Flack
03-08-2004, 01:57 PM
After reading the story linked in the Death of an Arcade Machine (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30322) thread, I was compelled to type up this true story that happened to me when I was much younger.
When I was 16 years old I worked at Mazzio's, a local pizza chain restaurant. By not being a complete idiot (or at the very least by being SEMI-responsible) I was promoted to "shift manager". Besides working school nights, I also ran the weekend day shift.
On the weekends, there was only one employee who came in earlier than I did, a nice lady named Edna who was probably 55 years old or so. She came in around 8 in the morning on the weekends and started making the dough. For those who aren't familiar with the pizza industry, dough must be mixed and then left to "proof" for a couple of hours before it's ready to be used. Edna came in and started making the dough, and I usually came in shortly afterwards, some time between 8 AM and 8:30 AM.
One Friday night, our "videogame" guy came by to remove some of our old games and drop off some new ones. It just so happened that I was in charge that Friday night, so after we were all done with our closing duties we all fixed ourselves a beer or two (hey, that's what happens when you leave a 16 year old in charge) and played videogames and pinball into the wee hours of the night. One of the games the guy had dropped off was a "Black Knight" pinball machine. For those who have never been around one, it's an extremely chatty pinball machine which is constantly talking, especially in attract mode.
Somehow, between staying up way too late and drinking "one too many", I forgot to lock the front door of the store. This is what happened the following morning.
At 8 AM, Edna showed up to Mazzio's to begin her morning dough duties. When she went to unlock the front door she found it was already unlocked. Concerned that the store had been broken into, she slowly pulled the door opened and yelled out, "hello?" to see if anyone was still in the store. There was no answer. Edna began to slowly work her way through the store, still not completely convinced that she was alone.
The arcade "nook" was right next to the cash register and entrance to the kitchen. Right as Edna had just begun to relax and was standing directly next to the videogames, the pinball table announced, "I am the Black Knight. Prepare to die!"
Edna apparently stopped running somewhere between Eckard's and Homeland. When I pulled up to the restaurant just a few minutes later, there were three or four police cars at the door with lights flashing, and Edna was sitting on the curb with her head in her hands. I couldn't tell if she was laughing or crying, truth be told it was probably a little of both.
When I was 16 years old I worked at Mazzio's, a local pizza chain restaurant. By not being a complete idiot (or at the very least by being SEMI-responsible) I was promoted to "shift manager". Besides working school nights, I also ran the weekend day shift.
On the weekends, there was only one employee who came in earlier than I did, a nice lady named Edna who was probably 55 years old or so. She came in around 8 in the morning on the weekends and started making the dough. For those who aren't familiar with the pizza industry, dough must be mixed and then left to "proof" for a couple of hours before it's ready to be used. Edna came in and started making the dough, and I usually came in shortly afterwards, some time between 8 AM and 8:30 AM.
One Friday night, our "videogame" guy came by to remove some of our old games and drop off some new ones. It just so happened that I was in charge that Friday night, so after we were all done with our closing duties we all fixed ourselves a beer or two (hey, that's what happens when you leave a 16 year old in charge) and played videogames and pinball into the wee hours of the night. One of the games the guy had dropped off was a "Black Knight" pinball machine. For those who have never been around one, it's an extremely chatty pinball machine which is constantly talking, especially in attract mode.
Somehow, between staying up way too late and drinking "one too many", I forgot to lock the front door of the store. This is what happened the following morning.
At 8 AM, Edna showed up to Mazzio's to begin her morning dough duties. When she went to unlock the front door she found it was already unlocked. Concerned that the store had been broken into, she slowly pulled the door opened and yelled out, "hello?" to see if anyone was still in the store. There was no answer. Edna began to slowly work her way through the store, still not completely convinced that she was alone.
The arcade "nook" was right next to the cash register and entrance to the kitchen. Right as Edna had just begun to relax and was standing directly next to the videogames, the pinball table announced, "I am the Black Knight. Prepare to die!"
Edna apparently stopped running somewhere between Eckard's and Homeland. When I pulled up to the restaurant just a few minutes later, there were three or four police cars at the door with lights flashing, and Edna was sitting on the curb with her head in her hands. I couldn't tell if she was laughing or crying, truth be told it was probably a little of both.