Trouble at the Video Store

Even though I don’t watch movies very much, I did like to try and give my support to the old-time video stores, the ones decimated when Red Box and Netflix became a thing.  It is just a way of reliving my childhood I guess.  When I moved to Pocatello, I needed to find a new video store, so I went to the Yellow Pages (see how old-fashioned I am), and found a video store listed.  Great!  I thought, as I was not even sure that my new town would have one.  Tucson, where I had just moved from, had a Blockbuster, but it went out of business.  Anyway, I gave them a call, in search of a movie—Iron Will made by Disney—that I had wanted to show my kids for some time and is to this day still not available for streaming on Amazon Prime (I am never going to have Netflix by the way).  I don’t remember the name of what the movie store was supposed to be, but when the girl on the other end answered she said, “Adam and Eve, how may I help you?”  “Is this the video store?,” I asked.  “No, they aren’t here anymore, but maybe I can still help you.  We do have some movies.”  By this time, I had recalled that “Adam and Eve” was a primarily adult lingerie store, and that she must be talking about “adult” movies.  “I don’t think you would have it,” I said, “It is a Disney movie.”  “Well, I can try to look it up.  What is it called?,” she asked.  “Iron Will,” I said reluctantly.  “Well let me go see if we have it,” she said.  Knowing she would never find it in her store unless by some ill luck there was another movie of that genre by the same name (which I suppose there could be), I waited awkwardly a minute or two on the phone for her to return from the goose hunt—being too polite to just hang up.  “I couldn’t find that one sir,” she said when she picked up the phone again, “But maybe I could interest you in some of our other movies?”  “Umm, no thanks, I am just looking for that one only,” I said, “Thanks for looking, bye.”  “Okay, thanks, let us know if you ever need anything else,” she ended.  Well, that was one of the most awkward and comical phone calls I have ever had!  Good employee to really try to get my business, I guess.  I almost wonder if that employee just likes to yank everyone’s chain who calls looking for the old video store, or if it just didn’t quite compute when I said it was a Disney movie.  If that is what she was doing, I am sure she was laughing her head off on the other end of the line—Iron Will!?  Either way, Jami and I still laugh about it every time we think about it (which is pretty often!) or I watch Iron Will, which I now proudly own.  By the way, Pocatello, an old-fashioned town, actually still does have an old-style video rental store called “Video Stop,” which checking on Google Maps today (November 14, 2021) is still open.  If it is not a new release, it only costs $1 per movie and I think you get it for 7 days.  Late fines, which I got a lot of, are minimal too.  It is also right next door to “Big Foot Pizza,” which is my favorite pizza place in Pocatello.  The video store is also across the street from El Herradero, which is my favorite Mexican restaurant in Pokey.  All three businesses (not Adam and Eve) are on Jefferson Avenue.  You’re welcome.

*Picture credit: Flickr