A computer brought me to tears today

Last night, I went up to the post office to pick up a package that had been delivered for me. I thought it was a new computer I purchased recently, but in fact, it was not. It was however a computer.

I think I may have posted on here awhile back about how my grandfather, Jack Slater, introduced me to computers when I was around 7 years old. Back in those days, it was Commodore, Atari, and Texas Instruments in the home, and if you had the money, you could buy an Apple II computer, but only rich kids or people with a lot of cash could afford them. The Commodore’s and TI computers were cheaper and although compared to what we have now they are archaic, they were the world’s first affordable home computers.

I had an Atari 2600 video game system, but my grandfather was always interested in technology and he purchased one of these Texas Instruments TI 99/4A home computers. When he showed it to me the first time, I used it for playing video games on it. But then one day, he had typed in a program either from the manual or something else, and it drew a border around the screen in little asterisks (*). I was so fascinated by it that I asked him how he did it and he said he learned it from the book. So, I started to read the book and type out the programs from the book into the computer. Everytime I went over to visit him, I’d try something new, and that is what spawned my interest in computers.

I knew from a very early age that my career would somehow be involved with computers and I never steered away from it and now I have a good job doing something I love. I owe all of that to my grandfather who gave me a start on a very old computer.

Several weeks ago, my uncle Bill (my grandfather’s son) contacted me through email and had said he had an old TI computer without the cables and wanted to know if I wanted it. At the time, I never gave it much thought, but I said sure. When I got it last night, I had the thought that maybe this computer was in fact my grandfather’s since he passed away recently. I emailed my uncle last night hoping to find out where he got the computer from.

When I checked my email this afternoon, Bill confirmed that this was indeed my grandfather’s computer. That means I now own the very computer I first ever laid hands on, and the computer that has brought me to where I am today.

For some people, it may seem very silly. But to me it has a great meaning. My grandfather introduced me into a new world when I sat at that computer for the first time. My life, and my future, would forever be changed when that happened, so I am very thankful to my late grandfather for giving me that. The fact that I now have that same computer with me is pretty freaking awesome. It really did bring tears to my eyes as I thought back to my early childhood and spending many a summer day at my grandparents place, eating snacks, talking, playing, and having fun on my grandpa’s computer.

Bill, thank you so much. You have no idea how much it means to me that you sent this to me. I will not forget this.

Aside from that, Happy Mother’s Day!