Buying Stereo Equipment without Getting Shot

Growing up in a house with two older brothers was quite a learning experience. Each brother contributed to my life education in different ways. Mike, my oldest brother, taught me the joy of stamp collecting and an appreciation of classical music (that is classical music like the Beatles). Randy, on the other hand, used different educational tactics. Through Randy, I learned two major lessons of life. The first lesson had to do with listening to instructions. He taught me to always follow directions when the instructor is holding a gun, even if it is just a BB gun. If that person tells you to run, then you had better do so. (Later, I broke a number of track records as the starter pistol would bring flashbacks of my brother ordering me to "Run!") The second lesson was less traumatic on my health. Randy educated me on the appreciation of quality stereo equipment. Actually he demanded that I only buy quality stereo equipment and that I only buy it from him. (He swore this had nothing to do with his need to make his sales quota as the manager at Michigan Teletronics. It just happened that I needed to replace my older stereo equipment on the last day of each month). For example, one month Randy brought home $2,000 Denon speakers and said, "You need these". He gave me a toothy grin as he sucked on his toothpick. I started to object, when I suddenly heard a voice in my head say "run". He never moved his lips but I could still hear his words. I gulped and said, "OK". He would always give me a deal though. He said he would knock off $10 since I was his brother and he would only charge me 24% interest. I knew that it may not be fair, but it was the safest thing to do.

I remember the first day I got my license. When I drove my first car home, Randy was waiting for me at the door. He asked me if I had a radio. I told him, "Of course". I opened the car door. He looked it at it and laughed. He took the knobs in both hands and pulled the radio out, cracking the dash, leaving the wires hanging like spaghetti. "No you don't", he said. He opened his trunk and brought over an Akai system as big as the glove box. He told me this was what I needed. He threw in a set of "Mindblowers" speakers for an extra $300- this was more than what I paid for the car (Later on when I sold my car, the guy who bought it took the speakers and sold them for more than he paid for the car).

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