Story #1

I guess I was lucky. Growing up in NJ there were always plenty of spots to play pinball. About 10 miles away there was a mall that had an arcade tucked in the back. I know I played some when I was younger but at 15 my friend Allen and I would ride our bikes down there on the weekends and spend all our allowance. I think my favorite game at the time was Time Warp although I can't really say why. I guess the banana flippers were cool and you could play forever on 1 quarter. Asteroids, Space Invaders and Donkey Kong were also fun to play but I always went back to pinball.

It wasn't until I got married that I was able to really jump into it. I told my wife that I would like a pin for Christmas and she bought an old EM called Space Time. It was slow and the ball would drain horribly but we had a lot of fun competing. Surprisingly she turned out to like playing even more than I. What really got me was the mechanics. I've been a builder and tinkerer for as long as I can remember. I have a workshop in my backyard where I do woodworking and a bit of metal working as well. Pinball allowed me to use both of these skills. The satisfaction of taking apart a machine, cleaning it up and making it right is really what pinball is all about for me. Now my kids are into it and starting to be able to help and I can't think of a better way to spend time with them.

Reading other peoples stories and posts on Pinside it looks like we all fall into 3 main categories, the Collectors, the Players and the Restorers. I guess I fall into that last category.