My Old Stereo

Why in the world am I blogging about a boombox? Because this one is special. This double tape deck with a short wave radio was the first purchase I made with money I earned myself.

I was 14 years old when I applied for a job in a kennel, and had only been in America for about 6 months. I told the owner that I missed my dog. It was late fall, and the holiday season was coming up, so he hired me.

Cleaning poop does not sound very appealing to many people. (Mom had to segregate some special clothing for me to work in, so that I did not always smell like dog poop.) But I liked the job. Besides temporarily housing people's dogs, the kennel also bred German Shepherds. In order to clean puppies' cages, I had to move the puppies into a different cage. I would pick each puppy up, cuddle it, kiss its wet nose and let it lick my face as I carried it from one cage to the other. The puppies made dealing with poop in a super hot room (the puppies had to be kept very warm) all worth while.

My dad took me to the Wiz where we picked out this stereo, and I bought it with the cash from my first two paychecks. Clearly I have had it ever since, but it has been in storage for the last few years. Yesterday, I decided that it was finally time to let it go. Today the stereo started its new life with a man who was very excited about its short wave radio capabilities. Hopefully, it will serve him well.