my first journal in a LOOOOOOOOOOONG time. it's not about dreams, it's more about childhood memories. after reading JBWarner's latest journal...

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i decided to share some of my own childhood memories. there not about my parents, but there are some hints at sneaking some stuff past the radar. it was a project for school so there's not alot of cursing in it. well, i hope you like it anyway. here it is:

Today I am going to write about one or two fine days I remember in the 90’s. The 90’s. Ya know, the 90’s were a good decade. We had the Heaven’s Gate deaths, the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky scandal, and of course, who could forget the O.J. Simpson trial? But today, I’m not going to write about the depressing events in 1990s history. No, today, I’m going to write about some happy occasions. I won’t bicker and argue about who killed who. Today, I’m going to write about:

A Few Good Days

Written
By
Jack Kelley

Well, the fist day I care to remember is one fine day indeed. I was in second or third grade and had just gotten home from school, which was a ton of fun. As I remember, we had a huge party with moonwalks and Bingo competitions and guys dressed in “ower Rangers” getups telling us to never do drugs. While that was all very enjoyable, the most interesting thing that happened went down right when I got home.
Ya see, when I got home, I turned on the T.V. But who wouldn’t, you know? I mean after going through a long hard day of jumping around, singing and dancing, and ogling at the prettiest girl in school, what kid wouldn’t want to just melt into the couch and tune into the tube and spend the rest of the day watching Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon? Am I right?
Well anyway, that is exactly what I did. I turned on the tube and sunk into the couch like quicksand. But the funny thing is when I turned on the T.V., it wasn’t Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon that came on, it was the Sci-Fi Channel. Well, that’s fine by me. The Sci-Fi Channel? Heck yeah! They show Mystery Science Theater 3000! Ultra-shibby!!!
Right? Well, anyway, the Sci-Fi Channel came on and I was eagerly awaiting whatever was on it. But ya know what? It was not Mystery Science Theater 3000. It was cartoons. Cartoons? What the heck? They were Japanese Cartoons also. Well, that’s okay too. Japanimation? Yeah. They made shows like Dragonball and Sailor Moon. They’re cool, right?
But, ya know what? It wasn’t Dragonball or Sailor Moon. I knew that for a fact because Dragonball and Sailor Moon aired on Cartoon Network. And this was certainly not Cartoon Network, I can tell you that much. No sir, this was nothing like that. It was another Japanese cartoon altogether. It was about a little kid who was with a tall, beautiful, blonde woman, and they went on all these crazy adventures on a magical locomotive that flew through the far reaches of outer space.
They flew everywhere. They flew to an icy planet, they flew to a desert planet, and they even flew to a planet that was icy and desert at the same time. It was absolutely fascinating. I was captivated. I had never seen or heard of anything quite like this before. The cartoon was called Galaxy Express 999 and it was awesome. Oh yeah. It was awesome.
Now, allow me to explain: the Sci-Fi Channel had been showing Japanese cartoons on its network for some time in the 90s as part of an anime block called “Saturday Anime”. I subsequently tuned into this “Saturday Anime” several times after this. I saw an anime about demons, futuristic societies, and even a sequel to Galaxy Express 999 That was even more awesome than the first. Man, the Sci-Fi Channel was cool back in the day. Not like now where all we get are these stupid original movies about killer turtles and haunted houses and genetically enhanced dragons and all that crud. Man! So stupid! I hate it! Oh well. At least they’re showing anime again. Tune in for Ani-Monday, Monday s at 10:00 on Sci-fi. It’s “Ani-Awsome”. lol.
Anyway, that was that. Another day I care to remember was another special day. I am going to just come right out and say it: I love videogames. I am a HUGE gamer. I’ve been a huge gamer for as far back as I can remember. Every time a new generation comes around, I have always wanted the latest console and the latest games for that latest console. But one of the greatest moments in my gaming life came at around the time of the good old fifth generation.
