Now,what I used Radio Shack for was to find stuff for audio and video equipment that no other store carried,so for some things before the internet Radio Shack was almost a have store in town for me.
I usually hit the one in the Valley Mall,but I also remember another shopping center (Long Meadow for the locals) having one that I used more once Cherie and I were married because that one was much more convenient.
Radio Shack also was a prominent part of my childhood because they always had a strong commercial presence during sports telecasts,particularly on NBC by my recollection.
Their commercials usually advertised some toy that looked pretty cool,but usually didn't hold up once you got them,like a radio controlled car or this thing that I remember called "Robie" that was a bank that basically "ate" your change.
Robie's change holder opened from the bottom so I suppose you could say he "dropped" it out,although there was not a robotic way of doing that-although that would have been a pretty cool feature for 1980's tech!
Radio Shack also was a store that was among the first (if not the first) to push the home computer from "the Tandy Company".
Lots of laughable (looking at it today) home computers around and yet considering the time,they were wished for too-even though they were far too expensive for the time for what they actually delivered!
Radio Shack was one of those weird places that usually employed either strange old guys or strange high school students that didn't seem to have jobs anyplace else!
It always seemed like you were interrupting someone when you entered a Radio Shack,whether that was a nap,a game of Dungeons and Dragons or a reefer break,it was rare that you entered a Radio Shack and felt like a valued customer.
It was more like you were a tolerated annoyance,although to be fair,I rarely left without Radio Shack having the obscure cord,wire or piece that I needed for some type of hookup.
I remember one time being in there with Ryan and the employee asked me,if I would mind watching the place so he could go to the bathroom because he was the only employee there!
That never happened before or since to me and allows me to make this transition to the reason for this post-this hilarious look back at Radio Shack by a former employee from SB Nation.
It's two years old,but still is well worth reading the stories,I assure you!
It's funny,how one article spurred enough for a post for a store that is no longer located here (or very many places in other locations for that matter) and is just about on its deathbed.
It was a place that as things became more and more wireless/internet based that was going to be in trouble and I suppose I can understand why.
Still,there is always a little nostalgia for anything-even if when you look back the memories are better than much of the reality...
Check this Radio Shack commercials for the oh so 70's CB Radio courtesy of noted character actor Charles Napier of "Adam" of Star Trek, Murdock of Rambo II,the security guard in Silence of the Lambs and most notably to me-Tucker McElroy,lead singer and driver of the Winnebago of the Good Ol' Boys in the Blues Brothers.
Charles Napier just might appear here soon in a post of his own,so keep an eye out....
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