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The Older Kid

Everyone knew that one kid who had a psychic link with what was cool- the latest clothes, toys, catchphrases/insults, etc and had inside access to R-rated movies and Mature Video games.

This is a story not about an older kid who was a bully or spoiled brat, but somebody who was like an older brother to me.

Like Family

For most of my childhood, I had called my dad's best friends Aunt and Uncle, without ever asking- "wait, how are we related?"

We usually made the trip up to see them each summer. My family would stay a night or two. Sometimes I was able to convince them to let me stay up there the whole week by myself!

My dad and "my uncle" were hunting buddies. We would come stay with them at their homemade hunting lodge. As our dads went hunting we would have our own fun playing hide and seek, setting stink bombs, and telling ghost stories.

My "cousin" was awesome.

Consider Exhibit A- he had his own fully liveable treehouse with a hammock and even a t.v. with a Sega Genesis hooked up!

I remember one of the first nights that we stayed. My cousin was always a scientist in the making and when I asked him if he could show me his chemistry kit I'll never forget his response-

Very dryly he said, "It's getting too dark, I might blow something up." Bad@ss

The Lair

His bedroom was a treasure trove of the 80's and 90's. He had a huge Spawn cardboard cutout with an extensive collection of He-Man toys. He also had a huge hoard of Warhammer figurines that he had hand painted.

I also saw some of the most memorable movies out of my late childhood-

Out of his impressive VHS collection, we watched the Alien franchise, Predator, Congo, From Dusk Til Dawn, and other films steaming with bravado.

If I were watching them on my own, I probably would have been too scared to finish them.There was something special and inherently awesome about watching movies with "the big kids."

He also got me heavily into PC gaming-

I remember after I first watched him play Starcraft, I was obsessed. I stayed up all night at his house fighting the Zerg as Terran. After I got home it didn't stop there, I started creating custom races to play in a notebook.

The Apocalypse

After awhile the length between visits grew longer and longer.

A couple years would pass before we would hang out again, but even if the video game consoles changed, we still jumped back into playing together.

Eventually, we fell out of contact.

My "Aunt" and "Uncle" had gotten a divorce.

They sold the house.

The cousins split up. One of them stayed with their grandmother. The older one stayed with his dad before going to college.

Everything changed. Even if I made the trip back there, it would be totally different.

Would the treehouse still be there? Maybe. Would my cousin still be into chemistry kits and Warhammer figurines? Maybe.

Would the lair even exist or would the new owners turn it into a nursery or office?

That's the allure of retro memories, you can never fully recreate the experience of "being there." Once the time has passed, it is gone. Nothing will be like the first time you opened an N64 for Christmas or like when you first played Mortal Kombat or Doom and blood filled the screen.

One of the many reasons why I like RetroDaze is because we are given a chance to share these precious memories and many times, people can relate.

The Older Kid, my "cousin," left a great impression on me and I will always celebrate the good times we had, the ruckus we created, and the summer adventures that we shared.

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OldSchool80s Posted on Feb 05, 2015 at 03:30 PM

I think you are right on with your comment towards the end: "One of the many reasons why I like RetroDaze is because we are given a chance to share these precious memories and many times, people can relate."

fuschnikt Posted on Feb 04, 2015 at 12:43 PM

I wasn't the oldest kid, but I did have a treehouse. Nothing that elaborate, though. I guess my brother could have been the older kid. Except he never really hung around us younger kids. On occasion, however, he did let us throw snaps at him while he ran around the yard.

pikachulover Posted on Feb 03, 2015 at 12:39 AM

I was the older kid to my little cousins on my mom's side. I was the youngest of the first cousins, so when they got a little older I was the cool older one who knew what was cool because I was at least 6 years older than them. Plus when they were in elementary school I was the older high school aged anime nerd. We used to have heated discussions about Pokemon and Yu-gi-oh!

Maybe I was with some other kids I met that I wasn't related to. Growing up I didn't have any gaming systems, a computer or even cable. I did have a lot of regular toys like art supplies, and dolls and stuff like that. I was kinda spoiled because I'm an only child.

Vaporman87 Posted on Feb 03, 2015 at 12:21 AM

I think I could deal with the younger kids because I actually could relate better with them. Sure, my main "clique" of friends were my age, but my younger friends and I were on the same level as far as our interests and imaginations.

vkimo Posted on Feb 03, 2015 at 12:14 AM

I'm the second to youngest in a family of 8 kids...but I'm about 10 years younger than my sister so I spent most my time being the big kid playing along with my nieces and nephews. I definitely had the ego at times seeing all the peons being awed by my presence haha and that was always an annoyance when hanging with older kids because they have no interest in younger kids.

echidna64 Posted on Feb 02, 2015 at 06:15 PM

Same here, as the oldest of 5 siblings, my "cousin" was the closest to being an older brother. I agree, there was always something magical about visiting a new friend's house. For instance, I remember thinking that stacking the Sonic and Knuckles cartridge was pure wizardry!

Sounds like you were the man! My dream was always to have a treehouse, I plan on building one when I have my own kiddos.

Vaporman87 Posted on Feb 02, 2015 at 04:14 PM

Most of my life was spent BEING the older kid. In my neighborhood, I was the oldest of the kids that spent evenings together playing. Sure, there were older kids than me living there, but they didn't often associate with us.

I'm guessing I was probably the same type of kid you describe here as well. I had a lot of cool stuff (I'm not blind to the fact that I had a lot of stuff as a kid) and we had a tree house, large yard, tons of concrete with a basketball hoop, and all the inside goodies too.

Truth be told though, I preferred being the "visitor" as opposed to being the "visited". Unlike most kids, I didn't enjoy being the kid that other kids were jealous of. I liked visiting the houses of others and being in their element. I felt welcomed and appreciated there, whereas at home, I might tend to feel used.

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