# Episode 159. Remembering David Taylor

**Source:** Pinball Profile  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2018-10-11  
**Duration:** 26m 12s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.pinballprofile.com/episode-159-remembering-david-taylor/

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## Analysis

Pinball Profile host Jeff Teolis dedicates Episode 159 to memorializing David Taylor from Birmingham, Alabama, who recently passed away from cancer. Through interviews with Chris Warren (Alabama IFPA Director), Greg Pavarelli (NYC tournament player), and Will Cruza (Nashville pinball friend), the episode celebrates David's infectious personality, his passion for pinball tournaments and live music, his devotion to family, and his profound impact across the pinball community despite knowing people for relatively short periods.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] David Taylor passed away from cancer after a rapid illness, progressing from hospital admission to ICU to death within approximately one month — _Jeff Teolis and Chris Warren's direct statements about timeline of hospitalization and death_
- [HIGH] David Taylor's wife Eileen donated one of her kidneys to David in a kidney transplant before his death — _Chris Warren: 'I'd known David for a little while before I found out he had, before I ever met David, he had had a kidney transplant. And it was his wife, Eileen, who actually donated the kidney to him'_
- [HIGH] David Taylor was 46 years old at the time of his death — _Chris Warren: 'you know, I'm 53 and he's 46, So he was younger than me but not a lot younger than me'_
- [HIGH] David Taylor was an Alabama football season ticket holder and passionate Slayer and Metallica fan who traveled to see live shows — _Chris Warren and Will Cruza descriptions of David's interests and concert attendance_
- [HIGH] David Taylor qualified for the Buffalo pinball tournament, which was one of his greatest pinball achievements — _Will Cruza: 'One of his greatest pinball achievements was qualifying for Buffalo'_
- [HIGH] David Taylor was transitioning from B-division to A-division in pinball competition and had won B division at Pin Vision 3 — _Will Cruza: 'he had won B division of pin vision three, and he was slowly making the transition from B to A'_
- [HIGH] Jeff Teolis had previously interviewed Ted Nugent, and David Taylor reached out after seeing that interview to express appreciation — _Jeff Teolis: 'I never would have met David if it wasn't for that interview because that's when he reached out to me'_
- [HIGH] Greg Pavarelli experienced cancer and illness in 2018, and David Taylor was supportive when they met at Buffalo tournament — _Greg Pavarelli: 'I've played with David a couple times over the years, definitely seen him at tournaments... at Buffalo it was kind of clear that I was sick'_

### Notable Quotes

> "He was always trying to experience life to the fullest at all times."
> — **Chris Warren**, ~28:00
> _Captures David Taylor's defining life philosophy and energy_

> "I just got to get better so I can come over with you and Paula and we'll have a night of pinball."
> — **David Taylor**, ~19:00
> _One of David's last statements, showing his priorities and love for pinball and friendship; poignant given his death shortly after_

> "You can sleep when you die. So he was just a go-getter, always active."
> — **Chris Warren (quoting David Taylor)**, ~26:00
> _Encapsulates David's philosophy and energy; tragically ironic in retrospect_

> "It's more of the people that you get to meet... I never would have met you, Greg, and now I consider you a great friend."
> — **Jeff Teolis**, ~40:00
> _Reflects on how pinball serves as a catalyst for deep human connections, exemplified by David_

> "David, you were way, way too young, full of life, but you left us with some amazing memories."
> — **Jeff Teolis**, ~60:00
> _Final tribute summarizing David's impact and the grief of losing someone taken too soon_

> "He was really into it. You can look at his IFPA profile, and you can see how many events he participated in in a relatively short period of time."
> — **Chris Warren**, ~10:00
> _Establishes David's rapid integration into and passionate commitment to the pinball community_

