Frogger and Young Nick

1 minute read

My Father was stationed at Comiso Air Station when I was around two years old and was our home until kindergarten. The air station has since closed, but it holds a special place in my heart as I fell in love with computers and technology there.

Comiso Air Station

Our home was across the runway from the Base Exchange (BX), and we would ride our bikes across the base going to and from school, pick up my little brother, etc. For my younger self, though, that meant a visit to the BX where there was a computer section! I would dart to that section and instantly find one of the open systems. Without fail, my parents knew where to find me when they were ready to leave.

The computer was usually left on with some game loaded to entice passersby to check them out. As my childish brain remembers, it was often Frogger running on a Commodore 64C. I would spend every moment possible playing that game in the store.

This trip through history came up because one of our teams at Blueprint Power is naming their sprints after early games. Of course, in this sprint, they chose Frogger, and my nostalgia engine hit the limit.

I eventually got my hands on my very own C64 after my Father returned from a deployment. He took his hazard pay, re-enlistment bonus, and surprised me with the computer. That was the start of it all. From there, I found Bulletin Board Systems (BBS), programming (how can I hack this game for extra lives?), and eventually understanding the power of computers to share ideas through my class newspaper in second grade.

Two things stand out now looking back:

  1. It takes just a tiny spark to light a fire of discovery in young kids.
  2. Finding what you are passionate about in life makes every day exciting.

So here is to Frogger and the adventure it put me on in life!

Frogger C64 Gameplay

Nick & Dan 1 Nick Kindergarten

Dukate Newspaper 1 Dukate Newspaper 3

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