Today was my last day working for the Blockbuster store in Anthem, Arizona. Sure, it was sad. Sure, it was sobering. But it was both of these things for one reason: a customer named Jaret Brody.
A few months ago, a customer stepped through our doors unlike any other I had ever encountered. A skinny man with a high-pitched voice, wavy blond hair and very, very tired eyes, Jaret wears the same thing every day: a button-up shirt with khaki cargo shorts, leather sandals, and a visor advertising “Desert Breeze Shuttle Services;” the airport shuttle company he owns and operates (thanks to a BS in business).
Diagnosed with a severe form of obsessive-compulsive disorder, he would tell me on our second meeting that it was his dream to someday watch every single movie we had within our walls. Funny thing was, this wasn’t entirely impossible, at the rate he rents. 40 movies a week (20 at a time), on average, with a few television shows thrown in for good measure.
A creature of habit, he always drags me or one of my fellow employees out onto the floor with him to pick his 20 movies. In the beginning, we were annoyed by this (as well as his tendency to ask for “rain checks” and free movies constantly), but we soon learned to accept him as part of our clientele. The opening discussions between us ALWAYS go like this:
Me: Hey Jaret!
Jaret: Oh, hey Ty. Got a second?
Me: For you Jaret, always.
Jaret (avoiding eye contact): Yeah, ‘cause I’m paying your paychecks! (maniacal laughter)
And even further, every time I reccomend a movie to him, he always asks if it “keeps you in it” or “keeps you going.” Always. Especially with action movies (his favorite).
Probably my favorite characteristic of his personality are his little OCD tics. They include:
-He reassures himself and whoever is ringing him up that yes, he did in fact give them a twenty dollar bill, and yes, he did get the correct change as illustrated by the computer.
-He walks in and out of a doorway because he has to step out of the threshold of a building just perfectly.
-He always has to have an even number of movies rented out.
-After bagging his movies up, he always bounces it up and down as if weighing it.
Anyways, Jaret came in today. On the outside, it was an average exchange of movie store worker and customer, but I could tell he was sad I was leaving.
His final goodbye to me went something like this:
“There are people in your life you’ll never forget. People come and they go, but you’ll never forget them. Y’know? There will be a lot of people in your life like this. Never forget that kind of thing. Be good. And…good luck and stuff.”
I’ll never forget Jaret, I can tell you that.
