A Long Time Coming

A long time ago in a land far, far away (at least from where I am now) I was a 5th grader in East Side Elementary School, Midwest City, Oklahoma. I liked the things most kids liked such as football, baseball, and riding my bicycle. I had some friends from school who were joining a summer bowling league and asked if I'd like to try it so I decided why not?

Once inside the Planet Bowl, I'll never forget the smell of fresh oil on the lanes, and burgers and fries from the snack shop. The sounds of the balls rolling and the pins falling were obvious but what got my attention was that wonderful sound coming from the far wall. That sound was of bells ringing. Not just any bells such as church bells or the "riiiiiiiiiing" of the telephones of that time, but more of a "ching ching ching" in different tones. There was a strange rhythm to the sound. Sometimes it would be several fast chings, and sometimes it would stop for awhile, and then go slowly.

I approached this wall of sound, now seeing the beautiful lights calling me like a moth to a flame. The flashing reds, greens and blues from below the glass tables shone brightly highlighting the magnificent artwork of the framed backglasses. All I could think of was finishing the manditory three games of bowling so I could make my way back to these fabulous machines.

My family didn't have a lot of money in those days. Just enough to give my older sister piano lessons and keep me in comic books and that bowling league. And, a few extra quarters for some pinball. I swore to myself that one day, someday I would have a real pinball machine of my very own. I remember the excitement of Christmas morning that year when under the tree was a plastic Sears special pinball machine. A toy, yes but I loved playing with that game every single day.

My favorite table back then was Odds and Evens. Other machines had more gameplay but I liked the post that you could make pop up with the right shots. Over and over, that post would save me from certain center drainage. Thus began my love affair with pinball.

Fast forward now to my home of Eagle River, Alaska. Having played pinball all of my life everywhere I possibly could, I was now a real live adult with a great family and a decent job. It was time to fulfill the promise I made to myself so long ago. It was time to own that pinball machine.

I found my Theater of Magic pin in, of course, a local bowling alley. Our home didn't have a lot of space. Still, my wife knew this was a life long dream of mine and okayed the purchase.

I've been fortunate to meet others here with a passion for pinball through the Pinside web site. One, "seal clubber" has been very helpful by offering to help with the addition of my ads. I was sad to see him have to move out of state. Still, when he moved he decided to sell a couple of his pins. Now I have two in my home, making room in my teenager's bedroom for my (our) new Bride of Pinbot. Now I'm making new friends here who have a common love of the pin. I don't know if I'll ever get pin number three but who knows?