It's all I wanted for Xmas in 1990.
It was a few days before Christmas in 1990 and I was sitting on a train with my parents. This wasn’t an ordinary train ride; instead, it was specially decorated with festive Christmas goods. This holiday train also included some staff members dressed up as elves and a Santa.
It wasn’t long before a somewhat drunk Santa came up to me, at the age of five, and asked, “What do you want for Christmas?” I answered, “A Game Boy!” Santa then replied with a hearty, “OK!” before moving along.
I don’t remember the train ride at all, but I’m now told a Game Boy was not one of the many gifts that “Santa” was going to be bringing me that year. All that was on my fathers mind was, “Crap!”
So I wake up Christmas morning, excited to get a Game Boy. I tear through all my gifts and not one is a Game Boy. I see one more and just know it has to be there. Sadly, my heart was broken; there was no Game Boy under the tree for me.
I remember taking it easy at first. However it didn’t take long for me to burst out in tears. The one item I wanted most and Santa didn’t bring it for me. How could he?
My father then read me a letter that Santa left. I don’t remember the specifics, but apparently Santa had misplaced a gift. Then I got mad. Santa had basically told me, in a nice way, that he had lost my Game Boy. However, after a half hour my father asked me if I saw something strange in the fireplace.
I went over, and saw one more wrapped gift atop the soot and ash. I opened the fireplace up and looked frantically for my name. It was for me. I tore that thing open and it was my first Game Boy!
Years later, I learned that my father called all over the place looking for a Game Boy before it was too late. He then found the last one in a nearby Kmart. I’m glad he did because my Game Boy is, without a doubt, the best and most memorable Christmas gift I have ever received.