> "Not many people were doing that. And David was one of those guys. And I just thought that was really cool."
> — **Will Cruza**, ~48:00
> _Demonstrates David's genuine interest and support for other players, even when not competing himself_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| David Taylor | person | Pinball enthusiast from Birmingham, Alabama; passed away from cancer; passionate about pinball tournaments, live music (Slayer, Metallica), and family; known for infectious personality and generosity |
| Jeff Teolis | person | Host of Pinball Profile podcast; close friend of David Taylor; shared numerous tournament and leisure experiences with him; uses this episode to celebrate David's life and impact |
| Chris Warren | person | Alabama State IFPA Director; longtime friend of David Taylor in Birmingham; participated in multiple pinball tournaments and social events with him; helped organize the Yingling Fireball Invitational in David's honor |
| Greg Pavarelli | person | Pinball tournament player from New York City; cancer survivor (2018); met David at multiple tournaments; experienced David's supportive nature; upcoming guest on Slam Tilt Podcast |
| Will Cruza | person | Pinball player from Nashville; met David at Louisville Arcade Expo; became close friend through pinball and music interests; David attended Team USA soccer matches with Will and his wife |
| Eileen Taylor | person | David Taylor's wife; donated kidney to David prior to his death; deeply loved by David; from Panama; survivor mourning David's loss |
| Pinball Profile | organization | Long-running interview podcast series hosted by Jeff Teolis; platform for this memorial episode; has active Facebook community engagement |
| Louisville Arcade Expo | event | Pinball tournament/gaming event where David Taylor met multiple friends; occurred in Louisville, Kentucky; location of memorable social gathering with fireman/security guard incident |
| Buffalo tournament | event | Major pinball tournament where David Taylor qualified; represented significant achievement in his competitive pinball career |
| Slam Tilt Podcast | organization | Pinball podcast hosted by Bruce and Ron; Greg Pavarelli scheduled to appear to discuss his cancer experience |
| IFPA | organization | International Federation of Pinball Associations; organization tracking competitive pinball rankings and sanctioning tournaments David participated in |
| Pin Vision 3 | event | Pinball tournament where David Taylor won B-division competition |
| Freeplay Florida | event | Upcoming pinball event that Chris Warren, Will Cruza, and Jeff Teolis plan to attend together in David Taylor's honor |
| Seneca Casino | location | Casino venue in Buffalo area where Chris Warren, David Taylor, and Jeff Teolis gathered after a tournament and discussed Drew Sedonia's father passing |
| Tim Street | person | Pinball community member; longtime in the scene; traveled with Chris Warren and David Taylor to Louisville Arcade Expo |
| Drew Sedonia | person | Pinball community member whose father passed away; David Taylor was supportive during this loss |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Death, grief, and memorialization in the pinball community, David Taylor's personality, relationships, and impact across pinball networks, Pinball tournament participation and competitive progression, Community support and friendship networks in pinball culture, Rapid cancer illness and hospitalization experience
- **Secondary:** Shared travel, social gatherings, and camaraderie among pinball players, David's passion for live music (metal, heavy music genres), Family bonds and spousal support (kidney transplant, marriage)

### Sentiment

**Negative** (-0.85) — Deeply sorrowful memorial episode centered on loss of a beloved community member. Hosts and guests express genuine grief, fondness, and memories. Despite the somber occasion, there are moments of warmth, humor, and celebration of David's life. The overall tone is one of mourning coupled with gratitude for having known him. The community's collective outpouring of support and affection moderates the severity but does not override the fundamental sadness.

