Alex Yarde heard the story of a young man who found a “ghost” of his father in an old Xbox, and it reminded him to appreciate even the smallest moments with his kids.
“This moment is more precious than you think.”- James De La Vega
Have you seen this Jalopnik article titled “Son Finds His Late Dad’s “Ghost” In A Racing Video Game? It’s the story of a teen who’s dad passed while he was only six. Recently, when the kid mustered the strength pull out his dad’s old Xbox console, he discovered his dad’s best time as recorded as a Ghost car. That means that his inputs and actions represented in a computer controlled car he could race ten years later. It hit me like a ton of bricks.
Here’s what the son wrote on YouTube :
Well, when i was 4, my dad bought a trusty XBox. you know, the first, ruggedy, blocky one from 2001. we had tons and tons and tons of fun playing all kinds of games together – until he died, when i was just 6.
i couldnt touch that console for 10 years.
but once i did, i noticed something.
we used to play a racing game, Rally Sports Challenge. actually pretty awesome for the time it came.
and once i started meddling around… i found a GHOST.
literaly.
you know, when a time race happens, that the fastest lap so far gets recorded as a ghost driver? yep, you guessed it – his ghost still rolls around the track today.
and so i played and played, and played, untill i was almost able to beat the ghost. until one day i got ahead of it, i surpassed it, and…
i stopped right in front of the finish line, just to ensure i wouldnt delete it.
Bliss.
I thought immediately about my son and daughter, what would they have of me after I’m gone? I thought what a lucky and irreplaceable find that teen made though obviously bittersweet. I’d love the opportunity to share something as tangible as that of my own father. To share a moment with him indelible and timeless as the day it happened instead of my frail human memory his words, actions & our fun times together now blurred and softened with the years like old filmstock in need of preservation.
In the day-to-day hectic schedule it’s easy for me to blow off barrages of questions shouted from the backseats about a super hero show my kids love while I’m annoyed by other drivers. Instead of getting involved in playtime being the monster or setting the places for a tea party tiredly telling the kids to go play outside. Then, every once and awhile all of a sudden my heart skips a beat. I’m reminded sometimes just marveling at how quickly they’ve grown or studying how they choose to interact with the world that time with them, that particular moment is the most precious commodity there is. It’s finite. That moment isn’t coming back. This small moment captured in digital amber of this teen and his father and him doing something they loved together is a precious gift.This article was one of those heart stoppers. How long do any of us have to share those moments? How many of them are left to us? You often forget this but it’s always time to remember and make more of them.
all art~Jalopnik