When my parents married, my father built a component stereo system by Heathkit, giant speakers included. He was also a DX'er who curated a nice den full of radi

When my parents married, my father built a component stereo system by Heathkit, giant speakers included. He was also a DX'er who curated a nice den full of radio receiving equipment. Radio Shack was like a constant companion to us, among other outlets. When I was in high school, Grandma would take me and my sister on the bus to the shopping mall. When I wasn't flirting with the tall blonde clerks in a record shop, I was hanging out in Radio Shack having long tech convos with "Jon" the junior clerk. I purchased all kinds of gadgets during that time, including cool microphones for "clandestine" recording; a matching microcassette recorder and media; a 2" LCD television set, handheld and battery-powered; a complete 100-project eletronics kit; an Armatron robot arm; radio-controlled sports cars; you name it! We went there like every week, and the sky was the limit for gadgets that followed me home, and Jon was quite entertaining, as he knew he'd always make that sale if he was friendly and patient with this tech-nerd teenaged boy. Always the highlight of my week. Fast-forward to 1998, and I'm in Oregon, with no car, and the only points of interest in my neighborhood are a Subway sandwich shop, and a Radio Shack, so I obtained a store credit card and picked up one of those gigantic CD changers, and a remote-controlled boat, because I lived in a lakeside apartment. Good times!