Record Store (What's That?) Employment, Forgotten Refrigerators, and That Cutout LP - Part I
I was one of those fortunate teenagers that never worked fast food. I had friends that worked everywhere from McDonald’s to KFC, but for me donning a little paper hat and asking if you’d like fries with that order was pretty unappealing. I mean if I couldn’t find after-school employment anywhere else, and was desperate enough, I might ask a buddy, ala the scene in Fast Times at Ridgemont High to pull some strings for me, but thankfully it never came to that. Beginning at 16, I worked at a bakery that specialized in bagels, a pharmacy stocking shelves and delivering prescriptions, and a stint at a record store that put me at the very top of the after-school job food chain. Some of the readers might be lost by the description of a record store. Back in the dark ages (prior to circa 1984), music was commercially available in four general mediums: record album, cassette tape, 8-track tape, and single song (45 rpm). The place where one would go to purchase these relics was a record st