#20. Magic: The Gathering (Saturday, May 20, 2000)
What was your best of day…of finally getting that person or thing that was going to be with you for the rest of your life?
Long, long ago, way before LIBOR & Taxes even existed as a twinkle in my eye (#78, #66), before I needed something to jump-start me out of the deepest life crisis I ever experienced (#105, #31); I got introduced to this card game called Magic: The Gathering.
I only got into Magic in the first place because back in fourth grade more than half my school was playing it every recess. There was something truly special about the Magic community at Mutchmor, that I dare say only ever existed at maybe a handful of other elementary schools in the world at any point in history. Here you had little kids, aged six to eleven, for whom trading and battling with these cards (for a complicated 13+ game1) was the unquestionable focal point of their entire culture.
And I wanted in.
Unfortunately, a few weeks before, the washing machine had had its way with the few cards that one of the guys on my school minivan2 had given me. So, for our usual Saturday afternoon biking trip, my father agreed to go to Walmart so he could buy me a proper deck.
It didn’t go as smoothly as planned. First, just as we were about to leave, our neighbor asked us where we were going. For whatever reason, I felt embarrassed and tried putting my hand over my dad’s mouth to stop him from talking. And he ended up just telling him, laughing slightly: “We’re just going for a bike ride, that’s all.”
Well, that obviously pissed my dad off, and he rightfully refused to buy any cards for me. Until my mom somehow got him to change his mind – which my entitled nine-year-old self definitely did not deserve.
It didn’t matter either way, because when we got to Walmart they were sold out. On the way back, my dad (who never stayed angry for more than ten minutes) took an unexpected right turn and disappeared from sight, then a few minutes later popped out in front of me while randomly telling me to go see Dinosaur, a movie which had just come out in theaters.
Despite my dislike of movies at the time, I almost wanted to go just out of guilt. But as I returned home, I realized that I still had that lack-of-Magic cards problem to deal with. Luckily, my mom, probably sensing how important this was to me, decided to drive me to the further-away Toys “R” Us so I could finally get some cards.
And they were almost out too. They only had a Tempest tournament pack and a Fifth Edition Two-Player Starter Set. I chose the Starter Set.
Opening the box the second I got home, the first card I saw was a Righteousness, which I recognized as a card that Joey on my minivan (#49) had been constantly bragging to us about. So that got me pretty excited to start. And going through the rest of my new cards gave me an unbelievable feeling. I finally had a deck that was mine; a deck I could use to play against other people.
What makes this so special, I think, was that my parents did not let these new cards control my whole weekend. The next day, I did go biking with my dad to the Famous Players Coliseum to finally watch Dinosaur (well, I watched, he just sat outside). This was my first time there, and I recall being amazed at how massive the screen was, and how epic the movie felt, though I don’t remember too much about the specifics (except that it involved dinosaurs). I also remember getting hot dog mustard and popcorn butter all over my pants. All in all, I had an excellent time.
Magic cards, as we now know, wound up being a pivotal part of not only my childhood, but also my college years and my adulthood. And it’s when such a memorable event, like getting your first of those special cards, is followed right after by a completely different memorable event, like watching your first big-screen movie, that you truly feel like life is limitless and full of amazing new things to discover.
- Some might argue the most complicated game in the world.
- Because us Gifted kids were too cool for buses.