It’s kind of like an old ham radio signal beamed into space and returning years later, out of context but welcome and revealing.
It appears that Radio Shack is coming back to the Chapel Street, across from the Green.
The place is being readied for opening. It’s one of the few filled storefronts on a block that was once a bustling urban shopping mall.
Strangely, it was one of the last shops in the mall. One of the last thriving ones, anyhow. Radio Shack stands alone.
In the years it’s been away, the Radio Shack chain has changed its tune, and its tuners. It used to be a place you could wander into as you would into a hardware store, in search of a transistor or an audio splitter or an A-B switch, and they’d know what you were talking about. In recent years, the stores have become less about do-it-yourselfing and more about ready-made electronic appliances.
Isn’t it funny that the same month that an Apple Store sprouts up downtown, Radio Shack reappears? In this age of staycations and home offices, are computers and viewing screens the only surefire business opportunity?
Why ask why (or wire)? Just enjoy the charge.