We got the Sears Intelligames console for Christmas one year. I actually still have the same one. I remember staying up late one night playing Atari with my dad for a sleep-deprived EEG the next day. Poor Dad couldn't hang with me.
Around 1984 we got a TI-99/4A, but the 2600 (Sears) still had a prominent spot in front of the living room TV. I didn't have a lot of games like my friends had, but I had enough to keep me occupied game-wise, plus some of the games we got for the TI. Later when my friends went from the 2600 to the NES I moved to a Commodore 64, instead. It was more fun and had MUCH better games, but was a chore to have set up on the TV, so the Atari remained our family gaming centerpiece.
Later on in life I managed to pick up a 7800 which I have modded for S-Video into my entertainment system. I also got a couple of 5200s which I wanted for the better games. During my C64 days a buddy of mine had an Atari 800 and we had Atari 1200s at school, so I had it in my head to get me an Atari computer at some point. That came around early 1990 when I picked up an Atari 800XL with a 1050. Still have it, too.
My grandfather had an Atari 520ST, which I took to like a duck to water. It's funny, really, with all my exposure to Atari stuff that I went the Amiga route. I certainly don't regret it, though I would very much like to get my hands on an ST -- one of the advanced models would be nice like the STFM or MegaSTs or whatever, though I wouldn't pass up a 1040ST. My grandfather's 520ST disappeared after he died, sadly.
Lot of personal adventures, exploration, and learning for me and the Atari. I have to say that while it wasn't prominent in my later life it certainly held a defining role for me. I'm very happy to have grown up during the 80s home computer revolution. I wouldn't mind having been born a little earlier, but it's a nice feeling to have touched just about everything that came out during those times and to carry that experience with me.
