Leespeaks | Scribbles | American Studies

American Study #32 — Sioux Falls, S.D.

Radio Shack Chat

"#43-473"

I needed a device to record telephone interviews, so I went to the Radio Shack on 10th Street, where a large lumpy guy in a cheap suit (let’s call him Denny) presented me with a range of options: At the low end, you have a simple suction-cup thing that puckers onto the back of your handset and plugs into a recording device (sold separately). At the other end of the price/performance spectrum was an integrated Phone Cassette Recorder (Catalogue #43-473) that lists for a penny less than a hundred dollars. Denny had one of these attached to the phone behind the counter.

“I got a couple of them,” he said, folding his arms, a gesture full of Midwestern significance. By folding his arms Denny was signaling that there was a damn good reason that he owned two integrated Phone Cassette Recorders. I gave him my surprised face, eyebrows raised just enough to indicate that my curiosity was piqued.

“It’s called ex-wives,” he said. My surprised face got stuck, one raised eyebrow quavering slightly. Denny couldn’t have been more than 35 and he couldn’t have been less attractive if he stank like fish.

“I got this one set up here ’cause sometimes she likes to call me and yeh-yeh-yeh,” he said, one hand making the duck-billed International Sign of the Nagging Spouse.

“People are a lot more polite when they know they’re being recorded.”

I said, “I guess that’s what we found out with the whole Rodney King business.”

Denny gave me his “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about” face.

This was also published on poetrysheet.com - 10 February 2004