My favorite PET

 

Forty years ago I would go to the public library and check out books on programming my Commodore PET computer.  I would copy the program into memory on my machine correcting all the typos until the program would run.  I would then study it making modifications to improve upon the program but mostly to make it my own. 

I would then save it off on cassette recorder using the odometer counter noting where one program ended and the next started, scribing these numbers on the label.

This was the first of many computers I would own in my life.  I have lugged this computer around for almost four decades even though it stopped working halfway through its life with me.  Even without working, it was impressive just to look at.  I was sure I would fix it or do something fun with it someday.

Then about a year ago I looked at it with purging eyes.  Most people’s advice was to keep it.  It was my first, there was even a very shabby circuit board addition that I made giving the system sound.  I tied an old car speaker to the inside.  Redneck can accessorize tech nicely.

But I’m not the nostalgic type at all, why was I keeping this paperweight?  Without hesitation I listed it on Ebay.  Each time someone made an offer I found a reason to say no.  After tiring of this dance, I reluctantly sold it to someone named Jeff from Florida.

Jeff not only gave it new life and got it working but he also hooked up the cassette recorder and downloaded a couple programs I left on it from the early 80’s.  When he told me he was doing this I got a flashback of a game I remembering fiddling with.  You controlled a cursor with a tail and gobbled up blocks on the screen, the more you got the longer the tail got.  I remember trying to fine tune the increasing speed and rate of growth.  This was the program that he sent me.

Who would have guessed some years later I would be part of the golden era of PC game making for a couple of decades.  I still even have some games selling on Steam that I help develop.

Thank you Jeff for bringing this all back to me.  Jeff is my new friend.  Jeff rocks!  He even shared part of his adventure in bringing my PET back to life.  https://youtu.be/7OtGxIW-hAA  I am very happy for the new life my old computer has and hope it continues to bring joy to this world.  I’m sure there are some words of wisdom about letting go and all that, but I’ll just leave it here for now…