Hey so, this post kinda brought back an old memory or something from before I moved way back when, figured I'd bring it up.
I used to live in SoCal, and I'd hit my local pawnshop pretty regularly because times were tough, and it was a way to get by.
Anyways, one day I hit up a different pawnshop because it's kinda embarrassing when everyone knows who you are, one not too much further away, and they have this black and white pinball machine towards the back. I'm pretty sure it's the one everyone's been talking about.
I asked the owner (I'm pretty sure the other guy was on lunch), if it worked at all, and he said he was pretty sure it did and he'd give me a demonstration. And I know he turned it on, and there was this sound, and honest to god the rest is like white noise and static in my head when I try to think about it for too long.
I'm pretty sure I didn't even pawn the stuff I had come to bring in that day because the owner just... kept playing. That's the image that really sticks in my head. This older dude with his oversized gold watch and sleezy button up shirt and slacks and loafers just.. glued to this machine, unreachable.
I honestly thought it was some weird dream because the next day I went back again and the pawnshop was boarded up, like it had been closed for awhile. So I just went back to my usual shop, and haven't thought about it since now.
Anyone else from the area maybe stumble across this machine too? It's not uncommon for California to wind up with Japanese imports, but the whole thing still feels weird. Honestly I'm still half-convinced it was just a dream but I think that'd be even weirder, haha.
Let me know what you guys think! Maybe I can find some old photos of the local area on one of my old cameras.