Thanks to the Internet, you can pretty much find anything you’re looking for. A time-saving, headache-reducing, pajama-wearing luxury that is still new to a lot of us. The fact that you don’t even have to brush your teeth and put on pants to leave the house to go out and get whatever it is that you need still boggles my mind! The interweb has it all there for you!
Even obsolete technology. You can find Walkmans, A-Tracks, walkie talkies, anything your retro heart desires from decades back, like a VCR (that’s a “Video Cassette Recorder” for some of you!) But why would anyone need a VCR in this wonderful era of Netflix? This is why, and it’s a cup of hot chocolate for your soul.
Matt Shoukry from St. Louis had had enough of his VCR collecting dust at home, unused and unloved. So he put it up on eBay for $40 to see if there were any takers. He thought nothing of it when it sold to an 86-year-old man in Phoenix, Arizona. Matt usually sells his items, does his best to ensure a smooth delivery, gets a rating and a review, and goes about his life. It was business as usual until his girlfriend brought in the mail containing a letter from his customer.
It caught Matt’s eye because it was handwritten. He opened it up and started to read it aloud, but had to sit down. “We read it together and we’re both on the verge of tears reading it,” says Matt. The letter was a heartfelt thank you from the man who bought the VCR detailing why he was so grateful. He wrote about how the VCR enabled him to watch old “…tapes of my retirement party from 25 years ago which I had never seen before. Jeez, we were young. Then a tape of my wedding with all my family and friends, many of which are no longer around…” The man also confessed it was his first purchase made online!
Matt and his girlfriend were moved. Such a kind letter to receive from a stranger. Matt says, “There is a need for VCRs out there because it’s something you can’t go to Best Buy or Walmart and get…” and this story is the perfect example of how memories are locked and frozen in time. Matt says he will absolutely write back and, “I’m going to offer to digitize his videos so he doesn’t have to worry about his tapes degrading.”
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