I was a member of Columbia House Record Club. I was ten and I was seduced by the idea of twelve for the price of one. I still remember some of the titles I ordered:
Rocky IV soundtrack
Back to the Future soundtrack
El Debarge ("Who's Johnny?," she said...)
Thriller (I need not name the artist. You really should know.)
Even better than those titles is this fact: I chose to order records instead of tapes because of the following edict set forth by my older brother. He declared that if I got records I would be able to listen to the records while at home and enjoy the utmost quality that they could provide. In addition, I would be able to make cassette recordings of my records and have a portable version for use on my walkman when I was tooling around town on my bike. The best of both worlds.
I'm leaving a minor detail out of this story. I joined this club on my own. I funded it with my own money. "How did you pay with a check?" you might be asking. I didn't. I would save my money and ride to the Circle K on the corner of Camelback and 82nd Street in Scottsdale, Arizona and I would buy money orders! Even better is the fact that I used my own money that I earned from my job at the bookstore dusting bookshelves. Five dollars a week.
The sad fact is that I can't imagine a fourth grader being allowed such autonomy today.
Did I mention that my mom didn't know. She didn't know. Now she does.
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2 comments:
I can't believe you remembered that! I probably recommended you get records so I could make copies of them too. You remember the most obscure things :)
BTW, was your dusting job the one that I vacated after I moved to FH with Dad? - Nate
I remember coming to visit you once when you were dusting bookshelves. You were wearing one of those matching sweatsuits mom used to dress us in. I think yours that day had white pants. The pants were (of course) too short.
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