Last Saturday, I picked up a pinball machine from an elderly family's garage sale. It was a Stern Nine Ball, nothing to write home about. But as I am loading that game into my truck, someone else at the garage sale walks up behind me and asks "Hey, do you do arcade machines too?" I say "Yep! Got one?" "Yeah, I've got two. A wrestling game and some generic Zaxxon I think. They're a little dusty but they work."
So I get his info and since I was on a time crunch, I tell him I'd call him on Wednesday, being today. He lives almost an hour away in Dayton NV, which is in the sticks outside Carson City. Basically an empty, dusty, lonely, banjo-playing town way outside Reno. I take a gamble and check them out. I get there and I am astonished at the absolute dump heap I drive up to. He has cars, slots, metal junk, computers, TVs, empty oil barrels, file cabinets, just a complete dump heap of shit outside on what's left of his front yard. I look past the overgrown juniper bushes and sure enough, there's a Mat Mania and a Zaxxon sitting right there. Outside. In the sun. On his front porch. Fantastic...
Now, this dude is well into his 70s and he begins to tell me that he is terminally ill and not only does he have dozens of medical bill collectors jumping down his throat, the city of Dayton is now beginning to fine him because of his dump of a house. At this point, I feel bad for the guy. The guy lives in squalor and he's not in good health. So instead of walking away, I buy them. Overpaid, mind you. But I figured I could help the guy out and at least take some of the burden from his front yard and maybe that helps him pay a bill. Whatever.
We clear a path and wrestle the two faded, rotting, and swollen carcasses into the back of my truck. Spiders and all. Half way down the road I see a glimmer of colorful debris in my rear view mirror as I lose the marquee to the Mat Mania on the road. Alas, It's a 70mph rural expressway and I am not about to stop. Oh well.
Now that I am home, I can assess that the Zaxxon can be saved with some elbow grease. Yes, the cabinet is flakey and swollen around the edges but not out of the realm of hope. The Mat Mania is a converted Astron Belt. This machine is not long for this world. The sides are separating, panels warped and are coming loose, and it is heavy as hell. Neither game has their back doors. They'll both be up for grabs as soon as I clean them out, evict any living tenants, and figure out what they'd need. But for now, at least they'll have a second chance at life.
So I get his info and since I was on a time crunch, I tell him I'd call him on Wednesday, being today. He lives almost an hour away in Dayton NV, which is in the sticks outside Carson City. Basically an empty, dusty, lonely, banjo-playing town way outside Reno. I take a gamble and check them out. I get there and I am astonished at the absolute dump heap I drive up to. He has cars, slots, metal junk, computers, TVs, empty oil barrels, file cabinets, just a complete dump heap of shit outside on what's left of his front yard. I look past the overgrown juniper bushes and sure enough, there's a Mat Mania and a Zaxxon sitting right there. Outside. In the sun. On his front porch. Fantastic...
Now, this dude is well into his 70s and he begins to tell me that he is terminally ill and not only does he have dozens of medical bill collectors jumping down his throat, the city of Dayton is now beginning to fine him because of his dump of a house. At this point, I feel bad for the guy. The guy lives in squalor and he's not in good health. So instead of walking away, I buy them. Overpaid, mind you. But I figured I could help the guy out and at least take some of the burden from his front yard and maybe that helps him pay a bill. Whatever.
We clear a path and wrestle the two faded, rotting, and swollen carcasses into the back of my truck. Spiders and all. Half way down the road I see a glimmer of colorful debris in my rear view mirror as I lose the marquee to the Mat Mania on the road. Alas, It's a 70mph rural expressway and I am not about to stop. Oh well.
Now that I am home, I can assess that the Zaxxon can be saved with some elbow grease. Yes, the cabinet is flakey and swollen around the edges but not out of the realm of hope. The Mat Mania is a converted Astron Belt. This machine is not long for this world. The sides are separating, panels warped and are coming loose, and it is heavy as hell. Neither game has their back doors. They'll both be up for grabs as soon as I clean them out, evict any living tenants, and figure out what they'd need. But for now, at least they'll have a second chance at life.



