Betsy Snow White Bibliophile

Tag: Library Love

  • Pinball Wizard (Or Something Like it)

    Pinball Wizard (Or Something Like it)

    Today I got a chance to play on my favorite pinball machine for the first time in years. It is this machine:

    This is a machine based off of the Broadway Musical version of The Who’s Tommy.

    First you need to know that when I was eleven or twelve my older sister, Krystie, bought us tickets to the Broadway in Columbus production of The Who’s Tommy. I had never even heard the music and I was blown away by the production, the music, everything was just amazing.

    Later that year we went as a family to Cedar Point. My cousin, Lynsi, and I were given some money (I was given $40) and we were sent off to the arcade to play for an hour. As we walked in I saw it, a The Who’s Tommy Pinball Machine.

    Immediately I walked over and as soon as I could exchange cash for coin I began to play. I am not a pinball wizard, but I love to play and this machine played just the way I liked. And as you played and your score rose the machine would play snippets of songs from the musical.

    Before I knew it I had spent all $40 of my dollars on this machine. My mom came to find us and when she realized what had happened she forbade me from setting foot in an arcade again.

    Now, for most people they would understand that she meant I should never spend money on a game like that again, but my probably neurodivergent ass took it literally. So when my friends would go into the arcade in our local mall I would wait outside for them and read a book or something (I am an elder millenial so there were no smart phones then).

    When my mom found this out when I was 18 or so, she was horrified. She of course did not intend for me to literally never set foot in an arcade again. But, regardless of intention that is what I took from it.

    The Who’s Tommy is still my favorite machine ( The Addams Family is a close second) in spite of all the weirdness. I remain not great at pinball, but I still love it. And I can still sing the whole soundtrack to the musical. ❤️

    This machine was at the Main Branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library on loan from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. My husband took me to play it today for my birthday. It was also the Big Book Sale at the Library so I bought a bunch of books too. A good day!

  • Written Word Wednesday: The Evening of Writing Uncontrollably

    Written Word Wednesday: The Evening of Writing Uncontrollably

    The Evening of Writing Uncontrolably was this past Saturday at the Wagnalls Memorial Library in Lithopolis, Ohio. My little sister, Traci,  came along to write with me, and we were joined by my friends Jill, Angie and Melissa. Traci and I got there and settled in a nice little nook in the fiction section between Janet Evanovich and Diana Gabaldon. Above us to the right was a bust of Shakespeare. It seemed like the perfect place to write. We settled in and got ourselves all spread out and happy.

    Jill came in a bit later, and was laughing because we had chosen the exact place she always uses when she goes to the library to write, which is often. I thought it must speak highly of the space. She went to get a snack and wander a bit, but eventually came back to settle in with us. Angie and Melissa came in after an hour or so, and joined us in our nook.

    I managed to write 2,866 words in the 5 hours we were there. That was with many drink, snack and bathroom breaks. And breaks to take photos in the beautiful library. We left at midnight, though we could have stayed until 2am. There is a strange naughty feeling being in a library after hours that I cannot explain though we all were feeling it. I felt like the night was successful, and fun, and I am so glad I went.

    I am probably (definitely) not going to win NaNoWriMo this year, but I have learned a lot about myself and my writing style. I am excited to try it again another time, maybe when I am not actively taking classes at the same time. I am glad that I tried though, and glad that I have worked on developing a short story into an actual novel, and one I will continue to work on. That makes the month a pretty big success to me.