The good thing about the Atari is that its prob the sole reason why I have a great relationship and understanding with Jewish people. I wanted a computer when I was a kid and I couldn't afford most of the ones out there. I went to the Westgate Mall one day and there was a store called the Atari Computer Studio. I saw a computer there which was 800 dollars but I decided to ask the salesperson if I could put one on layaway. The white guy laughed and thought I was a hoodlum and almost threw me out when the owner named Sheldon stopped him. He made a deal with me that I could pay whatever I could on a used 1040STF and a monitor until I paid it off.
I put down 20 dollars every week which was a lot (considering I was making 4.25 an hour) and bought the computer first. I actually turned in on a few times to hear it power up. Then I did the same for the monitor. In all, it took about 5 months as the computer was 219 and the monitor was 199. Sheldon got rid of that guy later on and ran it himself until the end. He actually ran the store and his architect business and still does to this day.
I bought video games at first but over the next few years he showed me how to do a lot of things on a computer and he got me to buy software for BASIC, accounting, desktop publishing, and of course the best thing around, an online terminal program and a 2400 baud Cardinal modem which got me connected to the BBS system which of course eventually led to Lynx (the first internet browser).
I even learned the Hebrew alphabet because the Atari ST code was programmed with it.
To this day, I'm in debt to him for actually giving me a chance to show him that I was yanking in chain in wanting a computer and showing me that a computer can open up a lot of doors in life. I mean, nowadays I make my living off the computer so its all good
