Growing up in the 1970's was great fun. Our parents let us play outside and only called us in for dinner in the evening, but after school the sky was the limit and the world was ours to explore.

This was the age where video games were born, Big Wheels were the rage and our imaginations went wild from the impact that movies like "Star Wars" and "Close Encounters" had on our lives. The magnetism and possibilities of what else could be residing out in the universe brought to us in brilliant color and fantastic technical effects on the "big screen" at the drive-in movie theatre was astonishing. These images transferred into our play. Picking up our sticks in the yard and dueling like Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker did with our brilliant light sabers were just the beginnings of our ideas . . .

Electronic toys were becoming a staple in the 70s. "Pong" was the first video game I can recall hitting the market. It was simply amazing to be able to use our black and white TVs as an interactive game. My two brothers and I used to sit for hours, mesmerized by this new toy. This was so different than the traditional board games! As the years went by we eventually had the colorized Atari and by the early 80s this had led to video arcades.

While video games were a lot of fun, but before the 80s, believe it or not in the 70s we even had virtual reality. My brothers and I used to play these "live action" games - we dubbed with names such as "cops and robbers" and "circus". They weren't played on the TV or with a computer, but in the backyard and all through the neighborhood. We climbed trees, rolled down "dangerous" cliffs of grassy earth, burrowed in dirt piles, swam across murky waters or prances around the yard doing cartwheels like the acrobats we were. All the action components required for today's video games, but live! The thrill of catching your nemesis or performing a dangerous feat was fantastic. One of the best parts was, there were no worries about running out of memory, losing your memory card, tripping over the cord and unplugging your game console or seeing your game freeze. The biggest interruption we had to worry about was when our moms called us home to do our homework and eat dinner. The plus side was the next day we could pick up our weapons or batons and begin the game right where we left off, and the memory was picture perfect. The biggest continuity issues were if someone couldn't participate because they had to stay home that day.

During

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