Will's 13th Birthday Party, the final installment

I took a blog break because I had Will's 13th birthday party this weekend.  I really should take a month off after that instead of just a few days.  Anytime you spend an afternoon with teenage boys you deserve combat pay.  Actually, this was a very easy party, and it's because we let them play video games all afternoon.  That is the secret - let them do whatever they want to do.  Next year we are having an armpit scratching party.

A new arcade has opened in Fayetteville called Arkadia Retrograde, and it's all video games from the 80's that they have bought and restored.  The have Pac Man, Galaga, Space Invaders, Centipede, Donkey Kong, and any other game you can remember.

We started out at Rick's Bakery with a cookie cake, which the boys ate in about 10 seconds.  I could have put a tire on the table and they would have ate it.  Then, it was on to the arcade which was just around the corner.  If you live in NWA, you pay $5 to get in and the machines require no quarters.  You can play as many times as you like.  I hardly saw the boys after we got in the door.

I showed Will how to play Centipede, which was my personal favorite from my days at "The Skate Place."

He spent about 20 seconds at this machine before moving on.  One of his friends commented, "These games are really old."  Kevin and I felt happy about that remark.

There is an old box TV with an Atari hooked up.  They played the football game and the verdict was, "This isn't like Madden NFL."  You can't put anything past these guys.

By some miracle, Will said Emma could come to his party - which totally shocked all of us because last year he didn't even want to tell her when he was having his bowling party.  Maybe 13 is the year he gets nicer to her?  Yeah, I'm not holding my breath.

This is the picture that frightens me.  As long as it's just Pole Position and not the real thing.

I asked Kevin if he was going to play, and he said, "No, I'm just going to watch the kids and see if they need any help with the games."


Five minutes later.

He also set the high score on Galaga.

Will said it was a great birthday and he wants to go play video games again.  So does Kevin.