There are objects in our lives that will forever be tied to childhood: a favorite toy, for example, or the first chapter book that you read and truly connected with.

For most of us, these items are forever lost — long ago consigned to the dustbin of Goodwill. Not so for Professor John Pfaff, who on Feb. 16 shared with the world a discovery that blasted him straight to his personal past: a working 30-year-old Apple IIe computer.

"Oh. My. God," he tweeted. "An Apple IIe. Sat in my parents' attic for years. Decades. And it works."

Sight of the computer, first released in 1983, serves up an immediate nostalgia gut punch to those old enough to remember the green-text motif that defined the era. And, fortunately for Pfaff, he was able to do much more than just think back wistfully on his early computing days. Because when Pfaff booted up the machine and put in an old game, he found that the computer was ready to play again.

"Put in an old game disk," wrote Pfaff. "Asks if I want to restore a saved game. And finds one! It must be 30 years old. I'm 10 years old again."

Oh.

My.

God.



An Apple IIe. Sat in my parents’ attic for years. Decades.



And it works.



Put in an old game disk. Asks if I want to restore a saved game.



And finds one!



It must be 30 years old.



I’m 10 years old again. pic.twitter.com/zL7wWxOo36 — John Pfaff (@JohnFPfaff) February 17, 2019

In the ensuing tweet storm, Pfaff documents and replays the games of his youth. Clearly, this man regrets putting away his childish things all those years ago.

Hm. I rocked this version of One on One. Could hit a three from anywhere.



But the boxes my mom sent have no joystick!!



Will GameStop have one that fits these ports? pic.twitter.com/VQFgaAyb9G — John Pfaff (@JohnFPfaff) February 17, 2019

Luckily for him, however, those things only ended up safely stored in his parents' attic.

Wow. So this was an old trivia game I loved (Millionware). This screen gets to the point where it says “Say ‘Hello’ to our contestants Donna.”



And then the disk drive whirs w its little red light.



Then you get “Thank you, Donna.”



1984 computer humor. pic.twitter.com/dFnbQk7y0D — John Pfaff (@JohnFPfaff) February 17, 2019

Pfaff's discovery and subsequent Twitter thread inspired others to chime in about computers of days past, and what followed was a feel-good walk down memory lane.

I had an Apple IIe in my classroom! I taught kids how to program with the Logo turtle. 🐢 ▶️ pic.twitter.com/qG0TWRIdq8 — Susan Groff (@SusanGroff1) February 17, 2019

Oh man wish I still had my Apple IIe in this photo. So many hours spent playing Loderunner and Castlevania. pic.twitter.com/fdOlR038dW — Josh Grabelle (@JoshGrabelle) February 17, 2019

The ][e I had as a kid is still set up and working in my parent’s basement. pic.twitter.com/HZq1IfcrnU — Scott Sanders (@TheDCLBlog) February 17, 2019

Now please excuse me while I go play some Oregon Trail.