So Scott David had a birthday recently, and the family got together to get him a Wii. Who knew that actually finding one would be such a to-do! We searched high and low in the Portland area, but no luck. (Remind me, didn't this thing come out at the end of last year? So why is it still so hard to find?!) It practically took an act of God but we got him one, just in time for his birthday, too!
I'm actually enjoying the Wii. I had almost given up on trying to understand Scott's toys. Having been through the PS, the XBox, the XBox 360, etc. with him, I had decided that these gadgets were designed for men. And not just ordinary men: engineers! I found them rather clumsy, they weren't intuitive and it just took a lot of work for me to sort of "get it". So I had just about given up. But the Wii is a lot of fun, more so since it gets us moving.
But my reason for this post is to do a little reflection about something that happened to me. Scott had mentioned in passing that he would like more Wii remotes and nunchuks. I happened to be in Salem for a couple of days and I thought "what the heck, I'll look around and see if they have them". I went to a large retailer and of course they were out. But in my infinite wisdom I asked them to call their sister store to see if they had any there: I was in luck. So off I went to the sister store.
I am rather ashamed to admit that when I got to said store and found 2 older women (probably in their 70s) working in the electronics department I groaned silently. I seriously doubted that they would know what I was looking for. In truth I didn't know too much about it myself. I looked around the department, and there in the distance was a male sales assistant who looked to be in his late teens/early 20s. I was so tempted to go to him, even though he was helping someone else and I would have had to wait. To be fair to myself, it wasn't that I thought these ladies were incompetent or unkind - I just didn't think they were into Wiis. But I gave myself a stern talking to. After all, many people have been discriminated against because of their age. Did I want to contribute to that kind of humiliation of others? Am I not a better, kinder person that that? And what if they were the "with it" types, the ones who played the Wii every week-end with their grandkids? So, full of shame, I approached the counter:
Mo: "Hi, I called about some Wii remotes and nunchuks and was told they'd be put aside..."
Saleslady: "You called about some what?"
Mo: "Wii remotes and nunchuks"
Saleslady: "Oh. What are those? Are they related to that new gizmo that came out?"
I'm not going to bother blogging the rest of the conversation. It was painful, probably because it was the blind leading the blind. In the end we did have to find the young salesguy I had 1st contemplated going to. (And no, it wasn't at my insistence! The lady helping me graciously suggested that he'd probably know more about it.) He did, and I was out in minutes.
I am still noodling on that experience.