The first time I had ever heard of pinball was when I was in elementary school. My father and his band (they're quite good, actually ? they weren't a proper band, but they had a cult following among people who worked in the same line of business) had decided to add a little bit of Elton John to their band's play list. The moment ?Pinball Wizard? started playing in the house, I perked up and ran over to where my dad was sitting listening to it. At first, I listened to how the song sounded ? back then, I used to be all about how songs sounded ? and then I finally heard the words. When I asked my father what ?pinball? was, he put the cassette tape on pause, turned to me thoughtfully, and said ?it's a very old game?. Then he told me about the original version of the song, performed by The Who (now one of my favorite classic bands) and in what context the song was written ? it was part of a concept album that was later turned into a film, and, later still, a stage play. After he had told me that, he began to describe the mechanics of pinball, and he mentioned that back when I was an infant, pinballs machines were still pretty much a common sight in arcades. By the time we were having that conversation, pinball machines have been packed away. I almost felt sad.

When I reached high school, I became exposed to a digital/virtual version of pinball as one of the games included in our computer's operating system ? it was, of course, very addictive, and I often played it with ?Pinball Wizard? on loop (either the Elton John version or the The Who version, both very good), fancying that I myself could someday become a Pinball Wizard myself. Of course, I knew deep down inside that this isn't exactly like ?real? pinball. So eventually, I stopped. But now, there is new hope: my Uncle is installing a in his game room. And it's only a matter of time...