Art Imitating Life

One of my favorite scenes, in one of my favorite books, High Fidelity didn't make it to the Big Screen--but most of it is found on the Deleted Scenes part of the DVD. What happens, for those of you who haven't read the book (a major mistake on your part, btw) is that the main character, Rob goes out to visit someone who's trying to sell some old 45s (that's a type of record, Mrs. Staples, think of it as a low-quality CD Single). Rob owns a record store, and has quite the collection of rarities himself.

So, anyway, Rob goes out and is stunned by some of the classics available . . .owning any one of these would make his year, y'know? And there a many available. Does he have enough money? So he asks how much she wants, she says something like $20. $20?? Are you kidding? He tells her how much she can get. She doesn't care, her husband split, told her to send half the money to him in Bermuda. So she's trying to make him suffer. Rob can't do it. He and the guy have the same passion--classic vinyl. He just can't. There's a couple 45's he just can't leave without, so he pays her way undervalue for those, but as much as she'll let him.

Why do I relate this? Well, yesterday I became Rob. My wife (I haven't mentioned this lately, but I have a really cool wife. A wonderful gift from God) went to a charity yard sale at work yesterday, and over hears someone talking about these Lord of the Rings action figures for sale dirt cheap. She goes over, looks through 'em finds three I don't have. They want $2 each (still in the box!). Which is impossibly cheap. She informs the yard sale people that they could get much more for these on e-Bay (or from me directly). Yeah, they've heard that, but so-and-so got divorced and her husband left these behind.

By the end of the day, here's the tally: Rob--the shallow, snobbish, self-loathing guy--comes off as a better person than me; the Nurse's Aid group gets $6; and I get Faramir, the WitchKing Ringwraith, and Merry in his armor. In the end, that's a profit, right?