Pinball, Jukeboxes and Earthquakes

3-28-13 6:00am Thurs. (1)

      I took a bike ride yesterday morning as was able to find SEC, the company that imports and services jukeboxes and pinball machines. I couldn’t find the address on MapQuest but Google Taiwan showed it on their street map of Da-Ya.

Address: 台中市大雅區神林南路513巷13號   Tel: 886-4-2560-2833 Fax:886-4-2560-1791  Email: sec.pc@msa.hinet.net

      I took a chance and rode there without calling.  I rode down the Han River bike trail to the Tan-Zih Bridge and through the old grade railroad crossing near Leona’s old home and down Tan-Xing Road past my eyeglass store. After finding the ware- house down a nondescript lane, I rang the door bell of the seemingly closed office. A man in his sixties named Mr. Hung came to the door with his wife. They let me in and Mrs. Hung made me a cup of coffee. When I walked in, I saw a brand new Avengers pinball machine and a used Rowe CD juke box from the ‘80’s. We sat in the office and I told him I was interested in buying the AC/DC Pinball Machine I saw on the website. Also, I was interested in buying a CD or 45 juke box. Our conversation in Mandarin could go just so far. He told me his daughters went to school in America and spoke English. Esther was in Taiwan now and could be contacted. He gave me her business card. I had to call Leona at home to speak with Mr. Hung and get more information.

He told her that they wouldn’t be getting more shipments of pinball machines for another nine months, however he had sold one six months ago to a man in southern Taiwan who wanted to re-sell it. New it would be 180,000NT ($6000us) but I could get it used for 165,000 ($5,500us). He said he would call the man and ask him if the pinball machine was still for sale and call me back. He then showed me the used Rowe CD jukebox. It still had the old labels from slots without CD’s and the three revolving DC’s in the top chamber needed a new motor to work. He plugged it in, the lights went on, but I heard no music from the three large speakers. He said the juke box would be re-conditioned and would be much cheaper than the almost new AC/DC pinball machine. My dream would be to get both of them for under $6,000. I told Leona she could make it my 60^th birthday present. It would be cheaper than a Jaguar. Originally I thought of only spending one grand but that would be impossible, unless I only get the juke box.

A 6.1 earthquake hit central Taiwan yesterday at 10:03am. It was the biggest earthquake here since the 7.2 in 1999 that killed 3,000 and destroyed many buildings and roads. Leona was here for that one, unluckily on a two week visit! This one cracked walls in our apartment and some buildings and roads, compromised some railroads, and rattled nerves. We, on the thirteenth floor, swayed and jumped for twenty seconds. The cats went crazy looking for a place to hide. A few drawers and the balcony doors were drawn open. A desk lamp fell. There have been three sizable earthquakes since we moved here in Oct. 2012. It feels like when you're standing on an elevated subway and the train stops at the last station. We were a little scared but okay.” I copied this paragraph onto my Facebook page and got well wishes from five people; Mike, Patty, Renna, Jessica, Robin, and Simone. Simone said she tried to call in the morning in Pittsburgh. I did get one ring while I was in class last evening but picked it up to no response. Jon, who didn’t know that his own state’s corrections boss was murdered last week did know that we had an earthquake in Taiwan and wrote me an e-mail. So did Selma. I copied and pasted the above paragraph to them, too. I will call Simone later or go on Skype.