### Signals

- **[event_signal]** Memorial episode elevating David Taylor's impact across pinball networks; demonstrates how central figures' deaths ripple through tight-knit community (confidence: high) — Jeff Teolis dedicates full episode; multiple guests from different regions (Alabama, New York, Nashville) share personal experiences; widespread Facebook posts from community members
- **[sentiment_shift]** Widespread affection for David Taylor across geographically dispersed pinball networks; demonstrates how shared passion creates lasting friendships across regions (confidence: high) — Friends from Alabama, New York, Nashville, Kentucky, Canada share personal anecdotes; multiple independent testimonials to his personality and generosity; regular tournament meetings and road trips created bonds
- **[community_signal]** Pinball community rallying around grieving friends and cancer patients; supportive culture demonstrated through social media outreach and tournament encouragement (confidence: high) — Greg Pavarelli's cancer experience met with community support; David encouraged other players during competitions; Facebook posts from multiple community members; willingness of guests to appear on tribute episode
- **[community_signal]** David Taylor exemplified passion-driven engagement with pinball despite short tenure in competitive scene; rapid tournament participation and B-to-A division progression (confidence: high) — Chris Warren: 'he just jumped in with both feet'; Will Cruza describes David's extensive tournament travel; qualification for Buffalo noted as major achievement; participation in multiple regional events within 3.5 years

