COLUMN: Pinball machines remedy post-vacation blues

It was my annual saddest day of the year — the longest time before any return to the Outer Banks.

The end of a family vacation is always strangely emotional for me especially when I am crossing the Oregon Inlet Bridge. All the songs seem sadder on the playlist as the last few glimpses of the ocean are relegated to the rearview mirror.

It gets sad … country song sad, Morrissey sad or maybe even end of A River Runs Through It-level sad. The sadness lingers in the car like the smell of a half-closed packet of shrimp scented Gulps and Sonic burgers past. Then somewhere near Grandy, North Carolina, I had an idea to turn the post-vacation blues around.

Somewhere in Currituck County, a childlike quest for fun took control and the dark cloud of sadness lifted. As I crossed the last bridge out of the Banks, I thought about a place I discovered a few years back that looked like a simple (gas station/laundry mat) from the outside. The place is called Flippers Convenience and Arcade. This time I wanted my whole family to share in its magic.

As we entered the front door a blinking, zonking, beeping, rattling, humming, wonderland dedicated to youthful time mismanagement unfolded before us. Smiles emerged. Hours passed.

My wife and son battled it out on air hockey, my 10-year-old daughter went straight for the virtual reality googles. I made a beeline to a large backroom with a neon sign over the door that beamed Flippers Pinball Museum. This was what I remembered. 

There is something about the rows of vintage pinball machines that puts my mind on a nostalgic tilt. 

Strangely, I did not rush to play the machines. I went from machine-to-machine marveling at the art on the back glass. The countless bells, flippers, bonus blinkers and clanking silver balls on the playfield that were a fun part of my childhood in the 1970s and ’80s. It all seemed rather innocent compared to the legions of smart phone zombies that inhabit our world today. Remember the older folks saying, “Those arcades will ruin your life and turn you into a quarter scrounging delinquent!”

Good luck finding a game that costs a quarter now. Remember when MTV was an issue? 

We earned our fun one quarter at a time, not like you little WiFi leeches do now. 

Remember all the shady characters puffing Marlboros, showing off their first tattoos as they worked a pinball machine to earn a High Score? Remember Kelly Leak from the Bad News Bears?  

The best machines had back glass that honored horror movie icons, Playboy, Sci-Fi, rock bands and space aliens. I paused to lovingly stare at the KISS and Twilight Zone machines. So many memories of summer camps, skipped classes, old bowling alleys, pizza places and back-alley arcades flooded the mind.  

When I spoke to friends about my discovery many reflected with fondness about pinball machines and early video game stations tucked into stores and boardwalk arcades. Games like Pac-man, Tempest, Battle Zone, Space Invaders, Tetris, Donkey Kong, Defender and Galaga were the most popular. 

There were also fond memories of early home-based gaming platforms like Atari and Nintendo. The Tecmo Bowl battles with my brothers were legendary in our basement days. 

So, what happens when past amusements meet the present?

A friend in his 20s who now lives in New Orleans relayed his insight.  

“I’ve fallen in love with a local BBQ joint. They have four pinball machines. An old Playboy one, an Evel Knievel one too! I was lucky to find them. Young kids were running around overlooking them, as soon as I pulled the plunger, they all stopped what they were doing to watch. They had never seen such a thing. I gave a kid my last quarter and taught him how to play,” said William Campell.

In retrospect, our love for games is centered on the need for little escapes from the real world. It was true in the past, and it is true now. I needed a lift of mood and a brief escape from my post-vacation blues and those pinball machines provided it.

When I was in military school as a teen, we enjoyed our little escapes at places like Pinball Alley in Waynesboro. We squandered our precious quarters on pinball, pool, video games, Ciros pizza and nervous calls to girls. We even had this crazy thing called a phone booth.

The dance of the silver ball through bells, ramps, gates, and buzzers still holds a certain magic. Seeing Elvira, Mistress of the Dark light up on a bonus play just made me smile.