A few weekends ago we went to Sidney to visit Deejay and Dani, and while we were walking to dinner we noticed an arcade that was shutting down and putting its machines up for sale the following day. The Galaga/Ms. Pacman machine was what drew Amos in for a closer look, and it was indeed a beauty. But. They had a Simpson’s pinball machine for sale as well. I’ve wanted a pinball machine since I was a kid, and the Simpsons is one of my favorites.
I fell in love with it at the RePlay in Lawrence, KS. Its field is well-designed and you don’t have to be Tommy to enjoy a game. Plus, the nuclear reactors light up!
The best part: it’s practically new and was on sale for half of what the guy originally paid.
We walked back to Deejay’s house and I checked our reserves. I could cover half of it with funds from my “mad money” account, and Amos was an easy sell on the rest. Lifelong mission: accomplished.
Amos brought it home the next weekend, and with some help from Tina and Aaron, we got it set up and in the house. Since then, I have been a pinball wizard in training. In a rare feat, I beat out not one but TWO of Amos’s high scores this weekend. Perhaps some residual flu virus (which had me down Thurs/Fri/Sat) sharpened my concentration.
For those of you who don’t know, Amos and I got married on my birthday, so we’ve since referred to 9/29 as my “birthday-versary.” Next to getting hitched, I think this is my favorite birthday-versary present. I would *so* much rather have a pinball machine than the equivalent value in jewelry. Is that weird?