The First Time I Saw Sonic the Hedgehog

     I had to be about seven or eight years old. Friends of my parents were having a pool party and we were invited. I swam in the pool for a while, and then I went inside the house in my wet swimsuit and wrapped in my towels. And there it was: a big TV, with someone playing a video game starring the blue spiky character. I walked up to the crowd of kids watching this other kid playing the first Sonic the Hedgehog game, and I don't remember how long I stood there staring, but I was entranced by the colorful first level and Sonic's fast running.  I wanted that game.  I only had the Nintendo console and for a while Super Mario was most of what I knew.  Colorful graphics and cool music, and an adorable blue hedgehog...it was a kind of love at first sight.