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## Transcript

 As always, thank you for listening to this Pinball Profile. My name is Jeff Teolis. No intros today, no double meaning songs. It's in fact a day that we buried David Taylor from Birmingham, Alabama. And it's a sad, sad day for many. If you don't know who David was, I ask of you to listen to this podcast to see how he touched so many different people and what he meant to others, not just in his family, not just in his city, but across the entire pinball community. It's very rare that I'm at a loss for words, but this one really hurt. In fact, on Saturday this past weekend, I woke up getting ready to book TPF and went on the internet, saw the news that David had passed away by many different posts on Facebook, and it's all I could think of the whole entire weekend. I even forgot to book TPF. Like others, when you lose somebody that you care about, it definitely hurts, and people mourn in different ways, and there is no wrong way to mourn. It's however you want to remember the person. Obviously, there are people that are extremely sad and have some difficulty for some time in dealing with death. And there are others that are really good at celebrating the life of the person they lost. And that's kind of what I'm hoping to do today. A few years ago, I had to speak at my Uncle Jeff's funeral. Certainly, it was unexpected when my Uncle Jeff committed suicide. I know he was somebody that meant the world to me. My Uncle Jeff was only three years older than I was. In fact, I was named after him. So he was more like a big brother to me. He lived across the street. I idolized him. He was the funniest person I knew. So as tough as it was to speak that funeral, I just wanted people to remember the good times and remember when he was healthy. When we lose somebody, for me, it's natural to think of some of the other people that we've lost in our lives. And for those mourning David Taylor, I hope you find that strength that you can do the same. Remember the good times. Remember when David made you smile because he was always smiling. What's going to make this easier for me to do is that there are other people that have reached out and said some wonderful things about David Taylor. When I posted that he was sick on my Facebook pinball profile page, a lot of people made some lovely comments about David. Alex Huffman wrote, One of the best guys I knew. He'll be deeply missed. Bruce Nightingale, who had his own battle, talked about how he was sorry for the family loss and how cancer sucks. Hear, hear, Bruce. Beth Centuria from New York talked about how she always enjoyed her conversations with David. Ian Ian Harrower shared the same message. Levy Naiman, Jack Danger, they both talked about how they had no idea how he was ill. It came on pretty quick, as we'll talk about in a little bit. They also mentioned about his great sense of humor and his smile on his face and his bright attitude. Josh Noble wrote that David was a great guy and he single-handedly helped him get a 12 at Pinberg this year with his heavy metal meltdown tips and knowledge of how Aerosmith was playing. There are other nice notes from Sanjay Shah, Charlie Norris, David Yopp. You can find those on the Facebook page of Pinball Profile, and please add to them, too. I'm sure the family would appreciate it. Those are some of the people that shared their thoughts. There are others that wanted to share their thoughts, and I thought I'd give them a call, including the Alabama State IFPA Director and good friend of David, who lives in Birmingham as well. He joins us right now. Chris Warren. Chris, thanks very much for doing this on a difficult time, for sure. Yeah, it's not the cheeriest of times, but it's good to talk about David Taylor and the legacy that he left and the pinball side of David. When someone passes away, it's easy to mourn, and we certainly are doing that as many people across the pinball community are thinking of David. But I like to remember the good times, and boy, if there was a guy whose nickname was Mr. Good Time, it would be David Taylor. He was a fun guy to be around, and you've known him for a few years there in Alabama. Yes, I met David right at the end of 2015. And he wanted to play in our league, but it was too late in the season to join in. But he came to our Game of Thrones launch party and did really well in it. You know, he just jumped in with both feet. I mean, you can look at his IFPA profile, and you can see how many events he participated in in a relatively short period of time. He was really into it. Yeah, he definitely was into it. And I know we've gotten together on several occasions, not just David, myself, but you as well. And I think of some good times we might have had in Louisville, Kentucky. That was a lot of fun. Yep. Fireball shots. That was one of David's things. In fact, it's funny. We did a little tournament at his house one time, but it was not an IFPA tournament. It was more of just a fun thing. But, you know, we just did a little small tournament. We ran it on Match Play, and I named that tournament the Yingling Fireball Invitational, in David's honor. Yes, fireball sometimes has led to maybe some not-so-wise decisions. And David and I had a good one in Louisville, Kentucky that we were able to laugh about later. And, Chris, you actually got out of there right in time. We were at that bar. You know, everything closed down for the night. And it's not like I'm a big drinker by any means. In fact, I can't remember the last drink I had at my house. But when you go on these trips and you're stuck at a hotel and you've got nowhere else to go, hey, what the heck? You