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Thread: Christmas 1988, two kids on Welfare and the unthinkable…a new NES

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    Banana (Level 7) smokehouse's Avatar
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    Default Christmas 1988, two kids on Welfare and the unthinkable…a new NES

    1988, two kids on Welfare and the unthinkable…a new NES
    By Jonathan Lovelace

    To say that we were poor when I was a child was an understatement. We went years without a phone, often lived off food stamps/church hand-outs and almost every spring, when the average temp was over 50…we lost our power until my parents could pay the power company to turn it back on. The power outages translated to weeks of candlelight and using our charcoal grill for everything from cooking dinner to heating bath water at night. We were really that poor.

    As children my sister and I never had two dimes to rub together…we never had the newest toys, we never had anything even remotely close to “high tech”. Just look at it this way, my parents didn’t get their first VCR until 1996.

    Christmas was normally an exercise in frustration but we never showed it, our parents tried hard to make a good experience for us and we would never spoil it by acting ungrateful. Quite often we’d get a small toy (a GI Joe for me, a Barbie for my sister) and something needed like a pair of pants. More often than not, that was it.

    Christmas of 1988 came and it wasn’t unlike any other. Most of my friends had the NES at that point and to me, it was like lusting after a Ferrari. If I remember correctly the Action Set was close to two month’s rent for us. It remained a dream that was unattainable for a kid in 5th grade with no job and living on Welfare.

    That year we had the atypical Christmas morning with the stocking filled with a random candy and the small gifts. The entire time I was soured by the thought of my buddy getting his NES for Christmas a week early and to be honest with you, it kind of ruined my morning. The thought of him sitting at home playing Mario Bros and Metroid made my blood boil…he was one of those kids that got everything he ever wanted and it often made me sick just thinking about it.

    After the presents, we ate breakfast (like always) and afterwards my father announced that they had “One more present for the both of us”…

    We were instructed to sit on the couch and close our eyes. This was not a normal Christmas affair so we were excited to put it mildly. My dad walked off and there was a rustle in the background, after a few seconds my father stepped back into the room.

    “Ok kids…you can look.”

    I gazed and what I saw simply could not be explained, there our father stood with a NES Action Set. If it were possible for a perfectly normal 11 year old to have a heart attack…I would have keeled over dead right then an there.

    Jonathan, the poor kid in town actually had the “one” toy everyone wanted. Like waking up to a Ferrari Enzo in the garage, we had the unattainable. A NES…

    Words cannot explain that feeling…possibly like winning the lottery but on a kid’s level. I was in shock.

    That day, I played Super Mario Bros until my fingers bled (not really but you know the feeling) and to this day, Christmas of ’88 has been the best one of my life. On top of that, I am still a Nintendo nut.

    As for the amazing gift, it turned out a well off family at our church had caught wind of our Christmas wish somehow and decided to buy it for us…that is quite possibly the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me, a clean act of selfless generosity. If they only would have known the obsession they had started in my life with that simple gift…





    To this day, this photo sits right next to my computer to remind me of not only that Christmas, but to keep me from forgetting exactly where I’ve came from and what effect even the most simple act of generosity can have in changing someone's life.
    Last edited by smokehouse; 07-02-2007 at 07:52 PM.

    Take a hike, wang-broom!
    I swear I can smell your stinky hands from here!

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    That is a really great story... love the expression on your sister's face

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    Strawberry (Level 2)
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    Wow great story. You ever find out who the well of family was? Ever get to thank them??

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    Banana (Level 7) smokehouse's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by itobandito View Post
    Wow great story. You ever find out who the well of family was? Ever get to thank them??
    Yes I did as a matter of fact, they were good friends for many years…the husband Randy passed away in 1999, his wife Debbie re-married in 2000…I haven’t seen her since the wedding.

    Take a hike, wang-broom!
    I swear I can smell your stinky hands from here!

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    No offense to the other contributors, but I nominate this for best post in the Lore forum thus far. Great stuff man! Very heartwarming. Here's to random acts of kindness in a crazy world...
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    Great story. Another great one on this board.

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    Insert Coin (Level 0) GnarlyNES's Avatar
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    That picture is absolutely priceless.
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    Strawberry (Level 2) Moo Cow's Avatar
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    Amazing. Great story. I guess it goes to show that kindness isn't completely gone yet.
    Also much as I'm sure you enjoyed it, the picture tells me your sister enjoyed it a lot more.

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    Apple (Level 5) studvicious's Avatar
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    What a great story. It's also touching to know that you keep that picture as a reminder too.

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    Banana (Level 7) smokehouse's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Moo Cow View Post
    Amazing. Great story. I guess it goes to show that kindness isn't completely gone yet.
    Also much as I'm sure you enjoyed it, the picture tells me your sister enjoyed it a lot more.
    At first...:hehehe:

    I landed up taking control of it over time...she simply lost interest.

    Funny thing though, not too long ago she contacted me (she lives out east now). She wanted a SNES stating that she "Misses the games she played when she was a kid". I got her a SNES with SMB4, Super Mario All-Stars, Super Mario Kart, Donkey Kong Country and a few others...she said her and her friends play it all the time!

    It's funny how things come back around with time...

    Take a hike, wang-broom!
    I swear I can smell your stinky hands from here!

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    Strawberry (Level 2) Moo Cow's Avatar
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    nice story.
    Good luck, I hope yours gets printed.

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    Peach (Level 3) Hwj_Chim's Avatar
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    This one needs to be in the book, great story
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    This story earns an "excellent" vote from me. Thanks for sharing!

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    Strawberry (Level 2)
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    Hurry, get that pic offline before your sister becomes the NES Kid and they make all sorts of youtube videos with her.

    Wonderful story.
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    Dude, I actually cried. Touching stuff.
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    that was a touching story.
    i had a gba while i was homeless.
    read sonic doom everyday on my myspace profile

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    Great story, one of the best so far.

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    Pretzel (Level 4) Parpunk's Avatar
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    WOW excellent story bro. Very awesome to hear touching stories like these, and its always funny how little acts of kindness can change a persons life forever. Very cool man, My vote for Best Post!

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    ServBot (Level 11) Steven's Avatar
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    Default *bravo!*

    Ace story, well written and told, and the picture tops it off. Reminds me of one of my tales in my "miscellaneous" section! I love stories especially pertaining to Christmas and miracles... there's something pure about that. The photo is amazing... from an era long past and gone. Cheers mate and I too hope your tale gets printed!

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    Jonathan, that's just a great story, and very well told. I gotta tell you I'm a little choked up reading it. It truly is amazing how small acts of generosity can have deep reverberations.

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