Campus Services about an outdoor Christmas program they were having. They would have music and theater skits, all on the amphitheater in the commons for students and public to attend. She asked if the IV praise band would be interested in performing, and after a brief discussion we agreed. I learned and coordinated up to play “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” as done by the Barenaked Ladies and Sarah McLaughlin, and it was met with an incredible reception.

I’ve always been able to make a connection to music in my memory. Whenever I hear a song it sticks with me and I associate it with a time. I guess that’s why whenever I listen to songs from “No Name Face,” I’m sent back to that year…and sent back to the feelings and emotions I had around that time. I remember sitting on my bed with books strewn out in front of me, with the blinds open so I could see where the apartment next to me had their Christmas lights on the patio glowing brightly against the darkness. All the while I had the album playing softly in the background while I studied. My wall was covered in the fliers advertising the movies that we showed on campus, my new pea coat hanging on the back of the door, lightly brushing up against my guitar that was always within an arm’s reach. The soft glow of the computer monitor while it played “Cling and Clatter” and “Quasimodo” before settling into the quiet ballad “Everything” illuminated the room with that extra little bit of light and lift that I needed to press on through the nights of studying.

With all the craziness of college; trying to find my place and make my mark, figuring out relationships, and understanding who I was and who I wanted to be, music was a common theme for me. Many times it felt like the song “Sick Cycle Carousel” where he says: “when will this end, it goes on and on. Over and over and over again. Keep spinning around, I know that it won’t stop until I step down from this for good.”

Whenever that album comes over my iPod I can close my eyes and remember what it was like at the time, and every time I do I want to go back there...more than anything.