I worked at Rider’s Hobby Shop while in college. I was in Static Aircraft, which was across the aisle from Trains, but we were right by the front door, so everyone had to walk by us.
Trains was run by several older retired guys who had little respect for the Freaks who sulked back to the game section, but the Other Guy in static aircraft with me was a Gamer too, so they’d sometimes stop to chat.
I was never a Gamer, so pretty much ALL of my Gaming knowledge stems from that time. I learned what WarHammer 40K was, Vampire lore, and all about how to make and paint Figurines. I’ve always been into painting Small Things, so that’s the part
that interested me most.
And the dice! I didn’t even KNOW anyone that played Games until I started working there, so I had no idea they made so many whacky dice. We used to roll the zocchihedron (100 sided die) to see who had to vaccuum at close. 🙂
The conversations were invariably interesting though. Talks of adventures, game quality, relative merits of military equipment, and the eternal question of which is better, The Enterprise, or a Star Destroyer. It was a fun cross-cultural experience.
Thanks for sparking the memories Andy. 🙂
Rider’s is a fun store to visit. I get out there every few months and enjoy just walking around looking at all the cool stuff. Their RPG section seems somewhat neglected of late, though–I get the impression that RPGs aren’t enough of a money-maker these days (compared to all the other hobby stuff there) to merit keeping the section up-to-date. Still, sometimes I feel like volunteering a Saturday to go in there to fish out the ancient, gathering-dust out-of-print stuff (which they should sell on Ebay or something, seriously!)
Very cool place, though. Must’ve been a great deal of fun to work there.