The Importance of the Game Shop

If you ask any Jamaican boy, the game shop is where they unwind and relax. You go there and spend plenty of time with friends on some of the best arcade games ever. It is like what reading the Jamaican Gleaner is to older people. Now the game shop is where the Jamaican child goes to unwind and socialize and have a good time. This was one of those days when Craig and his friends decided to go and play. It was also a time before the Internet was popular.

Almost no one had a computer at home, meaning the game shop was the only place you could go for digital entertainment. A few people had a PlayStation 1 or a PlayStation 2, but this was out of the price range for most. It was also a great way to spend time with your friends without running around in the middle of nowhere. As you know from the Reviere Lane story or the Hunting for Mangoes story, things can get dangerous when kids decide to go into the wilderness without parental supervision. That means you have to be smart with how you will entertain yourself and the people around you.

Going Home from Primary School

Craig’s favorite part of going to school had always been getting out and either swimming in the river or going to the game shop as all Jamaican boys do. It was on this particular day that he decided with Gayle that they should go play Mortal Kombat Ultimate, which had just been introduced to the game shops. Fighting games were common at the arcade. It was a place you could go to challenge your friends to a competition. The most popular game was Mortal Kombat 3. At that time, 3D graphics were becoming much more common, so it made sense to have those games at the arcade. We all felt like we were in a futuristic place.

They set out to do it big when they saw T.T., a girl that Craig liked, and deciding to man up, Craig decided to talk to her but found himself getting slapped after only a few mins of conversation. Apparently, he learned he cannot comment on women’s clothing unless it’s positive. On his way with Gayle, he decided to take a shortcut that meant he had to cross a busy intersection. This intersection was kinda like a half roundabout. However, it narrowed at one of the streets, and that’s when it happened.

Crossing the street, Craig had not looked, and being that Gayle had stopped. He suddenly saw a car speeding along very quickly, and it stopped a few feet from him. It was the first time Craig came close to death, but it wouldn’t be the last. Unfortunately for him, He would almost get hit by many other cars. On top of that, He also came close to death when a tree he was under got hit by lightning. That happened twice, which is something he still talks about to this day.

Didn’t Even Reach the Game Shop

The funny thing about this story is that Craig didn’t even reach the game shop. He crossed the street, and the shock of everyone shouting at him caused him to go home. If that driver had not been paying attention, he probably wouldn’t be on this earth today. Sometimes, those are the margins. It makes you realize how precious life can be and want to value it even more.