Part 2 of my Pinball Journey. . .
My wife wonders why I am so insistent about keeping my PinBot and Fire! pinball machines in tip top shape. She didn't understand the necessity for me to disassemble 1/2 my playfield to upgrade 40 year old incascedent lights to LED, or why I scour the internet to replace any chipped, cracked or worn playfield piece.
This life event likely explains my obsession with my pinball machine maintenance. . .
A quarter in 1975 would be worth $1.50 today. Feeding my pinball addiction became very expensive, I simply couldn't get enough silver ball time. Dad would weekly give us $1.00 over the summer to use however we choose, but as you can guess the money never lasted as long as we wanted.
Our nearest neighbor in Geauga County Ohio lived 2 miles away. They owned the private golf/tennis/pool club Berkshire Hills Country Club. The Kapel's were very nice. One day Kevin Kapel saw me hanging around the pinball machines near the pool waiting for someone to walk away from a game with leftover credits. He asked "You want to play pinball at my house?"
"Yea, but I don't have any quarters ."
Kevin laughed "No it's free, you don't need any quarters."
Just then a light from the Heavens appeared and a Choir of Angels sang.
I died and went to heaven. We got in his golf cart and drove to the promised land. There were four pinball machines In Kevin's basement, was I dreaming? He flipped a switch and they all but one came to life. " That one is broken, but go ahead, play the others as long as you want, I'll be upstairs."
Where to begin?
I started with the game closest to me. I don't remember the name but it was a playing card theme. I started the game, held my breath and pulled back on the plunger. The game came to life, lights flashing, sling shots popping and digit counters falling. I was in heaven . . . until . . . the ball made its way to the pop bumpers and all of a sudden got hung up on a broken piece of rubber from the pop bumper. The broken rubber prevented normal game play.
No problem, there were still two more machines to experience.
The second game was a cowboy themed machine. I started the machine and heard a series of clicking. I waited for the ball to appear in the shooter's lane. More clicking. . . still no ball. In desperation I pulled the ball shooter hoping for a miracle. Still nothing. The clicking continued as if to taunt me. I turned that machine off and went to the last one.
The third machine had a hippie theme. A "flower power" image was on the side. This was my last chance for glory. I scanned the playfield. No broken rubber. That was a good sign. I gave myself a credit and waited, a series of clicks then the ball appeared in the shooter's lane. Whew!! I noticed the rubber at the end of the ball shooter was broken and in pieces in the shooters lane but that wasn't going to stop me from getting to the promised land. I pulled back on ball shooter and despite the rubber fragments the ball took off. The ball went into the pop bumpers and they came to life, almost angry they had been idle for so long. The ball went racing through a gate on the left and was headed to the right side flipper. CONTACT The ball flew straight up at 100 miles an hour then worked its way around the pop bumpers until it headed towards the left flipper. . .
nothing. . . the left flipper quivered a little but hardly moved. In desperation I repeatedly hit the flipper button but still nothing. The ball drained and then a series of clicks happened. Ball 2 was ready in the shooters lane. I repeatedly hit the left flipper button hoping for a miracle but the flipper never came to life. I was on my way to heaven but I ended up in hell.
Kevin must not have known his machines were in such disrepair. Not wanting to be rude I played one flipper hippie pinball for 30-40 minutes then went upstairs. Kevin was on the phone, I waved thank you and let myself out for the walk home.
The disappointment of not being able to play that day has stayed with me ever since. That's why if you ever come to play my PinBot or Fire! I promise that you will not be disappointed. My wife may not get it, but something tells me you guys do.