don't have any responsibilities. You don't have to go to work. Why not have a little bit of fun? So David, myself, the bar closed, and this guy who we were talking to at this bar said, I've got a bunch of drinks upstairs. So why not? Right, Chris? I think you bailed at that point. David and I went up in the elevator. The rest of that story, which I haven't shared on Pinball Profile or anywhere, and boy, did we laugh about it, was everything was fine until that fireman thought it would be great to show everybody, hey, check out my gun. And I quickly sobered up and went, I'm out of here. And he's like, no, no, it's not loaded. I'm like, sorry, 3 a.m., guns, drunk, hotel room, Kentucky, I'm out of there. yeah i heard that story from david and and uh timothy uh about once the once the gun came out jeff was gone i've never fired a gun i have nothing against him it's just not my thing and he's like oh no the clip's off i'm like did you take the one out of the chamber like i don't even want to find out beat it i'm out of here after that david thought it would be a neat idea to redo that trip just without the guns maybe at pinberg and he showed me all these bottles of fireball whiskey and some other things. And I said, hey, man, I can't do that. I'm bringing my kids to Pinburg but maybe another time And we had other times since then too And the Buffalo Pinball Summer Open where three of us were all asked together too and that was a good time And after the show was all done, we went to the Seneca Casino, and sadly at that time we were all talking about Drew Sedonia and his father passing away, and that was a tough time. But David was there for Drew, and he was just a good guy all around. Yeah, he was. Yeah, that was kind of something that, you know, it was a thing that happened unexpectedly with Drew's father. And then, you know, probably less than two months later, David was gone. It was a real shocker, a real shocker. But, you know, he was a great guy. He was a huge, huge Alabama fan. He was a season ticket holder for many, many years. And he would grill out extravagant stuff. And he would always be getting ready for the ball game. I mean, if he wasn't at the game, he would be at home, and he would text me what was on his grill that day and stuff like that. And I would send him what little thing I had going on. His was always this really extravagant stuff on the big green egg he was cooking. It was something else, man. I certainly got to meet him and you through pinball, but it was the other things that I was really interested in about David. And he knew I liked music a lot, and his nickname for me actually was Red Barchetta, as the Rush song goes. And he's also a former Ginger too. I got a kick out of his love for Slayer, and he saw that band several times. And it warms my heart to know that this summer he got to not only see the band play in maybe one of their last shows, but he ponied up and he got to go backstage and meet his heroes. And I always like hearing stories like that. He was very much into that. I remember when I had known him all that long, he was telling me, oh yeah, we're flying to either Michigan or Minnesota to go up there specifically just to see Metallica and then fly back home. And, yeah, he went to Slayer, and, yeah, he paid for the VIP package where he got to go backstage and meet the guys and get their autographs and everything, and that was kind of like a lifelong dream to him. He was such a big Slayer fan. And then, you know, there was not long. Me and you were talking about this. It was not long before that Buffalo trip that David and I saw Ted Nugent together, right here at a little small club in Birmingham. Probably could have been more than 600 or 800 people there. And he just loved to go see live music. And his tastes varied, too, I'll tell you, because he loved the heavy metal and the Slayer and the stuff like that. But he also loved a group called Die Antwoord, if you've ever heard of Die Antwoord. Yolandi Visser and Ninja. It's a rap group from South Africa. And he was really into them. And so whenever we'd go on these trips that were drivable, like driving to Atlanta or driving to Louisville, trips like that, he would have the Diane. We'd crank it up in the car. It was awesome. You know, Chris, that's funny you should mention that about Ted Nugent because I did that interview with Ted Nugent, and a lot of people didn't like that I did the interview, and I respect that. And I also tell everyone, if you don't like it, don't listen. But there are people out there that actually do like the person, and I never would have met David if it wasn't for that interview because that's when he reached out to me and said, hey, I just saw him in concert with Chris, and I loved your interview, and it was a good show. So if that alone was the only reason I did that, I'm glad I got to meet somebody, and David and yourself as well too. And the one other thing that always comes to mind too, and you would know this more, especially being there right in Birmingham, Alabama, every single time I talk to David, at some point in that conversation, we talked about our families, and man, did he love his wife. And I know Eileen loved David, too, and I'm really thinking a lot about her, too. Yep, yep. You know, I'd known David for a little while before I found out he had, before I ever met David, he had had a kidney transplant. And it was his wife, Eileen, who actually donated the kidney to him, so they had a real bond there, you know. But, yeah, even though he didn't have children, you know, he was a real family man. and his extended family just goes on and on. In fact, the funeral is Thursday, and I will actually