This service call takes the freakin' cake.

After work today, I head off to 7375 Mountain Sights near Jean-Talon & Decarie. Adjacent to the Montreal SPCA, near car washes, clothing depots and body shops. I have been to some odd places to fix pinablls in my time, so I am pretty comfortable with all kinds of weirdos and oddballs, but this one still surprised me.

Up the stairs and past tacky paintings of domestic animals on the walls around me as I lugged my gear up two flights of stairs to a ratty waiting room full of sad looking folks with their sick pets. The receptionist had the most beautiful eyes however, and when I told her that I was here to repair a pinball machine, they sparkled with positive acknowledgment. She immediately led me in and through a side door which funneled me past cages of animals, examination tables and finally to an operating room where in a corner was, a Segasa "MONACO". I lay my tools down on a stainless steel table which was just the right height to do the call. Pretty handy, but still weird. What was a noisy EM doing in an operating room ?

Two hours later, the machine looked and played much better as the overall operation was restored. I went to get the receptionist, and she sent in the vet to play a few games and pay me. The only thing he asked was did I have any animals at home, and could we exchange services for the next time. I told him that I had an old cat, and he said that if I needed shots for him to bring him in. So now, after lawyers, dentists, doctors, car mechanics and vets with pinball machines all ready to barter services, I am missing one last profession. Yes, everybody seems to like pinball except people who are too unimaginative and boring to know that this life gig is short, brutal and sweet as that vet loaded up a needle to administer the big sleep to someone's pet on that stainless steel table from which I had just removed my tool box and supplies, - I hurried out. And as I left,  just a few seconds later I heard pinball chimes ring out through the sweet night air, and I thought to myself, all I need now is a service call in a funeral home.

Good night.

Quoted from RAB

and I thought to myself, all I need now is a service call in a funeral home.

Good night.

I sold a 60 in 1 too a local funeral home here London- delivered right to the embalming room!

My personal weirdest was picking up 2 pins located in a tire recycling factory's shop bathroom. JD and I still laugh about it...

I love the fact that all sorts of people like playing pinball, - rich, dum, poor, clever, annoying. smart, mean and stupid - it is almost worldwide. But due mainly to less exposure, and other silly things made popular in its' place, pinball is slowly being forgotten. I find it amazing to observe how people just let themselves grow away from this game, or just loose interest when it breaks down. These are the two best situationss to buy for those who are looking for games, - when people get impatient and/or fed up.

A loss of interest on the part of the owner, or the difficulty in finding a reasonable, reliable and competent repair person can cause frustration, and a create a need to sell off the troublesome machine quickly and painlessly. This can be good for many of you, as long as it doesn't get posted on Kijiji and/or Craigslist. That is when the screw-heads who understand nothing but "f*** you" money as a way of life begin to annoy most of us who simply believe that there are deeper levels to playing, fixing and enjoying pinball machines than making lots of money in one shot.

I believe that money is a bonus, and not really what defines the quality of a human being, and it doesn't make me think that one human being is "worth" more than another no matter how much that idea is pushed onto us. Making money is fun, but most dumb dumbs and greedheads take it to obscene levels, and hence help to take away the pleasure involved in just trying to do honest business and build social relationships without burning bridges and leaving bad feelings behind to fester as a consequence of their dealings.

Quoted from b1buwg97

I sold a 60 in 1 too a local funeral home here London- delivered right to the embalming room!

&

SPARKY -

"My personal weirdest was picking up 2 pins located in a tire recycling factory's shop bathroom. JD and I still laugh about it..."



I find both of these quotes to be perfect examples of what I am trying to express here.

First quote proves that everyone loves games and need them to release the day to day routine of whatever job they do.
Second quote proves that when people get fed up with machines they put them in strange places to get them out of sight.

It's all good.

Quoted Text

"My personal weirdest was picking up 2 pins located in a tire recycling factory's shop bathroom

I hope you sanitized the flipper buttons. Remember the thread about flipper button gunk?