Picked Up A Honey
A local seller had a Williams Honey pinball machine advertised so I gave him a call to find out more and also to set up a time to take a look. The price wasn't too bad, but it was listed online as text only without any pictures. When he picked up the phone and described the machine I knew it was of interest and instantly also figured out this gentlemen was a good talker. He went into detail out of the blue into his black Friday deals which was interesting, but not exactly what I was expecting. Anyway, we set up a time the next morning for me to take a look at the machine. I agreed to give him a call before I left the next day because although the location was local, the drive was still about 40 minutes away.
The next morning comes and I give him a call to confirm the time and he goes into more detail on the directions than I was expecting. As I don't know the area except from a high level I politely listen but figure I will be plugging it into the old GPS anyway. I always like to take a helper along with me when looking at a pin for several reasons, including strength, safety and as a sounding board for my thoughts on condition and value. I will literally take anyone who is willing to come, which most of the time ends up being my Dad. We refer to these events as "pinball runs". There are several rules to participating in a pinball run:
1. Never divulge the real price paid.
2. I will buy helpers lunch or dinner
3. You have to lift to the best of your ability.
4. You have to help unload it when we get back home.
The rules are not too complex in general, so I have taken folks with me from 10 years old all the way to well into their seventies.
Now there have been many memorable pinball runs, some which in fact I haven't even been on myself. For comparison to the honey run, here are some of the highlights to other pinball runs from collecting machines over the past handful of years.
1. I send my Dad and Uncle about 40 minutes away to evaluate a Bally Flicker. When they get there the house was very interesting and smelt of dog leftovers. The machine is in the kitchen for some reason and the owner warns the guys that the one dog is mean but the other is perfectly friendly. Well long story short the supposed perfect behaving dog tears into my Uncle's jeans and rips a big tear in them. Great machine but better story. Uncle was fine and we tell that story to everyone we know. It took a few months to get that machine smelling right though.
2. Another memorable trip was to pick up my Mars Trek, which is a Spanish made, home use only machine from 1977. It was another pinball run that was particularly memorable. The gentlemen I bought it from was nice and very professional. His wife was also wonderful, but very concerned that her husband who was up in his years should not overexert himself for health reasons. I had no problem with that, but upon this occasion, my only readily available assistance was my father in law, who wasn't significantly younger than this gentlemen. So I also neglected to mention this was in the winter and there was about 6 inches of snow on the ground. We worked out the price and I mention the fact that I am prepared to take it today. I always have a moving cart and a full supply of tools when I am on a planned pinball run. The gentleman's wife was also very concerned about their floors, which were really nice hardwood of some type, fairly high end. I went over with her the fact that my furniture cart had rubber wheels and that there were also belts on the back as to not scratch the stairs, which in this case were just painted pine anyways. Originally, she wanted me to come up the multi-level basement stairs and then go through 2 rooms of nice hardwood floors including a massive kitchen, laundry room, and garage. I respect that whenever I am on a pinball run that it is their house and will generally do whatever the seller asks, but the front door to the house was right near the top of the stairs. It seemed like a win-win scenario as I could get outside quickly and also minimize or almost completely eliminate any time on the hardwood. Well then the other shoe dropped - the walk to the driveway was not shoveled and her husband proceeds to volunteer to clear it off. Now I don't know about you but someone in their thirties can never allow someone maybe early eighties to shovel a walk so I took the shovel, which was a very vintage model that hadn't seen the light of day in many years, and cleaned off the walk in about 5 to 10 minutes. Not a big deal for me at all. I had fleeting passes of asking for $10 off the purchase price, but heck it was the holiday season and these folks were nice! When I get back in the house my father in law and the gentlemen are talking about many aspects of life and just then the seller's wife walks back ove. At this time we jointly announce that we'll shoot for the front door. She about flips out after the gentlemen says that the walk is clean and she starts to tear into him. He points at me and says, "oh no honey, he cleaned it off". She was much happier at this point and we proceeded without incident into the car and back home.
There are many other good stories, but that brings us back to this particular misadventure, here forward forever to be known as "the honey run". We arrive right on time to the gentlemen's house and we get out of the car, me with my normal pinball inspection toolbox in hand. The gentlemen greets us at the garage and is very warm and welcoming. Now I did warn my Dad that this guy seemed like a talker on the trip over to his place, so he was prepared in advance with fair warning that he might have to run interference while I inspect the pin. Now my Dad is handy with pinball machines as he and I learned together about EM's and all the fun one can have fiddling with them.
The gentlemen leads us down the first flight of stairs from the garage into a lower level and he warns us that his dog is friendly, but will run so he has to tie him up temporarily so he won't get out. "No problem", I said, as the dog was friendly enough. We then proceed down another set of steps and through a type of curtain to the first basement where Honey sat. I was told this machine had been in the house for about 20 years and never worked, so I was prepared for the dirt and grime. My Dad started the inspection opening up the pinball glass, play field and looking into the body. The gentlemen had it plugged in and running a bit the day previous when I called him on the phone. I could hear through the phone line the distinct sounds of a score motor and some flippers. But today however, for some reason the machine would not start. We immediately found the problem, a missing fuse on the main line. I am not sure how it was working the day before, but it was clean inside and I did believe this was what I had heard. The gentlemen continues talking about well you name it, and shows me several treasures he bought on black Friday including curtain sheers, various clothes, food, and some other things and then starts into conversation about his garage sale finds from over the summer. Now I was enjoying talking to the seller as he seemed like a nice older guy who was just kind of an interesting character, but I was also mad at my Dad for doing all the inspection work on my potential pinball while leaving me to run interference with continued cordial conversation. We continued on the garage sale journey from I am guessing this past summer into the wonderful world if picture frame pricing, procurement and valuation of Christmas ornaments, some more deals on clothes, art sets and right back to the black Friday sale at the dollar store.
Finally a break in the conversation occurs and I am able to grab a flashlight and make my way into the mouse excrement covered back box. Now this is perfectly normal for me as I like the the 60's and 70's EM's the most fervently and I have learned to expect mice and sometime a few other creatures remains who have taken refuge in these beautiful machines over the years. But at that very moment the kind gentlemen asks if we'd like to see his gun. Now he was trying to sell me everything else in the house including a 12 foot Christmas tree, but the last thing you want to hear from a random craigslist stranger is that he wants to show you his gun. My Dad gazes over at me with a look of "what the heck have you gotten me into" and the gentlemen proceeds across the room over towards his menagerie of dollar store and garage sale treasures and I had a serious thought that my Dad was ready to run. The gentlemen casually reaches into a bag, repeats that he wants us to see his gun and starts into the great deal he got on it. Now I didn't feel particularly scared at this point as the gentlemen's demeanor hadn't changed at all. He remained the same old chipper guy I had meant about 40 minutes earlier, while continuing to talk about the gun. My Dad however was still looking a bit scared. The gentleman's hand slowly arose out of the bag and out he pulls a beautiful, shiny weapon loaded with looks like to be 3 rounds of ammunition. At this time my Dad is so relieved he is almost laughing. It was a colorful kids ping pong ball gun! The gentlemen said it was his best deal of the day for him on black Friday at 39 cents, his nephew would be overjoyed.
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Saint Paul, MN
