I have shared how I got my present boombox, but I never shared the story of how I got my original boombox.
In 1983, when I was about 11, I had an uncle who I thought was super cool. He introduced me to funk music. In particular, Atomic Dog blew my mind. I thought that had to be the coolest song ever. I was from Fort Smith Arkansas and there really wasn't a lot of that kind of coolness around. For whatever reason, my uncle would go to Dallas and came back with cassettes of music we just couldn't find around there. We're talking about original old school rap. They'd be on mix tapes and I had no way of knowing the names of the songs or the artists (unless they stated who they were in their songs, which they often did). This music didn't get local air play and it seemed really special to be able to hear that stuff. Only now am I able to find some of this music again thanks to YouTube.
About a year or so later, he showed up one day with what I believed to be a Sharp 777 boombox. For whatever reason, he told me he was going to give it to me. That didn't materialize and he quit coming around with that box. He later showed up with a Conion C-100. To be honest, I liked the 777 way better at the time. It just looked like a more serious machine. However, the C-100 was also a really cool box and I didn't complain when he said I could have it. There was a condition attached: I had to be able to carry it on my shoulder down the street and back.
As many of you know, it's over 30lbs with 10 D-cell batteries. I was a scrawny 12 year old kid, but I was up to the challenge. Successfully completing the mission, the box was mine.
It was odd because I was really a step-nephew and none of us were wealthy. So I don't know why it was so easy for him to hand over something of that value. Perhaps it was stolen and he needed to get rid of it? I'll never know. Either way, I had a great time with that boombox. My favorite thing was turning on the burglar alarm and scaring the heck out of folks when they walked by it.
My fun was short lived. I left it out unattended one day for maybe 10 or 15 minutes and just like that it was gone. We didn't live in a terrible neighborhood but I guess it was too tempting for someone. Talk about a miserable day.
My family dynamics were complicated as a child and I don't have fond memories of his brother (my stepdad). My uncle directly supported him in some of the wrong that was done to my mother and because of that I have reason to dislike him. All that said, I have mixed feelings because he was always incredibly kind to me and treated me as if I was family (unlike his brother). Either way, I'm well estranged from him and I don't even know if he's alive or dead. So I guess I choose to think positively of him and remember him for the interesting piece that he added to my life.
In 1983, when I was about 11, I had an uncle who I thought was super cool. He introduced me to funk music. In particular, Atomic Dog blew my mind. I thought that had to be the coolest song ever. I was from Fort Smith Arkansas and there really wasn't a lot of that kind of coolness around. For whatever reason, my uncle would go to Dallas and came back with cassettes of music we just couldn't find around there. We're talking about original old school rap. They'd be on mix tapes and I had no way of knowing the names of the songs or the artists (unless they stated who they were in their songs, which they often did). This music didn't get local air play and it seemed really special to be able to hear that stuff. Only now am I able to find some of this music again thanks to YouTube.
About a year or so later, he showed up one day with what I believed to be a Sharp 777 boombox. For whatever reason, he told me he was going to give it to me. That didn't materialize and he quit coming around with that box. He later showed up with a Conion C-100. To be honest, I liked the 777 way better at the time. It just looked like a more serious machine. However, the C-100 was also a really cool box and I didn't complain when he said I could have it. There was a condition attached: I had to be able to carry it on my shoulder down the street and back.
As many of you know, it's over 30lbs with 10 D-cell batteries. I was a scrawny 12 year old kid, but I was up to the challenge. Successfully completing the mission, the box was mine.
It was odd because I was really a step-nephew and none of us were wealthy. So I don't know why it was so easy for him to hand over something of that value. Perhaps it was stolen and he needed to get rid of it? I'll never know. Either way, I had a great time with that boombox. My favorite thing was turning on the burglar alarm and scaring the heck out of folks when they walked by it.
My fun was short lived. I left it out unattended one day for maybe 10 or 15 minutes and just like that it was gone. We didn't live in a terrible neighborhood but I guess it was too tempting for someone. Talk about a miserable day.
My family dynamics were complicated as a child and I don't have fond memories of his brother (my stepdad). My uncle directly supported him in some of the wrong that was done to my mother and because of that I have reason to dislike him. All that said, I have mixed feelings because he was always incredibly kind to me and treated me as if I was family (unlike his brother). Either way, I'm well estranged from him and I don't even know if he's alive or dead. So I guess I choose to think positively of him and remember him for the interesting piece that he added to my life.
