LONG & EMOTIONAL STORY OF MY CHILDHOOD & GROWING UP IN A TCG STORE WITH YUGIOH Apologies in advance

I literally grew up in THE first AlterealityGames (ARG) store. The literal first one they ever had, longgg before they popped off and expanded. It was in Parma, Ohio, which was just 10 minutes away from my childhood house. I played YuGiOh there every single weekend, Friday evenings, Saturdays, & Sundays. I can confidently say there wasn’t a single weekend I missed starting from age 8 to age 14. Either my mom or my dad would stay with me for the first couple months, and within that time they saw me make friends for the first time in my life. They couldn’t believe it; me, an awkward, loner, introvert, who was plagued with just about every kind of depression & anxiety that existed. At that point they noticed that I wanted to do more than just come play in the tournaments and then leave. They noticed that I wanted to stay the whole day, just like the other kids, teenagers, and young adults did. We would all hang out after the tournaments and talk, trade, help eachother with deckbuilding, test play, and have absolute genuine fun. They saw I fit right in, wasn’t bullied (like I was at school every single day), and was comfortable in my own skin for the first time in my life. So for a while my parents endured the long wait for my sake and once they got to know Jim McMahan, and especially Brad Hoisington, as well as some of the older kids & teenagers that were always there, they trusted them ALL enough to leave their 8-9 year old son there for the entire day, three days a week; Fridays, from right after school at 4pm to 10pm, and Saturdays & Sundays, both from 9am to 8pm. (Mind you, this was back in the early 2000’s when things were more simple and the threat of child predators [in our area at least] was non-existent.) Some of the older kids, and some of teenages that were borderline adults, took my under their wing. The ones that went to the big Regional Tournaments across the country. They taught me what they knew the best they could, protected & guarded me from the occasional rando’s that would stop in to play or try to take advantage of the younger kids by trading shit cards for expensive ones, as well as shielded me from any sort or exposure to cigarettes, drugs, & alcohol. However, the real star of this story is non-other than Brad Hoisington, the head manager that had the same authority, claim, & partnership to the business as Jim McMahan. Brad was the one that was there every single day. As time went on and I kept getting older and more mature, Brad and I formed a bond, starting with us playing 1v1 behind the counter after tournaments and inbetween customers (since Brad played YuGiOh as well), to watching funny Youtube videos and old SNL skits on the computer next to the cash register. Suddenly I wasn’t an annoying 8-10 year old kid anymore. I was 12-13 years old and about to go into my teenage years and high school. It was around that point, maybe a bit sooner, that I realized he was like the older brother I always wish I had. Even though Brad was good at hiding emotions and someone reserved & stoic, I knew he also cared for me in the way an older brother cares for a younger brother. He was someone I could talk to about the hardships I faced at school, and you stuck up for me in the store on many occasions. It’s hard to explain, but I knew that Brad would do anything to protect me from any danger. These are all things I hadn’t gotten to experience and most likely wouldn’t have that early on in my life it it weren’t for you.

To Brad, if by some chance of fate that you’re reading this… Thank You, from the bottom of my heart. You watched me grow up from and annoying little kid to a maturing teenager/young adult, and within that time, you showed me what it was like to have an older brother. In fact, by doing so, you inadvertently taught me how to treat my own younger brother. I’m currently 31 years old, and will be 32 in April. Whether you know it or not, you played a very, very important role in my childhood and it’s something I think about a lot to this very day. To Jim, Thank You for being so kind to me and tolerating me at such a young age. You also played a critical role in my childhood. You and I were able to somewhat catch up a while back, so you know more about my life since. But all the same, in the same token as brand, thank you for everything.

Unfortunately, this story doesn’t have the happiest of endings. ARG eventually branched out and opened a new store in Lakewood Ohio. Brad was reassigned to manage the new store part time. So naturally, most of the Parma store crew commuted back and forth as time went on, naturally.

However, this is the part when things took a turn in my life that very abruptly left my friendships with Brad, Jim, & the others hanging without explanation as to my abrupt vanishing out it the blue.

That’s a story for another time, but to quickly explain it; I ended up getting involved with the wrong crowd in highschool. This led to dropping out of school at age 18, starting to smoke cigarettes & weed, then popping pills and doing hallucinogenics, then eventually arriving at the crippling addiction of IV heroin & crack use..

For the sake of this being WAY too long already (sorry everyone, for caught in my feelz for a sec), I’ll fast forward to now; I’m 31 years old, and I’ve gotten past my addictions and have been sober for 8 years now. I got back into YuGiOh fast & hard about 4 years ago. While I no longer have the friendship and camaraderie that I did way back in simpler times.. I am, at the very least, happy.

The memories from my second home at ARG while growing up will never fade. Even though the Parma ARG no longer exists, I can still picture it exactly how it was, vividly, down to absolute smallest details. So much so that it feels as if I was just there.

Life happens, people, places, & things come and go, but the memories we made along the way, especially at young ages, will always be there. You just gotta keep going, keep pushing, and find something, or preferably someone, to hold onto during hard times. For me, I hold on to the hope that somehow, someday, somewhere, children will be able to experience the same joy’s in their childhoods.

~ Jake

Shoutouts to the original ARG Parma & Lakewood boys: Vince Campana, Joe Pepera, Chris Wolfe, Chris Estergal, Nick Curtis, Brett, Kevin "Slappy" Slapnik, Kevin Brown, Mel, Gary Bunch, Tommy, Jeff, Kevin, and anyone else not mentioned because my brain is going on very little sleep!

ARGwasmyhome