A couple friends of mine and I had an idea for a half-hour sitcom. The comedy would take place at a retail outlet and the characters would be less than a handful of employees and customers.
Unfortunately, we never got any farther than deciding who the characters would be.
If we could not agree on anything else, the idea of having a few customers as characters in the show came from “Cheers” (1982-1993). In that show, audiences came to know and love Norm Peterson, Cliff Clavin, and Frazier Crane.
Howard was just the opposite. He was married 33 years, had two daughters and a son who ran an automotive shop in Mesquite and had his own personal business on the side.
Norm’s routine for eleven seasons was he would walk in the bar and everyone would say, “Norm!!!” Woody (Woody Harrelson) or someone would ask him what is up, and Norm would respond, “My ideal height if I were ten feet tall.”
Whenever Howard or “Big H” as one coworker called him, came in the usual response was the same. You would ask him what is up, and he would say, “Nothing until you’ve rented me something (a movie) I haven’t seen yet.”
The response was justified. Howard had accumulated close to 3,000 movie rentals since he became a member in 1991.
I assist at least twenty-five customers a day at Blockbuster Video. The regular ones I do see come in once every two or three weeks or so. I always knew, however, when Howard would make an appearance.
He would come in at least three times a week, mostly Tuesdays and Wednesdays because they were new release days. Howard would go directly to the new releases, put on his reading glasses, and look over the dozen films which had just come out on video that week.
Before his visit was over, Howard would leave with at least half. Hardly was there ever a time where he would walk out with nothing; something management hates seeing with any customer.
When my car’s automatic window on the passenger side would not close, Howard took out a business card to his son’s automotive shop and said, “Tell my son that Howard sent you and you’ll be taken care of.”
The trip saved me the $250 the dealer was going to charge to dismantle the door and replace the part.
The job is still routine but life at the video store is not the same.
Then again, if I know Howard chances are he is doing exactly what the priest at the funeral said he would do.
“When Howard walks into those pearly gates, he is going to ask St. Peter, ‘Where is the nearest Blockbuster?’”
Chances are Howard is in a much better place doing just that. This time, he is watching movies free of charge.
©9/13/95
Unfortunately, we never got any farther than deciding who the characters would be.
If we could not agree on anything else, the idea of having a few customers as characters in the show came from “Cheers” (1982-1993). In that show, audiences came to know and love Norm Peterson, Cliff Clavin, and Frazier Crane.
At the Blockbuster Video I have been working at for almost four years now, one person reminded me of Norm Peterson only in the sense he frequented the place the most. His name was Howard McGinnis.In “Cheers”, audiences knew Norm Peterson as the lazy do nothing lug who would rather be nursing a beer than be at home with his wife, Vera.
Howard was just the opposite. He was married 33 years, had two daughters and a son who ran an automotive shop in Mesquite and had his own personal business on the side.
Norm’s routine for eleven seasons was he would walk in the bar and everyone would say, “Norm!!!” Woody (Woody Harrelson) or someone would ask him what is up, and Norm would respond, “My ideal height if I were ten feet tall.”
Whenever Howard or “Big H” as one coworker called him, came in the usual response was the same. You would ask him what is up, and he would say, “Nothing until you’ve rented me something (a movie) I haven’t seen yet.”
The response was justified. Howard had accumulated close to 3,000 movie rentals since he became a member in 1991.
I assist at least twenty-five customers a day at Blockbuster Video. The regular ones I do see come in once every two or three weeks or so. I always knew, however, when Howard would make an appearance.
He would come in at least three times a week, mostly Tuesdays and Wednesdays because they were new release days. Howard would go directly to the new releases, put on his reading glasses, and look over the dozen films which had just come out on video that week.
Before his visit was over, Howard would leave with at least half. Hardly was there ever a time where he would walk out with nothing; something management hates seeing with any customer.
Howard was more than just a good customer. He would spend about twenty or thirty minutes in the store. He would not be just browsing around. Howard would chat with a couple of employees and managers.I remember talking to him about my ‘82 Oldsmobile that had seen its better days. I cannot speak for anyone else, but I knew Howard was always the first to help.
When my car’s automatic window on the passenger side would not close, Howard took out a business card to his son’s automotive shop and said, “Tell my son that Howard sent you and you’ll be taken care of.”
The trip saved me the $250 the dealer was going to charge to dismantle the door and replace the part.
It is and was people like Howard and a couple of other customers I have come to know well who have made my job not as tedious as it often can be.I still see those familiar faces today except Howard. He died Aug. 25 after a brief but courageous battle with cancer.
The job is still routine but life at the video store is not the same.
Then again, if I know Howard chances are he is doing exactly what the priest at the funeral said he would do.
“When Howard walks into those pearly gates, he is going to ask St. Peter, ‘Where is the nearest Blockbuster?’”
Chances are Howard is in a much better place doing just that. This time, he is watching movies free of charge.
©9/13/95
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