Walking In Wuhan

Halfway though the parking lot I'm doing that hybrid run/walk kids do when they don't want to appear to be in a huge hurry. The doors slid open and flooded my pupils with fluorescent light and wrapped me in a symphony of bargain hunting. I did two quick laps around the video game section, before approaching a guy in a blue shirt.

"This is probably a pointless question," I said in a near-whisper not wanting to be like all the other shoppers, "but do you have any Wii's?"

Blue shirt pauses and looks to his left and right before speaking.

"Yeah, we do actually," he says, also quietly to avoid a stampede, "give me just a second. I have to get it off the truck."

Two days before, I hadn't even wanted a Wii. On the drive back from Reno somewhere in the Sierras, Courtney and I talked ourselves into looking for one. It seemed like the perfect compromise -- I like video games and the Wii was the one system she'd actually play. We stopped in Dixon, Richmond, Pinole and Emeryville on the way back -- nothing.

Blue shirt hadn't yet returned and paranoia overtook me. Was somebody walking towards the parking lot with my Wii? Had he been mobbed by crowds in the back of the store? Was that punk lying to me? In that moment, I hated blue shirt.

My mind raced. Did I really want a Wii? Was I just enamored by the chase, only to be let down when I got the thing home? Was the Wii my holy grail? Did I really want to spend $250? Is my life about to change? Should I be worried about walking to my car in the lot?

Blue shirt finally came back clutching the white box and handed it to me. There weren't any angels singing. No doves were released. I didn't feel noticeably different. But I had a Wii, striking a blow against soccer moms for all mankind.

On the way home, I started thinking back to my first Nintendo. Yep, the NES. I was five and on Christmas morning I popped open the box and had my dad hook up the Nintendo in their bedroom. I had three games, Super Mario, Duck Hunt and John Elway's Quarterback. I still vividly remember that day 18 years ago. Man, I'm old.

We played Wii all night -- bowling, basketball, tennis, boxing and baseball -- until our arms hurt from throwing virtual pitches and punches. I never had to ice my arm after Duck Hunt.