get to meet a lot of his extended family that I've never met before. Yeah, there's a lot of people that he's certainly touched, and not just in Alabama but all across North America and probably the world too. He's just a great guy and going to be missed. It's such an aggressive form of cancer that he had. I mean, he called you. He called me two weeks ago. I was actually able to see him through FaceTime, and it was very heartwarming to talk to him. And at the time, sadly, he said, you know, I think the worst is over and we'll see what happens with chemo starting next week. And then, unfortunately, as we know, ICU and didn't come out of it, but certainly gave it a great fight. And, man, I'm going to miss the guy. And as you know, the three of us were staying together at Freeplay Florida, and we'll have to have a drink in his honor. Yes, we will. We're going to still do this thing, and we'll do it in David's honor for sure. But back to what you were saying about the quickness of it, he called me. He had been in the hospital for a little while, and he called me. It was just a few hours before he was going to begin his chemo. And he sounded really weak, but he had good spirits. And he was like, you know, I just got to beat this thing. And one of the last things he said to me was, you know, I just got to get better so I can come over with you and Paula and we'll have a night of pinball. And that was one of the last things that he said to me. So shortly after that, he was moved to the ICU. And within a month of him being admitted in the hospital, he was gone. It was an extremely quick thing. Yeah, he went through hell for sure for those sad weeks. And when I talked to him on Facebook, he said, you know, I'm feeling better. I know I look like hell. And I said to him, David, you've never looked good, so don't worry about that. And he got a laugh. And I said, man, I love you, brother. and Roll Tide, and he gave me the Roll Tide, and that's how he ended it. I wish there was more of that, but it's always nice to let the people that you care about know how you feel about them, and I was glad to let David know that, and he really was an important part of my pinball life, and just, you know, I want more people like that in my life because he's a good guy. Yeah, he was. He was one of those just always active, and it blew my mind sometimes how I'm 53 and he's 46, So he was younger than me but not a lot younger than me And it would blow my mind that he was you know I mean it would be a weeknight at 8 and I be texting him He like oh I got to go Me and Phil are fixing to walk into a movie, you know, or he and his wife would be out to dinner, and it'd be nine o'clock on a weeknight, and they just, he was just always about go, go, go, and in fact, you know, I tend to sleep a lot, and more than one occasion, David told me, come on, man, you can sleep when you die, So he was just a go-getter, always active. It just amazed me that he had that much energy because I don't have that energy. I'm only a few more years ahead than he was. So he was always trying to experience life to the fullest at all times. He did indeed. Chris, thanks very much, and I'll see you in a few weeks. Okay, Jeff. Thanks. It was easy for Chris to cross paths with David because they were in the same city. but as I've said here in near Toronto, Canada, David really reached out to a lot of different people. Another person who goes to a lot of tournaments and saw David, Greg Pavarelli in New York City. Greg, thanks for coming on today. Jeff, how are you doing? Good, and it's good to be talking to you too as we talk about David and what he went through in just a short time with his cancer, and I don't need to talk to you about that. You've certainly had your scare here in 2018, and David actually opened up to you about it, didn't he? Yeah, you know, I've played with David a couple times over the years, definitely seen him at tournaments, really nice guy. And I think in Buffalo, it was kind of clear that I was sick or not myself as, you know, I lost my hair and I lost a lot of weight, didn't look like myself. And he definitely approached me and gave me some kind words of support. And we chatted, had a nice talk, talked about hanging out afterwards, actually. Such a nice guy and a really, really supportive person for me when I was in Buffalo. And I actually didn't even know he was sick. It's just one of those things where we have such a great community in the pinball community. Everybody's so close with one another. It's like seeing family when we go to these things, you know? You're right, Greg. When you talk about the support of the pinball community, and I see it on social media too with so many people reaching out to those that are sick, whether it be yourself or other people too, especially in the New York area, there's a really, really touching story, is I see a lot of people travel to see, let's just call her this angel in New York. And I don't want to say her name because I don't know if she wants that out there or her husband. But definitely we're all seeing those posts on Facebook of the support for people who are certainly going through some tough times. And you've been there. You obviously saw the support as well. It's nice to know that community is out there. Yeah, you know, it's a lot of people fighting battles at the same time. And it really is a humbling experience when you're going through such a tough time and other friends are as well, but there's so many people out there that care about you. And I really would say that, you know, I found a lot of, for lack of a better word, I found support just going out to the pinball stuff and being there with friends and