In 1966 there was a movie called Endless Summer. It was about a group of surfers who when around the world to find the best wave. That format was repeated for the best hill for snow boarding, or skateboarding, to mentioned a few. In the fall of 1980, a friend of mine though that it would be fun to have our own endless summer of pinball. Pinball machines took many forms and themes. We did not go around the world, instead we went around town. The design was to play every pinball machine than photograph it before moving on. The machines were works of art in themselves. Pinball machines had two pieces of art. There was the lower part, the playing field and the upright part showing scores, all in bright colors and flashing lights.
The playing field, was where the play took place. There was the plunger that set the ball in motion. Than there were a series of different kind of bumpers for which you might get points. There were other targets that added to points. Than there was the flipper that keep it all in play. They were art in themselves.
The uprights attracted attention. With their bright colors and bright lights. The sound of bells. The score changing. These older models had the rotating numbers but the newer ones had digital numbers. That was when the fun stopped, for me. These mid years machines were based on popular themes in movies or interesting concepts.
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