Pinball: Remembrances of a Flaneur

Marshall Barber shares an unfiltered account of what it was like growing up in the 1960s, coming to terms with his own sexuality while seeking refuge from psychological turmoil by playing pinball.

The game is a metaphor for the random rewards and punishments of a disordered universe, including the author’s near-death after a drunken car wreck. Somehow, he survived the accident—only to outrun a Kansas tornado, help a charismatic politician get out of politics, and lend aid to an addicted pain...