family and feeling like I was doing my normal thing. And definitely it's just like an extended family everywhere you go. You travel all these cities all across the country, and you're there to have a good time and enjoy something that you're passionate about. But at the same time, it's really touching the way that the pinball community really did stand behind me. And I appreciated that very much. And I know so many of us are sad about David. Nothing but great memories of the times that I had with him. Yeah, Greg, that's probably now my favorite thing about going to these events. You can play pinball anywhere. And you can even play it at your home if you're lucky enough. And it's more of the people that you get to meet. And there are people from all walks of life. And you really get to know them on a personal level, like yourself. You know, I never would have met you, Greg. and how many times do you think of us talking to each other? Never would have met you if it wasn't for pinball, and now I consider you a great friend. And your story and what you've gone through, we're going to be hearing a little bit more, and I do want to plug it because they're great guys and you're a great guy. You're going to be on Slam Tilt Podcast coming up very, very soon, this month, in fact, to share your story with Bruce and Ron, and I recommend everyone listen to that. And glad to see you're doing well, and I know I'll see you very soon. Yeah, absolutely. It's definitely one of those things where good friends like yourself that I've made over the last couple of years. It wouldn't be the same if it wasn't for all of us nuts traveling and playing tons of pinball. But those friends are going to be for life probably. I value that very much. And, yeah, looking forward to speaking more about it on Slim Tilt. And thanks for having me on. Rest in peace, David. All my condolences to his family. Another person with some fond memories of David Taylor would be Will Cruza of Nashville. And Will joins us right now. Hey, Will, thanks very much for doing this. Hey, no problem. I actually met you through David. You came up to the Louisville Arcade Expo with David, and David drove and picked you up. I guess Nashville's on the way, so he picked you up, and Tim Street was there, and Chris. I'm not surprised he has so many different friends from all over. Yeah, David, I have a little girl, a seven-year-old, so it's difficult for me to make a lot of the tournaments and the big shows, because they almost predominantly happen on the weekend. But David would travel. I mean, he's been to Indisc. He's been to Buffalo. He's been to, he went to Cleveland. So all over. So a lot of different pinball players know him all over the country. I met David, I'd say, I only actually knew him for about three and a half years. But we actually met at the Louisville Arcade Expo. He had come up with Chris Warren and Timmy Street, who Chris has been in the scene forever. And we would go to shows together. And we ended up, it was about three years ago, and we ended up at a taco place that had various tequilas that you could try and sample, right? For those who are listening who don't know, Chris Warren does not actually drink at all, and Timmy Street was 18 at the time. So David wanted to try some tequila, and I was game. And through the magic of tequila and just conversation, we really hit it off and had a lot in common. And he's one of the few people that I actually hung out with outside of pinball because the thing about David is he also really loved music, and he loved Slayer, Metallica, and a lot of those bands would come to Nashville, Bridgestone. So he would frequent up here into the Nashville area, and while he was in town, he would hit me up, and we'd go out, and we'd have some beers. He was also an avid soccer fan, and Nashville just got a soccer team, but they would do like Team USA would play Team Panama, so he and his wife would come up. His wife is actually from Panama Yeah he definitely loved music And kind of like Chris Warren I not a big drinker myself although if I in Vegas and they handing it to you for free and you don have to go anywhere hit me up I all about it It a lot of fun or whatever I seem to recall outside the back of David's truck a different story. Well, that's the same thing, all right? So David pulls up in his great car, and you're there, and that's when I met you and Chris, and he pulls up. I didn't know this came with a car. The car had a bar in it pretty much and uh that was great especially when the bar is closed david frequently traveled with a bar and it was he always had some bourbon or some fireball he was always willing to share i think my first glass of bourbon i've ever had was with david and yourself and i can tell you right now it's going to be the last one i know sorry kentucky i know you like those distilleries and my goodness, I'll use bourbon, but it's going in my gas tank. That stuff is pure fire, fireball I can do, not bourbon. It was too strong for my liking, but that was a good trip. So you actually have the truth to what happened that weird night when the bar closed and we met somebody who was a fireman or something like that. He worked security, so he was just there at the bar, and he had a penthouse suite at the hotel. This wasn't where the Louisville show was. It was a hotel right beside it. It's right beside it. And this guy had a room up in the penthouse, and the bar had just closed, and he said he had some good bourbon, Kentucky bourbon. Would we like to partake in it? And we had had a few, as have yourself and David. So we said, sure. How far is it, and does the elevator get us there? Is there walking involved? No, we're