RECORD STORE TALES Part 254: You Don’t Need To See My Identification
In Ontario, to sell any used goods to a pawn shop or used CD store like ours, you had to present valid, government issued photo ID. That was the law, even though many of my customers thought I made that up just to be a prick. No; that was indeed the law. I couldn’t buy a used stick of gum from you without a driver’s license, passport, or other form of official photo ID.
One day, I was buying some discs from a man, and we just needed his ID to finalize the deal. Upon asking to see it, this exchange occurred:
Me: I just need a piece of photo ID from you.
Him: I have a membership.
Me: …I’m sorry?
Him: I have a membership here.
Me: I’m not sure what you mean. We don’t have “memberships”.
Him: Whatever it’s called. I’m in your system.
Me: That may be but I still need your ID to prove you are who you say you are.
Him: But I’m a member.
Me: I really don’t know what you mean. I’ve been working here for years and even I’m not a “member”!
Another time, I asked a fellow for identification, and it went down something like this:
Me: I’ll just need a piece of ID and your signature.
Him: ID? What for? They’re not stolen.
Me: That’s the law in Ontario. I can’t buy anything used off anybody unless they show me ID.
Him: Like a license? Will my driver’s license do?
Me: Yup, sure will.
Him: Alright, I’ll drive home and get it, I’ll be back in 10.
So he left, and I’m standing there thinking, “What an idiot. What if a cop pulled him over?” Why wouldn’t you just put your wallet in your pants so you have it with you?
Then there were the paranoid ones. They were rare but they were out there, occasionally surfacing, to raise funds by selling off CDs or DVDs.
Me: And I just need a piece of ID.
Him: Don’t got any.
Me: None? Nothing at all? Driver’s License, Health Card?
Him: Nope. I don’t want the government knowing my affairs.
Nor did he want them to know he was selling off his Tammy Wynette albums, I suppose.
Bottom line: I was surprised how many people in this fine city walk (and sometimes drive) around without any sort of identification on them. Just an observation, is all, from the front lines of the record store.
mikeladano.com 
I *heard* that you have 24 hours to produce your license to the cops if you have forgotten it at home. (Heard = my husband is under this impression…:\)
I also *was told* that cops will accept you showing a PHOTOCOPY of your green car ownership paper (learned that last spring when we bought our car and the dealership told us this. I DO NOT believe them, however, that EVERY cop accepts that, so don’t even try it!)
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My husband is also under the impression that your Ontario license tag expires at the end of the month, when in fact, it expires on your birthday. (This is why *I* look after the license stuff!)…
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I had a girlfriend who usually let hers slide until close to the end of the month. She knew it expired, she just “didn’t want to give the government my money right away.”
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I *heard* the same thing. Still, why take a chance? Why not just put your wallet in your pants before you walk out the door? Seems pretty simple. Maybe you’ll need money somewhere. Or your ID. Or maybe you have a cool Star Trek wallet like Aaron and myself have, and you want to show it off.
PUT IT IN YOUR PANTS, GUYS!
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Pants aren’t a place for ID – that’s why God created purses. They are fun to sneak into the house when LeBrain isn’t looking.
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And shoes.
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Used CD store memberships – perhaps he was thinking of his BMG/Columbia House membership from back in the day?!
And Superbad/Super Troopers/Big Lebowski? Can’t argue with that trio!
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Thanks man! I love all three movies. Especially Lebowski.
I can’t imagine how he could have confused my store with a Columbia House membership, but hey…nothing surprises me.
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Man, I was all set to get mad about not knowing about that place’s memberships… haha.
As for identification? Ontario law? Pffffbppt.
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Crap, that was supposed to start at 3:00. Skop ahed there to the salient bit, if you like.
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Skip, not skop. OK, I’m-a gonna stop now.
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I’ll confess I had this clip originally attached to this article but I decided to use Superbad instead for that reason. Didn’t want to tell people to skip.
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I don’t understand what happened. I even told it to link to the video at the specified time. It didn’t. I blame youtube.
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If I remember correctly that doesn’t work when it embeds a video here, because I tried to do that once before too. I think it works if you directly send the video to someone else though.
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Well that’s for sucks. If it says it will Do This, then when I ask it to, it should Do This. Maybe it’s a Word Press thing. They have some weirdo permission things like that. Like, I can’t log in if my Mac’s Private Browsing is turned on. Just dumb.
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It frustrated me as well. I ended up using a different clip in the one case.
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Who knows, maybe it’s Lucasfilm who mucked with it. It is a fairly big section of film just put up there for nothing…
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Unfortunately the mind tricks don’t work on my LeBrain.
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Oh man, I am totally susceptible to this stuff. Like today (even though you said “eventually”):
“you need to buy these Dio CDs.”
Me: Who was that?
“Your brain.”
Me: They are awesome CDs. But I just bought Ozzy for myself. Plus Zappa and other stuff.
“Yes but this is Dio and they are cheap and you will love them completely so just buy them.”
Me: But Christmas is supposed to be about giving to others. I can’t keep buying stuff just for myself.
“Yes you can.”
Me: Brain, you make a reasoned argument. Yes I will get these Dio CDs. Thanks, Brain!
My brain is apparently a Jedi master and it is always telling me things like this. It never shows me its identification, either.
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Bwahahahaha! I love it! I love the internal dialogue.
You made two good buys there. There’s a song on the Vol 2 CD called Metal Will Never Die that I just adore.
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Oh yeah, I’m a regular Homer Simpson.
Also, for those of you wondering, I got The Very Beast Of Dio 1 + 2.
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And I thought, well, Vol 2 is one I like a lot. It’s the later lesser known stuff and rarities too. But if you get Vol 2, you kinda need Vol 1 too right? So there you go! You made the right choice. You could always gift them to yourself from the kids or something!
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You are wise in the ways of these things, master.
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In Ohio, if you’re pulled over without a licence you’re charged with no operators licence and have to pay a fine. And you have to renew your tags on your birthday. I got a ticket once the morning after my birthday because I hadn’t renewed my tags. It wouldn’t have pissed me off, but the ticket was waiting for me on my car when I went to leave in the morning.
Never paid that one.
I usually keep my wallet in my pants. If the government wants to know what CD’s I’m selling, let ’em.
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The government already knows what you’re selling anyway. I imagine I’m already on watch lists just because of the Jesse Ventura books I bought on Amazon.
I’m the kind of person where, if I go out without my wallet, it freaks me out. It doesn’t feel right. It has to be in my pocket where I can feel it, or it makes me very uncomfortable. I’m just used to it.
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I just hate the embarrassment when I walk up to the checkout with my Mountain Dew, the lady rings me up… then I have to say ‘Sorry, I forgot my wallet.’
I got a copy of the Koran from the library a few months ago. I’m guessing I’m on a watch list now.
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Probably several watch lists!
I think any time anyone does anything electronic, one must assume they are doing it without privacy. That’s the best way to think about it. I’m sure somebody knows all my details down to my taste in ladies!
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There are lots of stupid people out there who don’t care what the law says. I have to ID people for booze and ciggys all the time, and many of them get so pissed off about it, especially if it’s the “companion” trying to stand a few feet away, as if I didn’t know they were with the buyer, underage or without an ID. I also often hear “What, you want to see the baby’s ID, too?”
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Yeah I could go on and on about similar experiences. This hoard of kids came in one day selling discs…possibily stolen, who knows…but they were all underage. Next thing you know some older dude walks in with the same discs for sale. They always got freaked out when I told them if they signed for these discs, they’d be legally responsible for this transaction :)
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