Wal-Mart

Bye, Bye Radio Shack

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

radio_shack_store

I had a bit of a surprise at the mall yesterday. I made the usual rounds of my favorite stores (at least the ones that are still left): the Apple Store, Starbucks, Best Buy Mobile. I was going to peruse the offerings at Radio Shack when I got a shock: there was no more Radio Shack, only a vacant store with the Radio Shack logo still attached but glowing futilely.

I’ve read that Radio Shack in all likelihood will be going away soon. That makes me sad.

Nothing satisfied my inner nerd kid more than browsing through all the gadgets in Radio Shack, from flashlights to portable radios to all sorts of adapters and batteries for all those amazing gadgets. I remember I got a 3-in-1 do-it-yourself kit that allowed me to build a short-wave radio.

I hadn’t bought anything from Radio Shack in a long time, but the idea that it was still around was comforting to me. Like a bit of my childhood still existed and I could relive a bit of the old glory days if I wanted to.

But Radio Shack is no more. It has ceased to be, like that parrot from the Monty Python skit.

So they’ve taken away most of my favorite places now. There are no more music stores, no more bookstores, and now no Radio Shack. And as much as I love Amazon, I have a feeling that they, along with all the Wal-Marts in the world are partly to blame for the demise of Radio Shack. Darn you, Wal-Mart and all your amazing discounts and low, low prices.

C’est la vie. It is what it is. Businesses come and businesses go. A new store will move in to the spot vacated by Radio Shack and probably sell upscale children’s clothing or vegan-friendly sandals. At least I still have my Starbucks.

 

Life Lessons from A Great Movie

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / 1 Comment

image

I finally watched a movie that I had known about for a long time and had always meant to see but never gotten around to. I even bought the movie from the $5 bin at Wal-Mart.

Tonight, I finally got around to it. The movie was What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.

The movie is filled with memorable, eccentric characters. The story is anything but formulaic. There are no high-speed car chases or topless women or pyrotechnics or CGI spectacles. Just odd and endearing people living their lives the best way they know how.

One was mentally handicapped. One was morbidly obese. One was just unsure of himself and what he wanted to do with his life. But they loved each other.

I’m sure you have a few of these people in your life. People you wish were different. People who have flaws and bad habits and have done and said some really dumb things. People who can’t help the way they are. Maybe you’re one of them. Maybe you sometimes feel like you wish you could be anywhere else in the world except with these people.

You can still choose to love them. You can see them as they are, warts and all, and love them anyway. Remember that God saw you at your very worst and chose to keep loving you.

Love isn’t blind. Not in the least. Love sees the flaws and imperfections but chooses to seek and find the best in others and help draw it out in them. The way God has loved us all along.

I guess you can tell that I liked the movie, huh?