After Nickel Mines: On Guns and Other Forms of Self-Protection

The author describes a visit to an arcade in New Haven with her neighbor Matt, a former musician in his late 40s, to play shooting video games.

She reflects on her childhood memories of arcades with her father, who enjoyed gambling and arcade games, often taking her and her sister to Ocean City, New Jersey, for weekends.

Her father, described as a gambling addict, would leave money for snacks and let the children play games like the Tilt-a-Whirl.

The author recalls how her father’s behavior—such as lying about her age to get free entry to sports games—made her question the reliability of rules and instructions.

She also mentions her husband Jared’s rural upbringing in Vermont, where he and Matt grew up riding dirt bikes and being exposed to guns through hunting.

The author admits struggling with tasks requiring precision, like driving a manual car or playing arcade games, which she attributes to her father’s critical remarks about her lack of skill.