I'm Old.

The store doesn't open until 10am, but there we were, the little retail soldiers, all still half-asleep as, before sunrise, we rearranged every display in the place. This bimonthly ritual is also known as "floor set." The "visuals" are sent to each store from corporate headquarters and then, on the same day, the same event occurs in every store across America. The pictures of how the store is supposed to look are distributed to the workers and we are given exactly 3.75 hrs. to completely reconfigure every sellable item in tabletop, home furnishings, accessories, and bed and bath. This means taking all the dishes off the glass shelves, taking them to the stockroom, and replacing them with new dishes, etc.

If this sounds like a boring and tedious task, it is. At 6am, it is worse.

So, in order to add some energy to the atmosphere, the management staff puts on a mix disc. Always wanting to make the most of any bad situation, I sometimes sing along, especially if I know all the lyrics.

Today, as I was singing (and dancing) to the following song, a younger coworker of mine began complaining about the music selection. He wanted to know why there weren't any "popular" songs on the mix.

And then, there uttered from my lips, a phrase that makes me officially old. I said, "You mean you don't know this song?"




Are you old? When did you first realize it?