Wishing for the old days

I sure do miss the old days.

I loved being able to conveniently go into a video store and marvel at shelf after shelf of titles to choose from.

In the mood for a scare, the horror section provided all the chills you needed.

If laughter was what you needed, rows of comedy flicks would fill your giggling desires.

There was just something about the ability to pick up a box cover, read the synopsis and glance at pics from the movie that made the experience greater.

Now, I may be in the minority, since I am a self-proclaimed movie geek who owns more than 2,000 DVDs and a now-growing collection of Blu Rays.

But, it saddens me to see the video stores of old going out of business as consumers find cheaper and easier ways to rent movies.

While a rental store closing up shop usually means great bargains for film fans, it also is a bittersweet reminder that our world is changing everyday.

The latest casualty was the Blockbuster in Dry Ridge, a franchise that has been shutting locations across the country for awhile now.
With its demise, Grant County is left pretty much with non-existent options to go to rent movies outside of Red Box and Blockbuster Express vending machines.

I do understand the allure of these box rentals.

You can rent a movie at one location and return it to any other location around the country.

For the most part, the rentals are much more inexpensive than traditional video stores.

Red Box is only a little over $1 a night while Blockbuster Express, in a move that probably says a lot about their lack of success, is around $3 for new rentals per day.

I admit I frequent Red Box, especially when I receive promotional codes through text message or e-mail.

Who wouldn’t take advantage of a free movie?

Another viable option for movie lovers is Netflix or other rental by mail services.

The need to travel is eliminated, but you still you have to wait several days for a disc to show up in the mail.

Once again, as a fanatic, or as my wife calls me, an addict, I have a subscription to Netflix.

I like it because I can track down some titles that are not as easily found in stores and definitely can’t be accessed in a rental box.

The other advantage for most people is the streaming option that allows you to watch movies on your TV or computer via Internet.Unfortunately for me, my service is spotty at best and I tend to get to watch streaming movies in 30-second increments before the video reloads.

A 90-minute movie may take literally two days to get through sometimes.

That may say more about my lack of technology at my house though.
My long, rambling point is this, I realize there are more options out there now, but I wish more people would see the value of physically getting up, getting into a car and taking your time checking out movies before you select one at a store.

These days, everyone wants to take the easiest route.

We rarely talk face-to-face anymore because we can simply send a tweet or update our Facebook status to let people know what we had for breakfast that morning.

When did interacting with people in the community, without the necessity of Internet acess, become such a bad thing?

What also gets lost in the elimination of video stores is the people who lose their jobs.

Granted, there likely are only a handful of employees and the pay rate is not going to allow you to start shopping for your dream car.

However, with a down economy and high unemployment rates, every little bit helps.

While there have been new stores popping up occasionally, Grant and other counties have seen far too many businesses close down.

Next time you need something, whether it’s a movie rental or any other consumer item, think about more than the convenience of buying it online or through a machine.

Pledge to go into a locally-owned store with actual people who rely on your hard-earned dollars to stay afloat, and in turn keep the community going.

(Bryan Marshall is the staff writer at the Grant County News. He can be reached at bmarshall@grantky.com.)