Jun 19th, 2008So there I am at Best Buy last night, minding my own business in the videogame section. (Did I mention I bought a Nintendo Wii for myself a month ago, and gave it to Linda to give me on Father’s Day? She threw in Guitar Hero 3, God bless her.) I’m quietly perusing the Nintendo games, deciding whether to buy Tony Hawk Proving Ground or Super Mario Galaxy, when I notice a guy come towards me out of the corner of my eye. He’s taller than me by about an inch or two, wearing a Cal Bears t-shirt (a point in his favor) and shorts, and holding a video game.
“Hi, uh, this game is rated ‘M’ and the store won’t let me buy it because you have to be 18 years old,” he says, holding the game down about waist level so as not to tip off any Best Buy staffers who might be lurking around. “I’m 16 years old. Will you buy it for me, if I give you the money? Here’s seventy dollars, it only costs sixty bucks, and you can keep the change.” He flashes a wad of twenties.
It was surreal.
I felt sorry for the guy. When I was his age, I was trying to buy beer. All he wanted was some software.
So I took his dough and the game, went to the checkout counter, and bought it. We conducted the handoff at my car in the parking lot. It actually got my adrenaline pumping - I started wondering if it might be a sting operation. Would a swat team swarm me, or a reporter and cameraman from Dateline jump from a nearby van to get the nefarious M-game-buyer-upper on film? Nope, I got in my car, and the kid and his buddy walked away.
Hope he enjoys Metal Gear Solid 4 — I hear it rocks.
