I re-homed my C64 Today
Just to be clear, that's my Commodore 64 computer, not an unusual name for a beloved pet. While we are talking about almost 30 year-old bits of silicon and plastic, it did feel like I was letting a beloved pet go to a new home. I have a lot of fond memories of that computer, it stayed with me through high school and my first year of college. A gift from my grandparents, which made the system quite special to me. Many days and nights of playing games, game trading parties with my friends, etc. But time does move on, and I used my C64 less and less as I bought my first and subsequent PC's. Eventually the computer went in a box and stayed there for many, many years.
Somewhere around 4-5 years ago I got the ol' C64 out of storage and hooked it up. Surprisingly, it all still worked. My game disks were long gone, donated to a friend, but I bought a couple of games off of eBay and had fun for a few weeks. Then back in the box it went. The system was now taking up space that could be better used for other things, but I had so many memories wrapped up in it that I just couldn't bear to just throw it away. Selling it was an exercise in futility, there are so few collectors out there that don't already have a system. So the C64 sat and collected dust.
I searched, gave up, and searched again for some place or person that could use the computer. Finally, I found an active Commodore 64 club that was about 50 miles away from my home. I met up with the club president earlier today and gave away my box of memories. The hand-off was a bit bittersweet, and I told him so - I had no use for the C64 anymore, but I wanted it to go to someone who would use it. He also loves these old machines and hates to see them thrown away in the trash. He was happy to say that the C64 would get used and well loved. I hope that's true, for it makes the memories easier to let go.
Somewhere around 4-5 years ago I got the ol' C64 out of storage and hooked it up. Surprisingly, it all still worked. My game disks were long gone, donated to a friend, but I bought a couple of games off of eBay and had fun for a few weeks. Then back in the box it went. The system was now taking up space that could be better used for other things, but I had so many memories wrapped up in it that I just couldn't bear to just throw it away. Selling it was an exercise in futility, there are so few collectors out there that don't already have a system. So the C64 sat and collected dust.
I searched, gave up, and searched again for some place or person that could use the computer. Finally, I found an active Commodore 64 club that was about 50 miles away from my home. I met up with the club president earlier today and gave away my box of memories. The hand-off was a bit bittersweet, and I told him so - I had no use for the C64 anymore, but I wanted it to go to someone who would use it. He also loves these old machines and hates to see them thrown away in the trash. He was happy to say that the C64 would get used and well loved. I hope that's true, for it makes the memories easier to let go.