Saturday, July 09, 2011

McNeil Reads Me Wikipedia Articles Over the Phone

More than twenty years ago, McNeil got me a gift certificate to the Phar-Mor drugstore for my birthday. He never mailed it. "It's upstairs with a ten cent stamp on it," he said in a phone conversation today. He promises to mail it next year. That's what he says every year. Phar-Mor is a long-defunct chain. The Mobile, Alabama, branch for some reason had a bizarrely vast and eclectic section of VHS tapes for rent for less than a dollar apiece, and they would let you keep them practically forever. It was a paradise on earth. Today McNeil read me the wikipedia entry about Phar-Mor over the phone. That was a real treat. McNeil focused particularly on the legal troubles of Phar-Mor founder Michael "Mickey" Monus. He seemed to enjoy saying "Michael 'Mickey' Monus."