It's all relative...
I didn't know my family was special, until I was a little older.
I thought all the things my parents did were pretty normal.
Airforcewife wrote about her father's old Kaypro computer, and that prompted me to remember our family's first computer.
My father got us an Apple back in the day...back in the day when they cost about $7000, which was more than you paid for some new cars. This was around 1983. Mind you, we didn't have a TV, because burglars had made off with our two, along with a microwave, and my parents decided it was better to raise kids without TV after that...
I don't have much memory of this computer, other than a green screen and floppy disks. But my brothers played on it a lot. I can remember all three of them congregating in front of the fridge and strategizing about games. I can't remember what games, but I do remember they had a joystick. So it wasn't that bad.
And I can remember that to keep the computer safe (so that it wouldn't befall the same fate at the TVs) my father got an old non-working fridge...and built a kind of computer desk inside of it. And when not in use the computer was padlocked inside that thing. So when we wanted to use it, we had to get the padlock key, or maybe it was a combination lock, then open the fridge door and sit in front of it...yeah...you buy a 7K computer, and lock it in a discarded fridge...now picture that in your livingroom: a fridge shoved up against the wall, being used a computer cupboard.
And if you think that is a bizarre story, I have many more where that came from.
Update: I just got this email from my father:
I read your blog about the computer in the fridge. Funny but inaccurate. The Apple 2 was bought in 1977 and the serial number was I believe 1076 (under 1100 for sure). Price $7500.
Need I add more?
I thought all the things my parents did were pretty normal.
Airforcewife wrote about her father's old Kaypro computer, and that prompted me to remember our family's first computer.
My father got us an Apple back in the day...back in the day when they cost about $7000, which was more than you paid for some new cars. This was around 1983. Mind you, we didn't have a TV, because burglars had made off with our two, along with a microwave, and my parents decided it was better to raise kids without TV after that...
I don't have much memory of this computer, other than a green screen and floppy disks. But my brothers played on it a lot. I can remember all three of them congregating in front of the fridge and strategizing about games. I can't remember what games, but I do remember they had a joystick. So it wasn't that bad.
And I can remember that to keep the computer safe (so that it wouldn't befall the same fate at the TVs) my father got an old non-working fridge...and built a kind of computer desk inside of it. And when not in use the computer was padlocked inside that thing. So when we wanted to use it, we had to get the padlock key, or maybe it was a combination lock, then open the fridge door and sit in front of it...yeah...you buy a 7K computer, and lock it in a discarded fridge...now picture that in your livingroom: a fridge shoved up against the wall, being used a computer cupboard.
And if you think that is a bizarre story, I have many more where that came from.
Update: I just got this email from my father:
I read your blog about the computer in the fridge. Funny but inaccurate. The Apple 2 was bought in 1977 and the serial number was I believe 1076 (under 1100 for sure). Price $7500.
Need I add more?
posted by CaliValleyGirl at 9:02 AM
5 Comments:
I would have to say the commandeered fridge totally trumps my family's commandeered breakfast table...
I fold on that round of MWP.
But I would love to see pictures of that. ;)
Wow, where did you live? I lived in Mission Hills and Canoga Park (if the San Fernando Valley is the CaliValley you refer to) and we never had stuff burglarized, despite living in those areas and having a TV in every room (my Dad worked for RCA repairing TV's.)
We live in Van Nuys and there the house has never been burglarized. However at the time we were living in Hawaii...which makes it even more strange. I mean, in Hawaii everyone leaves their houses unlocked, because it's so safe. But the burglary happened when we were on a summer vacation. And when we came back, the things were gone. It was obviously someone who knew us.
Clearly your father was ahead of his time - that sounds so wonderfully avant-garde and artistic to me. Keeping the computer in cold storage? Weirdly awesome.
I posted today @ R.F.L. about how today would have been my dad's 70th birthday.
Appreciate your family and love them as much as you can. And tell them all the time how much you love them.
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