The Galaga champ of Mayfield

Grouby's aka..the pool hall..Was a place that catered to everyone, you had jocks, motor-heads, geeks, and every other mix that Mayfield High had to offer..It was a safe haven for kids and Mr. Grouby made sure that everyone could enjoy his place without being hassled. Mayfield had a special kid, who I believe should have been the town mascot, his name was Jack Motts, and he could play Galaga like their was no tomorrow.

What made Jack so unique? Jack was born with Down Syndrome, but he never let that get in his way. He was the most happy, go-lucky, person that I ever met. Looking back, I never really felt sorry for him because he always seemed so happy. Nothing satisfied Jack more than playing Galaga.

"High score again..Me good" Jack said. Jack had just broken his previous record in Galaga and was gloating the best he knew how. "Me play money you" Jack said to Bob Castle. Castle was the second best Galaga player in Mayfield and he was getting tired of being beat by Jack all the time. "I will play you for a Fanta" Castle replied to Jack. This was the first time Jack had made a wager and Castle thought it might shake him a little bit. Boy was he wrong.

Jack played that single Galaga game for nearly 3 hours, he ended up< flipping the machine-(whenever some one scores a million points the counter automatically resets to zero)..Jack was the only guy in Mayfield who could pull off this feat. It was a very impressive performance by Mr. Motts. "You pay me Fanta, Buddy." Jack called everyone Buddy and he was looking to collect on his wager. "We again play money" Jack replied. "I think I have had enough. I gotta leave." Castle replied. At that moment, Castle realized that his dreams of being the Galaga champ of Mayfield were not too be.

Years later I saw Jack. He had been sent to live in a special care facility in a neighboring town. I was playing in a soft-ball tournament and he was on a day pass from the facility. He came up behind me and poked me in the back, when I turned around he said "Hi Buddy." One of my favorite songs of all-time is Pinball Wizard by the Who. The reason I like that song so much? It reminds me of Jack Motts.. :)