My Apple //c

The Apple //c was a wonderful Christmas gift that I received as a boy in 1985. My mother worked very hard to give me that computer back then...



So waaaaaay back in 1982 I got my first computer as a birthday gift. I actually wanted one of those fancy BMX style bicycles which turned out to be more expensive than a home computer. My first computer was made by Radio Shack called the TRS-80 color computer or "coco" for short. It hooked up to a standard television and used a cassette tape to save and load programs. It was that computer that I learned how to program. Initially I learned BASIC programming and shortly after MC6809 assembly language. I used it so much that I wore the silver color off the plastic bezel and the letters from the keys.

Later that year, my best friend also got a computer for his birthday: A brand new Apple //e with 64k and a 5.25" disk drive. I spent a lot of time over his house playing Zork I, Exodus Ultima III and programming our own games. His computer was about 10x more expensive than my TRS80, so I could do nothing more than just be a little envious and spend quite a bit of time at his house.

Jump ahead a few years to 1985. I vividly remember that Christmas eve because I went to work with my Mom on the graveyard shift at her company. I caught a little sleep in a sleeping bag on the floor but mostly stayed up with her all night. By the morning I was completely exhausted but stayed up and unwrapped my most wonderful Christmas gift ever: My own Apple //c computer complete with green screen monitor and built-in 5.25" disk drive! I finally hit the computer motherlode. I distinctly remember playing games such as Aztec, Bolo, Chop Lifter, Rescue Raiders, Star Blazer, Situation Critical, Gemstone Warrior, Sword of Kadash, Conan and a million others. I cherished that Apple computer like no other computer. It was one of my most prized possessions as a child. I eventually learned to program 6502 assembler and write games and graphics hacks. It opened a world to me and I owe it all to my Mom who financed my computer love and is responsible for my success in the world today.