Introduction

My job is to put up with everyone.  If there was ever a particular job that I shouldn't have, it would be retail.  But for some mysterious reason, I've not only chosen retail as my profession, I've continued to put up with it as long as I have.

For the past ten years, I've catered to the rude, the helpless, and the socially retarded.  People that shouldn't even be allowed in public somehow make their way through the doors of whatever store I happen to be working at that week. 

I realize the general public, as a whole, sucks.  That's why, when pondering what line of work to venture into ten years ago to escape countless (literally) menial jobs I was accepting and quitting, I decided that retail would be fun.  But not any retail--outdoor retail.  Yeah, backpacks, kayaks, hiking boots--fun stuff.  This would allow me to interact with a like-minded group on a daily basis and talk about stuff that we all really enjoy.  But as specialty shops dwindle and the outdoor industry has gone mainstream and boutiquey, my interactions with a select group of people whom I share a common interest with and genuinely enjoy chatting with has all but died.  Enter the masses.