“If children are the rainbow of life, then grandchildren are the pot of gold.”
—Author unknown
Cecile and I accepted an invitation from our friends and neighbors, the Rothenbergs to bring our granddaughters Lyla and Emmy to an outdoor Spin Art Activity and a Pachinko-like Slot Game with their granddaughter Eliza. Their sons Clark was visiting from Austin, while Bennett and his wife Kristina, Eliza and baby Gus-whom I got a chance to cuddle with-were visiting from Chicago for the Thanksgiving Holiday.
Spin Art is a very popular activity for children. Check out the Amazon website and you will find an abundance of spin art machines or you can make a homemade one which my creative friend and biking buddy Bill Rothenberg did using a forty-year old record player he had in storage. For the canvas you can use thick paper or paper plates. Pick up a medium like tempera or activity paint, a smock, apron or old clothes and you’re all set to go. Emmy took to the spin art right away and turned out a couple of fun pieces. Lyla was more interested in the Pachinko-like game and being with Eliza. Bill created a modified version of the Japanese Pachinko in his and Sarah’s side yard, a game suited for kids and adults. It involves launching miniature striped and solid pin balls by feeding them up a crank delivery system Bill designed which goes into a feeding tube that leads to a slanted play board as seen in the photos and video clip.
As the balls drop down the board they randomly end up in numbered slots below. Each numbered spot is worth a certain amount of points. Bill added a little variation to the game by declaring if the grandkids choose the striped balls, they win, and if the grandpas choose the solids we win. Having met Bill and Sarah’s granddaughter Eliza from Chicago for the first time, she was shy during the spin art, but was very animated when she and Eliza won two out of three.
Postscript: Traditionally Pachinko machines can be found in Pachinko parlors. The earliest form of Pachinko was called “pachi-pachi” for the click-clacking, rolling sounds the balls make which is half the fun. Later, the game gained an adult audience and became known as Pachinko when the board was made vertical and prizes were offered. Takeichi Masamura became known as the Father of Pachinko.
