I loved spending 14 days in (mostly) sunny Tiburon with Chuckie the cat while his parents were in New Orleans for the big jazz festival.
I spend days walking along the path by the San Francisco bay before heading up to sort through things in storage. I cook nice meals in the big kitchen and become obsessed with the Big Guns pinball machine in the corner. I didn't pay much attention to it the last time I stayed here, two years ago. But there it is. I cock my head to one side and look it over, curious....
It sits there alone, a light covering of dust on the top, acting like a used up relic from a long ago era. But no, there's a whole lot of life left in this beautiful work of art. It's plugged in, which is a good sign. I feel under the front, near the legs and there it is. The ON switch. With hope and prayers, I flick the switch, and the magic begins. Lights begin to flash, a deep pirate voice begins to laugh, and the messages begin to flicker across the board....
Instantly I am transported back to when I am 16 years old, working in a pizza parlor in Afton, Wyoming. I take the quarters I have earned in tips from my pocket and drop them in the machine (after dropping some into the juke box to play some Bee Gees, James Taylor, Rod Stewart and Led Zeppelin).
The feel of the flippers, the sound of the metal ball rolling down the board and the boing-boing of the bumpers sending the ball back and forth between them puts a huge smile on my face. My shoulders gets into game as I push the flippers with both hands. It takes a while to get back in the groove, but very soon, I am. I try to get the ball into the place where it automatically drops into a cannon on either side of the board, and shoots it back out again. I try to keep the ball at the top of the board where there is a second set of flippers. I can hit trolls up there and get many extra points. The game teaches me to relax, I don't have to push the flippers with all my might. Just a gentle tap will do. It connects my mind and my body in ways they haven't for a while. I am floating on a pinball cloud of happiness.
After playing about five games in a row, I do some reading about it on this great thing called the internet. I learn that there is a great following of pinball players and that this game is quite well known and somewhat rare.
From Wikipedia:
Big Guns is a 1987 pinball machine designed by Mark Ritchie and Python Anghelo and released by Williams. The theme associated with this particular machine is that you must rescue your queen from king tyrant and his warlords. The game takes place in space. A description on the machine reads:
Now if the Ms. PacMan machine in the other corner would come to life....
I spend days walking along the path by the San Francisco bay before heading up to sort through things in storage. I cook nice meals in the big kitchen and become obsessed with the Big Guns pinball machine in the corner. I didn't pay much attention to it the last time I stayed here, two years ago. But there it is. I cock my head to one side and look it over, curious....
It sits there alone, a light covering of dust on the top, acting like a used up relic from a long ago era. But no, there's a whole lot of life left in this beautiful work of art. It's plugged in, which is a good sign. I feel under the front, near the legs and there it is. The ON switch. With hope and prayers, I flick the switch, and the magic begins. Lights begin to flash, a deep pirate voice begins to laugh, and the messages begin to flicker across the board....
Instantly I am transported back to when I am 16 years old, working in a pizza parlor in Afton, Wyoming. I take the quarters I have earned in tips from my pocket and drop them in the machine (after dropping some into the juke box to play some Bee Gees, James Taylor, Rod Stewart and Led Zeppelin).
The feel of the flippers, the sound of the metal ball rolling down the board and the boing-boing of the bumpers sending the ball back and forth between them puts a huge smile on my face. My shoulders gets into game as I push the flippers with both hands. It takes a while to get back in the groove, but very soon, I am. I try to get the ball into the place where it automatically drops into a cannon on either side of the board, and shoots it back out again. I try to keep the ball at the top of the board where there is a second set of flippers. I can hit trolls up there and get many extra points. The game teaches me to relax, I don't have to push the flippers with all my might. Just a gentle tap will do. It connects my mind and my body in ways they haven't for a while. I am floating on a pinball cloud of happiness.
After playing about five games in a row, I do some reading about it on this great thing called the internet. I learn that there is a great following of pinball players and that this game is quite well known and somewhat rare.
From Wikipedia:
Big Guns is a 1987 pinball machine designed by Mark Ritchie and Python Anghelo and released by Williams. The theme associated with this particular machine is that you must rescue your queen from king tyrant and his warlords. The game takes place in space. A description on the machine reads:
"Here, in the deepest of space, inside this fortress, our noble Queen is held captive, kidnapped by King Tyrant and his warlords. So, once again, in the eternal struggle of good against evil, we, the brave and the free, must launch the greatest invasion in the known history of the universe, to fight and crush our enemies-for the future of our federation,-and our fair lady's honor-rides on these big guns."Oh my god. How wonderful is that? I am absolutely delighted with this game and play it every day that I'm there. What a gift.
Now if the Ms. PacMan machine in the other corner would come to life....
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