The happy place

There behind an anonymous gray steel door was a staircase leading downwards into

A flipper arcade.

There was an expert there, he even wore a badge around his neck

He could answer all of my questions about flipper, surprisingly I had a lot of them.

Did you know that they typically have the 7.5 degree angle (adjustable)?

And they are apparently pretty easy to repair? (He went ahead and showed me a manual which was very thick for something I myself would classify as easy to repair)

These games are like portals into these worlds they were displaying, Iron Maiden, Star Trek, fishing or whatever.

indeed they are marvels of art and engineering; I understand why some people find them fascinating

But man, they are excruciatingly boring to play, I think. I thought then that I never wanted to play flipper again.

But

I appreciated the mood, and seeing my friend having fun

Because they are my friends

I am rich that way