Ya see, back in the day, games were much less advanced than they are today. We were still using 2-D sprites to and had never even dreamed of making the transition to 3-D. That all changed when the fifth generation creped into our psyches. It all started with the release of the original PlayStation. Gamers all around the world went absolutely batty over its detailed graphics, complex hardware and the use of CD-ROMS to store games as opposed to the usual cartridges that we had been using.
The PlayStation would go on to become the best-selling videogame console of its time. Another good-selling console of that era was the Nintendo 64. This was videogame giant Nintendo’s entry into the 32-bit generation. This console sold very many units as well, but unfortunately, nowhere near as much as the PlayStation. With all-new 3-D Zelda and Mario titles on the console, it was to be a classic for the ages.
But I’m sure you didn’t come to hear me blabber on about the long, boring, depressing history of videogames, as oh-so-interesting as it may be. I’m sure you came to hear me talk about that special day. It was Christmas Morning. My brother Joel and I were absolutely mowing through the presents in a style akin to the manner that Panda Bears eat bamboo.
The one thing that my brother and I both wanted was a Nintendo 64. We had wanted one ever since we found out about it. I can’t even remember why we even wanted one. I mean there were many more games on other consoles that were far superior to the kiddy crud that they churned out for the N64. But hey, we were kids. Kids can be stupid like that.
So anyway, we wanted an N64 for Christmas. And come Christmas Morning, we saw a big ol’ red box in the corner of the room. What could that be? Golf clubs? Sensible clothing? A puppy? (That was another thing we wanted, by the way.) No, it wasn’t any of those things. It was much, much better. It was… a PlayStation! Wait a minute. A PlayStation? But I asked Santa for a N64! Shoot! What a gyp!
Well, you must understand, I was very young and forgetful (not to mention stupid) and also, the classic Final Fantasy VII had come out three months earlier and I had also wanted that as well. But when I saw that PlayStation, I totally forgot about FFVII and just concentrated on how disappointed I was that I had got a PlayStation and not an N64.
So what do we do? We go into the store, take the PlayStation and exchange it for an N64. This is a move that, in recent years, I would come to regret. The PlayStation had some of the greatest games in videogame history. Final Fantasy VII, Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee, Wild Arms, all classics. Oh well. I have a PlayStation now, but all the games for it are so scarce, and so expensive, I just don’t know what to do. But, once again, what can you do?
But anyway, this last day is probably my favorite day of all. It was a very happy day, one of the happiest days of my life. My brother Joel and I were sitting on the couch watching T.V., I think we were watching The Blues Brothers or something, and suddenly the door opened. It was my father.
We ran to him because he had called us. When we saw why, we were astonished. He had brought home the cutest, fluffiest, most adorable little puppy we had ever witnessed with our young eyes. He was brown, he had a black nose, a white tummy and white paws, and a little black ring around his tail. He was just as cute as the dickens. I was a big fan of puppies back then and in fact I still am, but when I saw that little animal, I just melted. I absolutely melted. Well, so we got a dog. Now what? I guess we have to give it a name. How about Rex? Yeah. Rex.
Well, for the next couple of years, Rex and we had become the best of pals. Of course we had some bad times as well as good, which eventually lead to that fateful day. Whenever I got angry, sometimes I would hit Rex, even when it wasn’t his fault. I could’ve had a bad day at school, and I would take it out on poor old Rex. My hypothesis is, eventually he couldn’t take the beatings anymore, and so he ran away… for good. He had run away lots of times, but he had always come back. This time he didn’t. I miss him dearly. Rex… wherever you are… I’m sorry. I loved you more than anything I’ve ever loved ever. I didn’t mean you any harm. I wish I could take it all back, but I can’t. It’s too late. I’m so sorry. I love you, Rex. I love you.
Well, anyway, that about covers it. Those were my three fine days in the 90s. Some happy, some sad, some angry, it doesn’t matter. It all happened in the 90s. The 90s were awesome. I love the 90s.