“Pac-Man is my Favorite App!”

The words ring, echoing around my head. I’d been asked the while swim testing a little girl at work earlier that week, and it just would not leave me be.

It started as she’d approached me, resting in the lifeguard shack on my down rotation, when she noticed that the lanyard holding my nametag had the iconic Pac-Man, locked in chase with the four colorful ghosts.

“Do you play?” She asked, eyes brightening and smile widening. “I love that game!”

Delighted at the recognition from such a young girl at one of my favorite games, I smiled back. “Yes! Me too!”

But the conversation didn’t stop there. As we made the walk to the pool, test-log in hand, she continues. “It’s my favorite app! I used to play it all the time on my iPad, but then my dad sold it because it had gotten too old.”

I froze, looking at the no-more than 6 year old girl standing before me. Memories of bike-riding, scraped knees, and neighborhood adventures rushed through my mind. Remembering how different her childhood must be compared to mine, I recovered.

“My dad used to take me to these really cool arcades. He taught me the secrets. Pin-ball, too.”

Her head tilted in confusion. “My mom has pin-ball on her phone, but… What’s an arcade?”