C.O.C.A. Times

the order of the items auctioned, and the corresponding
numbers, but not notify the absentee bidders. I immedi-
ately called BP, told him to stop payment on our check,
and returned home in disgrace.
ment house with warm coffee and donuts. One of the
group was Billy, a fellow about 5'5" that you would
want with you if you were involved in a scrum for one
of the baseballs Barry Bonds had just launched into the
stands. With the help of this unforgettable band we were
able to get the arcade out of the warehouse via piano leg
rollers and hoist it onto the bed of the truck.
To say I was the brunt of every joke my friends could
think of for the next week would be an understatement.
Then there was the Godfather bet. One Cleveland col-
lector called offering a tip on where I could buy another
foosball game for $700. I finally took the coward's way
out and stopped taking calls. Fortunately for me, my wife
informed me when I came home the next evening that
Tom McDonald was on the phone. "Just what I need" I
thought, "another jokester friend." So T calmly waited
for the joke that did not come. Tom informed me that he
had heard of my mis fortune and had decided to call me
with both good news and bad news. The good news was
that, because of his poor health and our friendship, he
was giving me his Hershey Park Chester Pollard. The
bad news was that he was moving to Florida and had to
give up his warehouse near his New Jersey home by the
end of the week, so that T had to show up that weekend
to get my machine. I waited. No punch line.
My ordeal was not over when I returned home. I knew
T wasn't going to get Chester very far into the house,
where there was little room, so I quickly dumped it on
the kitchen floor with Larry's help in the only spot it
would fit, a spot where it still sits today, complete with
the piano leg rollers still underneath. Unfortunately my
wife, daughter and granddaughter watched in horror as
the action took place. I'll always remember how every-
one, including me, left the house post haste to allow
sufficient time for Cindy to cool off. In time, she did,
no doubt in part by watching at family gatherings as my
son and grandson played the arcade while my grand-
daughter waited to take on the winner. But she never
has shared my enthusiasm about how well it fits in our
kitchen.
As you can imagine, my friend Larry and I were on
the road for Princeton, New Jersey the next weekend
in his cab truck all set to pick up my sawed-off Chester
Pollard. When we arrived to meet Tom, the good news
was that old Chester barely fit into the truck. The bad
news was that we couldn't lift it. "No problem," said
Tom, who had us pile into his truck to get help he had
arranged the night before. But there was a problem, be-
cause we found that the help was hung over. I'll never
forget hearing Tom honk his horn and yell on that cold
Saturday morning as he cajoled them out of an apart-
E-Mail: Jbgum@msn.com
So, there you have it, how I acquired my Hershey Park
Chester Pollard for free thanks to all the craziness and
to good friends. The fun of the hobby involves remem-
bering all this when I look at old Chester. And, I must
confess I think of my good friend Tom McDonald and
occasionally wonder if it really was his warehouse we
were at that Saturday morning. I quit wondering about
the authenticity of the Hershey Park connection when I
saw the writing stenciled onto the machine. Thank you
Tom, wherever you are.
SLOT MACHINES
CEL: 262-203-0036
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Paul Hindin
3712 W. Scenic Ave.
l\•lcquon. WI 53092
262-242-3131 01· 414-559-9681
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32