good. All right, let's do it. It was right there. And he invited us up, and sure enough, he had some, I forget the brand, but he had some really good Kentucky bourbon. It was a local place. But we were drinking the bourbon, and you had gone to the bathroom. Sure. It was a sausage party, and I had to make sure I looked great, and everything was fine for all you good Kentucky boys and Tennessee boys and Alabama boys. You know, we love our redheaded Canadians down south. So, yeah, you went into the bathroom, and he was a security guard, so he had a firearm, and he took the bullets out, and he took the bullet out of the chamber just to show us the type of gun he had, and David and I were looking at it. And you exited the bathroom as he had his gun out, and we were kind of looking at it. You freaked out a little bit. I freaked out. I just said, see you guys, I'm out of here. Yeah, naturally, naturally. And we were trying to, whoa, it's okay, you know, we're not hostages. It wasn't about the hostage. I just thought, hey, you know, real men play Russian roulette or something stupid like that. There wasn't a sober person there. I'll tell you who got sober, me immediately when I saw that gun. I'm like, I am out of here. Yeah, yeah. I love competitive pinball, but I'm not taking it to the level of Russian roulette. By the way, I don't even know what the laws are in each state. I don't know what the carry laws are. I didn't want to find out either. I wasn't going to certainly ask, are you allowed to have that? I was just like, hey, man, you're cool. I'm out of here. See you. Beat it. Yeah, I think he was completely legal. Okay. All right. Well, we live to tell about it, and I guess you guys had a good laugh about that. But, I mean, talk about laughs. My goodness. David gave me a good laugh all the time, and we saw him at different places. You know, even when I didn't see him, I was at the IFPA 15 Championships, which was pretty exciting for me, right? The top 64 players in the world playing for this big championship. And he's following along online. It wasn't even being streamed. Like, scores were being updated on the IFPA website so he could see my status. And I was actually doing quite well in the first six rounds. And he was sending me notes, hey, keep it up, keep it up. And I just thought, wow, not many people were doing that. And David was one of those guys. And I just thought that was really cool. David was one of those guys. He was really big into it. And even if he wasn't at the competition, he was definitely streaming. He's one of those guys that would watch the stream for six, seven hours just to see how everybody was doing. I remember texting him a couple of times because he qualified. One of his greatest pinball achievements was qualifying for Buffalo, I believe it was. Yeah. Which was he got in there, and several of us joke because I call myself B player for life, and there's a couple of us that were B player for life. And David was kind of in there with us too. He had won B division of pin vision three, and he was slowly making the transition from B to A and was actually achieving that. qualifying for Buffalo is huge. And then he actually, to his kind of annoyance, he got locked out of B Division in Louisville. So he couldn't play in B Division anymore. He had gotten too high in rank. Well, you know, he was a good player too. I know he played a lot of dollar games and things like that and saw him at those competitions. He certainly was passionate. So when you have the passion, that's half the battle. And you know it was going to come around. We're going to miss him for sure, aren't we, bud? No, man. I don't know. Go into shows. like there's a local Nashville show they do every year in November, but some of the, I don't know the next time I'm going to make it to one, man, to be honest with you. If you saw us, Louisville and Atlanta were the two that I went to the most. We were always together, and usually there were some shots of fireball involved, but it's going to be rough for a while. It is, man. We're thinking of him and his family and Will. I don't know when I'll see you next, but I wish you all the best there in Nashville, and we'll all take a little shot in honor of David. Next time I see you, we definitely will. Okay, bud. Thanks very much, Will. Bye. Thank you, everyone, who came on and talked about David Taylor. I thank you for also putting up those posts on the Pinball Profile page on Facebook. I'm not sure I know what else to say other than I'm going to miss David very, very much. I definitely cherish the times we had. I get to look back at the lengthy messenger notes that we sent to each other, including the time, and I'm reading this right now, this one message he sent me. He talked about how he was bummed that I wasn't going to the Southern Fried Gaming Expo. I told him I had a baseball tournament for my son's team. He said, awesome. You know, I'm an old baseballer myself. I played college, hit leadoff, played center field. My fat butt used to be extremely fast. Hard to believe. I know, LOL. I told him I played up until I was 44, and he said, yeah, I stopped at 38. Really enjoyed it. Then I got fat and lazy. Well, David, I don't think of you as fat and lazy. I think of you as an amazing human being, a man who loved his family, loved his friends. And even though you're gone, you're still going to be loved, buddy. And on that note, let the people you love know how you feel about them. David, you were way, way too young, full of life, but you left us with some amazing memories. Thanks very much for listening.

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 635db9be-412e-4095-8bc9-c553107783d8*