Bus Rides, the Airport and Pinball

   So it began in the summer of 77' when my parents took us kids to the bowling alley 7 miles from our house. while everybody (8 of us) were bowling. I was enamored with the sounds coming from the large room in the back. As a 7 year old I wondered over to that room that was filled with arcades and pinball. I damn near peed myself. I never seen anything like it. A dude playing Grand Prix said "hey kid, do you want to finish my game I have to leave?" That was my first pin I ever played and I was hooked. I asked my dad if I could have some quarters to play. He said "this bowling event cost enough so no."

   Fast forward two weeks and the first day of summer, my brother was moving to Texas for work so we had to take him to the airport. There as we were walking through the parking garage I saw an empty airport cart. I grabbed it and returned it to it's station not knowing I would get a quarter back for my efferts. A big fat light went off in my head. The Metro bus system route went right by my house all the way to Seattle International Airport and back passing by the bowling alley. Almost every day I would get up in the morning, get on the bus, ride it to the airport and chase down those abandond carts returning them to their stations for quarters. It would take me 3 to 4 hours to collect 8 to 10 bucks. I would take the bus back stopping by the bowling alley to play Pinball. I saved .75 cents for a couple of candy bars for the bus ride home. Rinse and repeat almost everyday. 

   A few years later I got a paper route and no longer needed to go to the airport, so came Flash, Gorgar, Firepower. etc.  pins just got better and I made more money to play them. I never thought as a kid that these pins that I loved to play so much would one day be owned by me. I've owned every pin I ever played at one point as a kid. I've owned over 60 pins now.

And the rest is history.