The Pebble Issue 1

spotlight
For Ryan Zlomek, becoming an adult—
going out on his own, getting a job and
buying a house—was inevitable. But
he was determined to stay best friends with
his inner child.
When Zlomek bought his first house in
2013, in addition to considering the quality
of the heating system, the age of the roof,
and the size of the bedrooms, he made sure
his dream house had enough room for the
pinball machines he planned to collect.
“I had all of those things,” said Zlomek,
MPH’s tech teacher. “And then there was a
little footnote on every one that was, ‘Where
on Earth would I put the pinball machine?’”
During a trip to a family friend’s house
when he was 10, Zlomek discovered pinball—which
became his secret to never
having to truly grow up.
“I was like, ‘This is awesome. Adults
can have toys, cool toys—not like bank
accounts—but pinball machines,’” said
Zlomek, 29.
From there, Zlomek’s exposure
to pinball continued to
grow. Some of his most vivid
memories are of going to
arcades with his dad. His
favorite place to play
was Button’s Arcade in
Eastwood. Shortly
after he purchased
Zlomek keeps a machine in his classroom, Sky Kings, which he worked with several MPH
students to repair. Zlomek hopes to put the machine to good use at school.
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