I've finally lived long enough to both remember when Radio Shack was mocked as low-quality, staffed by teens who knew nothing... and now to watch that same company given a hagiography.

"It was the place to go if you needed..." sounds a lot better than, "It was often the only game in town, and woeful at that," I guess. I still remember them trying to sell Monster cables for amounts of money that were downright comical.

RatShack was the finest purveyor of overpriced electronic components and electronic repair tools and supplies, electronics learning kits, Tandy computers, RC cars, and ham/CB radio gear. As a kid, it was the only such electronics shop withing bicycling distance, although was located in a ugly shopping mall that no one went to pre-internet. An Australian holding company later bought the mall and refurbished it with exterior-facing shops so that it became both a shopping mall and a very long strip mall on the same property.

They were always terrible, but I have fond pre-teen memories of saving up my allowance to buy components off the pegboard in the back and then failing to make anything that worked with them.

"You've got questions, we've got blank stares." 1994-1995 alumnus

I hated that an aux cable cost $30 (back when $30 was $50).

I also loved that I knew exactly where to go to get an aux cable, or any other random component I might need.