Nate Beaty's WRJ Dream Machine!

Whenever a friend comes to visit either Jon or me in White River Junction, we always take them around to the local haunts to play some pinball.  Last February, one of my oldest comics pals, Nate Beaty came to town.  Here's a photo of him playing the T2 machine in the back of the pizza place, with me and Max:

The next night we took Nate up to the bowling alley, where they had Scared Stiff and Last Action Hero.  Nate had an amazing game on Scared Stiff, and was about one shot away from beating the entire board.  It was a super fun night.  A few weeks later, Nate posted this illustration of me, Max and Jon playing a White River Junction themed Dream Machine!  

(click image to see it larger in Nate's Flickr)

If you've ever been to White River Junction, you know that this illustration is LOADED with in-jokes.  Note the slingshot covers are Vermont and New Hampshire, with the connecticut river running right down the middle.  At the base of the ramps you can see a bus and a bowling lane (the bus station and bowling alley are both on top of the hill).  The school where Jon and I teach, CCS, is right at the back of the playfield (awarding "BIG POINTS" - a wink at Nate's favorite line from the T2 pin) and the outbound lanes are labeled "Drop Out" and "Move."  You can even see the school's mascot, Inky Solomon battling some bowling pins on the backglass!

You can check out more of Nate's awesome illustration work and photography on his website.