I try not to dredge up my day job too much here too often, as engrossing as the world of retail is to readers young and old; but I have a whole new kinda gripe this week. Thanks to the local news station running some kind of Tornado Preparedness Month spot, which mentions our stores are carrying all-weather emergency radios *at a steep discount!*, what was once a low-demand impulse item is now flying off the shelfs so fast we have a two-page waiting list for the next shipment.
Emergency radios aren’t exactly cutting edge technology. Nor are tornadoes and thunderstorms only a recent phenomena (caused by George W.!) The normally-ignored safety patrol has always suggested keeping a small battery-powered radio handy in case of power outages or bad weather. Hell, we had the radios last year and nobody got this rabid about them. We had a mother of five respond to the limit of two items by wondering (aloud of course) “Well… I guess I’ll have to decide which of my kids will get one.”
Maybe I’m missing something. Maybe it turns into a sassy talking robot toy that dispenses crack cocaine and teaches children how to spell, love, and believe in themselves. I can’t imagine these things costing much more than the $29.99 we charge, but damned if their homepage doesn’t list an MSRP of fifty bucks.
Now, if said special radio could actually CHANGE the weather, heck. Sold.
The ability to control the weather? China’s already got that one covered.
http://tinyurl.com/2yrfm9