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01/20/2003 Entry: "You want a what? For what? How old is it?"

Vacation to Florida is coming right up. I decided it was time to break my Dad's 35mm Pentax K-1000 out of the mothballs. It needed a new battery and a new flash. So I went to the friendly neighborhood Wal-Mart. Here's the exchange:

Me: I need a hot shoe flash.
Camera clerk (looking at me like I have three heads): A what?
Me: A hot shoe flash.
Clerk: For what?
Me: A camera.
Clerk: What kind of camera is it? How old?
Me: It's a Pentax K-1000, you know, a regular SLR with a hot shoe.
Clerk (looking at me like I'm Satan himself): An S-L-R?
Me: You know, single lens reflex?
Clerk: (no answer, just a look that says "I have no freakin' idea.)
Manager: Wait! Does this thing kinda slide on to the top of the camera?
Me: Yeah.
Manager: And does it take batteries? I mean, does the flash unit itself need batteries?
Me: Yeah.
Manager: I have one of those! I wondered why we carried it? (Reaches under counter.) Is this it?
Me (holding a box that says "SLR Hot Shoe Flash"): Um, yeah, this is it.
Manager: That's been here forever. I didn't even know what it was for. I think it's $10 or $15.

The manager doesn't even know what a hot shoe flash is! Good thing I didn't ask for something more obscure, like slide film.

Posted by Maria @ 01/21/2003 07:45 PM EST