They ARE People

I will shamefully admit that I sometimes forget that the customers who come into the pawn shop are actual people. A lot of them just seem so single-minded (see Chester) and over the top (see Quote Vote) that they seem more like characters from SNL skits rather than complex human beings. Well, faithful reader, I will relate to you a handful of experiences that have reminded me that these people do not simply materialize outside the pawn shop doors, but that they exist independent of the pawn shop and live daily lives.

1) My Twins' New House  --  My Twin (see My Twin) recently moved into a new home with his fiance, and a week hadn't passed before they realized they had moved into what appears to be an epicenter of our pawn shop patrons. Sadly, a lease was already signed before this discovery was made.

Experience A : My Twin was relaxing out on his front porch, enjoying a beer in the spring weather, when a series of police cars came skidding to a halt just a few houses away. A number of officers entered the home and then brought out a woman in handcuffs moments later. Instantly, My Twin noticed the woman in custody as a frequent customer and attempted to hide his face. Apparently, this woman had a restraining order put against her which required her to stay away from the house where she had just been in. He learned all of this and much more thanks to all of the shouting that was going on. "I know I'm not supposed to be here, but he takes care of me! He takes care of me!" she kept screaming. And then in an attempt to convince the officers of her innocence, she began to plead with them. "Why are you arresting me?! I didn't do anything! I was the one who was attacked! Look at my finger! Look at my finger!"

Experience B : Another day, My Twin was sitting out on his porch (which we now see is a bad idea) when a customer approached him. This customer is very tall, very large, and mentally handicapped. He is very gruff and demanding when he comes into the pawn shop and is perhaps the most volatile person I have ever met. Once, he even picked up a little person (see There Is No Way of Saying This Without Offending Someone). Anyway, this man simply approached My Twin's porch, climbed the stairs, threw himself down into a chair, and began to discuss pawn shop matters, something I'm sure My Twin was not thrilled about. As the continued talking, it was revealed that this man lives only two blocks from My Twin and walks past his own on a regular basis.

Experience C : My Twin was cutting his grass one day and took a break in the middle of it. While he was leaning upon his mower, he overheard a man and a woman arguing from next door. Their windows were open and he could clearly hear them heatedly discussing how much they would be able to get if they brought in a certain item for a pawn loan. The woman kept telling the man to bring in the item because My Twin would give him a specific amount, but the man kept saying "No, he won't." The woman continued to insist that My Twin was a nice guy and would give them the amount they needed, but the man continued to deny her assurances until finally he explained himself. "He won't give me $X because he's RIGHT THERE!" and pointed to My Twin through the window. At this point, My Twin hurriedly went back to mowing.

2) Mr. Congo -- There is a certain Congolese man (who will henceforth be referred to as Mr. Congo) who frequents the pawn shop for payday loans, or, even more often, to buy electronics to send back to Africa. He is a very, very nice man, but he can be very bothersome because he buys many things (video cameras, projectors, etc) and then returns them the next day because he either doesn't like the item or can't figure out how to work it. Thus, this man comes in a lot and I know him by name.

This past weekend, after attending the graduation ceremony of a friend, Mr Congo appeared out of nowhere and shook my hand. Surprised, I did the polite thing and said hello and introduced him to my friends, one of which spoke fluent French, Mr. Congo's native tongue.

Mr. Congo and my friend began to chat warmly in French for a few minutes. After the conversation ended and Mr. Congo had departed, my friend revealed some shocking details about Mr. Congo's past. Apparently, Mr. Congo had been in the Congolese military years back. Well, while Mr. Congo was in Congo, there was a shocking amount of civil unrest and those who had formerly served in the military were being hunted down and killed by a certain group. As it turns out, Mr. Congo had an identical twin, and he watched this twin be killed in front of his eyes because the killers thought he was his twin. It was at this point that Mr. Congo fled his home country and came to The United States for safety. I can't even imagine how horrific that must have been, being hunted down, seeing your brother killed because he was believed to have been you, and then having to flee halfway around the world. The oddest thing about this was how nonchalantly Mr. Congo revealed all of this to my French-tongued friend. It was like he was telling him about a boring weekend.