Expanding and retelling Record Store Tales Part 320: The Last Day

RECORD STORE TALES #1231: 20 Years Ago, I Left the Dream “Record Store” Job 

I woke up on Wednesday, January 4 2006 knowing it was the last time I’d be opening that Godforsaken record store.  The job I once loved so much that I’d show up an hour early to review new stock had become my nemesis.  It was like a chain, pulling me down every single day.  I looked forward to the end so badly.  The day truly flew by.

It started with the management putting out a statement that, after 12 years at the store, I was leaving.  Shocked messages flooded my inbox.  I was considered an original, a “lifer”.   Many people thought I’d never leave.  Those truly close to me knew the time was coming, but when the announcement was made, the shockwaves rippled through cyberspace.  That warmed me up a little bit on that cold winter day.

The boss took me out to lunch.  East Side Mario’s, if I recall.  Memories of this are of a good final talk, but it also reminds me that I never truly felt comfortable around him.  Never felt like I could be myself.  He talked of parenthood and what that was like, and I just felt tense even as I tried to relax.

It wasn’t a memorable day otherwise.  I have no journals from that day about customers throwing pencils at my head, or throwing other varieties of hissy fits.  I handed in my key, walked out the front door at 5:00 PM, and I was a private citizen once again.  No more discount.  And they lost all the power they held over me.

I was given a giant “goodbye card”, which I kept.  There are sentiments inside that I found surprisingly angering today.  Comments about “cheese metal” and unflattering nicknames.  Good intentions, but proof that very few people that I worked with for years truly knew me.

But you can see for yourself.  For this special 20 year look back, I made a video.  Please join Dan Chartrand and myself for this look back at that fateful final day, 20 years ago.