Remembering When We could Do Stuff: Night of Nostalgia

Remember when we could get out and do fun stuff? I do, even if it has been a while. This particular night popped into my head today. I believe it was the last event I got to enjoy before the pandemic hit East Texas. It was a Saturday night at Harvey Convention Center in Tyler to benefit P.A.T.H. (People Attempting To Help) called Night of Nostalgia. This event was tailor made for me. Old school arcade games like Ms. Pacman, Defender, Spy Hunter, Mario Bros, numerous pinball machines, Nintendo, Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64.

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Obviously, I started with the stand up arcade machines. Me and my work mate, Shawn Knight, started off with some two player action of Centipede. I was never very good at Centipede but it didn't take me long to love using a trackball again. Next we found a sit down machine for some two player action of Ms. Pacman. All that was missing was a slice of pizza sitting on the corner.

Across the back wall were Nintendo, Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64 set ups. Me and Shawn sat down for a couple of Mario Kart 64 races. I destroyed him. Then, I took in some NBA Jam action on a Super Nintendo.

To top off Night of Nostalgia were some stars of the small and big screen to meet. Dustin Diamond, best known for Screech on Saved By the Bell, and Thomas "Tiny" Lister, Jr., better known as Deebo from Friday (who sadly passed away in December of last year), were on hand to meet. Both were super nice dudes.

It's crazy to think of all the roles Lister has played in his career. Obviously, his most famous is Deebo from the Friday movies. But he's stared in Star Trek, was the president in Fifth Element, the prisoner that threw the detonator out the window in The Dark Knight and many more.

To close out the night, we got a show from The Voice alum Cee Lo Green. His show was a lot of fun. Part party mix, part concert. An absolute blast no matter what your favorite music is.

All in all, Night of Nostalgia was a super fun night. When all of this mess is said and done, I'm hoping this event will make a return.