Blue Christmas

Ahh, it's that time of year again. The change of the weather, and the crispness in the air. The falling leaves...and the fall of a great empire that I once called home.

It appears that Netflix and the DVD pricepoint have finally caught up with the ol' Blue and Gold. That's right, Blockbuster is in dire straits without a Knopfler. For the skinny on the figures and details, you can check here.

Not to say that all my experiences with Blockbuster were bad. I found some very good people while working there. A few good friends that I have to this day. A bunch of fun memories of late night inventories, and the countless Denny's runs after work. Heck, I even managed to snag a wife out of the deal, so I can't be too pissed at any place that gave me her.

So, I'm here to celebrate Blockbuster. Here's to Mr. Hoxster, and Mrs. Powell - the man with the patience and the drunk with only one story. Here's to Brownie, and Chuck, and Nick, and Tim, and Zack, and Travis. Wherever this finds you, or doesn't, I hope that you're living well. To the cavalcade of managers that waltzed through our store, I hope you learned something from me, because you sure didn't teach any of us anything on your way.

I've been back infrequently to my old store, and managed to see it's rapid decline from the pinnacle of the district to just another ghetto blockbuster store. It's sort of like a terrarium of urban decay, like a batch of blue-shirted sea monkeys.

Good times, bad times, you know I've had my share, but overall, I've got to chalk up Blockbuster as a fun time in my life. I've led a strange life so far, in so much as I started most things late, so Blockbuster was actually a part of my teenage wild oats phase.

I stuck around longer than I should have, put up with much more than was reasonable, but still managed to have a good time. I have to say that even though I'm ready to pick on her, I'll miss the old gal...