Quoted from jellikit:There is one thing that has kept me in the hobby for nearly 20 years - friends. Have I enjoyed the thrill of the chase and finding deals out there? Sure. I enjoy playing machines, occasionally resolving problems, and learning what I am 'supposed to do' as I play. But without a doubt, the friendships that have evolved from my involvement in the community is the reason I am still here. And some came from a simple local sale, how cool is that? And in the case of the picture below (me and Cliffy), this is someone I finally had a chance to meet face-to-face and hug at PAGG this year after nearly two decades of communication! I can't express in words what that meant to me.
Brad
This^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^!!!
My first pinball friend, I never got the honor/privilege of meeting in person. We had many conversations via e-mail, RGP (fun times), and phone calls. I met him through an E-bay ad many years ago, buying what you ask? Pinball plastics for my FirepowerII. We struck up a conversation via E-mail about why I needed them. I told him that I wasn't in a major hurry to get them as my PF was still curing and wouldn't be ready to re-assemble for awhile yet. He asked who restored it and I told him I did...he asked for pics. and that was when he told me I should do restores for a living. I laughed and said that would be awesome to get to work on pins all the time, his reply was be careful what you wish for...the rest shall we say is history...#33 1/3 is still missed! Now #1 has joined him! I would've loved to meet them both in person, one day I will see them all again and what a party we will have...pinball, green army men and lots of water balloons!! I call dibs on shotgun in the jeep!! 
On another note...the people I have met in this hobby/addiction are what keeps me in the pinball hobby! I have met some of the best most giving and caring people out there thanks to pinball! I consider my pinball friends among my best friends...we party together, play together, travel together...and they are there for you when you need a hand not just with pinball moving or fixing, but when you need a hand with life in the real world (not the one under glass). They support you and cheer you up when you are down or upset. Those kind of friends are hard to come by and I would never have found them if it weren't for this crazy goofy hobby! 
Phoebe
