I'm addicted and I can't stop!!!

My parents had a few Pinball machines at home when I was a young teenager - a Taxi and some other machine that I can't recall the name of.  I remember playing some, but never truly appreciated them for what they were.  I was a teenager and more concerned with girls and friends at that time in life.  Later, I ended up inheriting the Taxi machine and had it in our home for a few years.  We really enjoyed it, but then the machine started to have problems and had no idea who would fix them in our area.  Then came babies and Pinball was gone for good.  We ultimately gave the machine to our church youth group, never to be seen again.

Fast forward 15 years later...  I'm playing golf with a buddy and he starts talking about his Pinball machines and his passion for them.  I had a flood of very fond memories of playing as a young man and instantly missed having a machine to play on.  I knew instantly that I must have one again!  My buddy and another friend of his like to buy and refurbish machines as a side gig.  He told me they had a Twister that was just finishing being shopped (by the way, I had no idea what "shopped" meant) and that I could certainly come take a look at the machine.  After getting approval from the wife, I scheduled a time to go look at the machine.  Little did I know that things would quickly change for me...

I show up to my friends house to look at the Twister at bout 8:00 pm.  My thought is I go in, look a the machine, play a few games and then settle on the price.  Boy was I wrong...  Sure, I played the Twister and finished the deal, but four hours later I was still there.  My buddy had many, many Pins in his basement.  AC/DC, Transformers, Ghostbusters, etc...  I was being indoctrinated into the Pinhead life style.  During those four hours I learned of Pinball history, types of machines, brands, playing styles and so much more than I thought I would gain from a short trip to a buddy's house.  I had a new passion - and it bit me quickly!  By the time the evening was over I purchased two machines - Twister and Ghostbusters.  Man was my wife surprised!

Within 6 months I have now purchased four machines.  Twister, Ghostbusters, SpiderMan, and Guardians of the Galaxy.  My next machine, when I can find one, is a WOZ Ruby Red!!!  Living in Kansas it only makes sense to have a WOZ!

The best part of Pinball, outside of the beautiful machines, is the friendships and relationships it has forged with others.  People are absolutely enamored by the machines as soon as they see them.  Most importantly, my wife and I really enjoy playing together.  It really helps that she loves it as much as I do when I decide to bring home a new machine!

I know that my story is similar to others.  This hobby is addictive, like nothing else I have experienced before!

Yours in Pinball...

Neal