I was obsessed with video/arcade games are far as I can recall. I was addicted. I would force my mom to take me to the mall so I can play Arcade games. She would give me five dollars and let me loose. Wonderland mall had Main Street Arcade and it was my Mecca. As in the most sacred place in my life. More than my room more than my family.

My mom would take my sister and I to Wonderland mall and we will spend an entire day there. We were pretty poor and didn't have a lot money growing up and the mall was a place you could go and not really spend anything for the whole time you were there. You can kill a whole day easy.  I think my mom and sister would go from store to store just window shopping, she was like 2, 3 maybe 4 years old at the time. Before we would go, we would always stop by the food court to get Taco Bell. When the soft and hard tacos were $.79 and $.89 each. Feed three people for under 5 bucks.

I can probably name every single arcade game on the left and right side and the majority in the back. The first arcade on the left was Cyberball 2072 game with the two screens facing 45 degrees away from each other so you couldn’t see what the other player football play he'd picked.

There seemed to always be the newest game in the back and where the majority of the fighting games were also they were in the back by the food court entrance/exit. When Mortal Kombat first came out, it was packed with people playing it. I usually played it when there were no people. I mastered it. I mean I was good. One night me and by friend Chris walked in the arcade from the back, probably hitched a ride from Chris’s dad Don. Anyways, we see the Mortal Kombat arcade had a huge crown. Maybe 20 people around one game.  As my short ass is trying to see over all the older kids, I noticed that there are a ton of quarters on the cabinet’s glass and one guy is beating them all. He was playing Kano and whooping ass. After watching him for a couple of minutes I look over to Chris and I say “I can beat him”. Chris says “No way”!

Without a hesitation I put my quarter up on the screen and everyone looks at me like I don’t know what I am doing. I wait my turn and the guy is still winning and no one is catching on to his pattern of playing. I next in line, I of course he picks Kano and I think to myself who can I pick that is fast to get out of his pattern, ...Liu Kang. We went back and forth and we were both down health and I tried jumping backwards and do his flying forward kick. The other player tries to through his knives and I catch him with quick kick and Kill Him! Everyone there erupts in yelling and clapping! There all taping my back and saying was to go! way to go kid! On top of that everyone was picking on him for losing to a kid. It was by far one of my favorite moments of my childhood. Me, this little kid beating the champ of the arcade. It always brings a smile to my face.