Two Prostitutes, a Pimp, and a VCR

This is when I learned… if it sounds too good to be true…it is.

This story is so embarrassing I cringe when I think about it. I told a friend I was going to make a post about it and he asked me…are you really going to tell people you were that stupid for a day? It’s not what you think by the title. I’m not a naive person…in fact, I can be cynical at times but…  this incident was undoubtedly the most naive moment in my life. Things started to happen and before I knew it…it was out of control. This, unfortunately, is not a made up story. I was raised right and if I would have practiced what I was taught…none of this would have happened…but it was a valuable lesson…

When I was 18 I was working in Nashville on Murfreesboro Road at a company that sold printers and copiers. I was making a grand total of 3.25 an hour. I would go to lunch and stop at a gas station somedays to get a paper. I met this guy there and he said he had a VCR he wanted to sell for 60 dollars. I’d seen him there before there…He seemed a bit shady…back in 1985 a VCR for 60 bucks was a great price. I wasn’t thinking morals at that time,  like if it was stolen or whatever.

Stupid me… I said sure I would love to buy it…he said to follow him to a house so I did and we went in and I gave him the money…I know I know…but I did. There were a few people there but he went into another room and came out. He then said the VCR was somewhere else…after that, he asked if I could take him to a place a few miles away because his car was acting up. Bells were going off in my head at this point but… I was thinking of that VCR…so I said sure let’s go. Out comes a young woman in spandex and she went with us. I dropped the two of them off at some kind of business. A few minutes later, out they come and now there was an extra woman in spandex plus this guy. He wanted me to drop them off somewhere else to get the VCR since it had been “moved”…

By this time I was angry, embarrassed and I knew I had been not only had…but had good…and was thinking of a way out…I was scared of the cops stopping me with this crew in my car. I told him I wanted the money back and he admitted he had to give it to someone from the first house but the “girls” were going to make the money back so I would have it. I then took the trio to a destination and I said the hell with this when thoughts of shootings and cops flashed in my head…I dropped them off and they told me to wait and I took off.

A month or so later I went back to the gas station and there he was… I saw him there and I yelled at him “Hey want to buy a VCR for 60 bucks?” as I was walking toward him…he jumped in a car and took off and I never saw him again.

60 dollars for a life lesson is not bad.

I later saved up (what a concept!)…and bought a VCR for around $150…well add the 60 I lost and that would be $210.

My friends have never let me live this down…which if it would have happened to them I would not have either.

Again if it sounds too good to be true…it is.

Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player.

46 thoughts on “Two Prostitutes, a Pimp, and a VCR”

  1. It would have ended up a lot worse. The part that shocked me was you wanting your money and his jumping in the car and splitting- I wasn’t expecting that reaction from him. I’d say you got off lucky overall. You did learn a lesson- and it only cost you $60 and you walked away unhurt.

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    1. I was so embarassed and angry but yea it could have been a lot worse. I wasn’t that brave though….there were people around when he left. I learned a lot that day. I still can’t believe I put myself in that position. Never have again that is for sure.

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      1. You were eighteen. If you had been thirty- that would have been different. We’ve all done stupid stuff like that when we were young.

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      2. Yes and it was a big lesson for a very cheap price. My one encounter with that world was enough for me. I can laugh now anyway.

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      4. When you told me that story that is when I wrote it. Then I thought…man people are going to think I’m stupid lol…

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    1. I just cannot believe I was that stupid. Being 18 wasn’t an excuse… I was somewhat smarter than that but it just escualted before I knew what was happening…but I learned a lot.

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      2. It was a good deal. I knew better is the thing…but me at 18 of course had no control. Oh it was a life lesson…maybe that helped me be cynical…I think in a good way.

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  5. Ha! Funny story. It was a different world then. I fear the dude would have shot you if the same incident happened today. I don’t blame you, though. Your first impulse was to be outraged. You weren’t expecting to get ripped off–you were naive. And then, you weren’t expecting to see the same guy at the same place–and he was just as surprised to see you.

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    1. It was a life lesson that I will never forget. I should have added that there were people at the station when I saw him last but I had blinders on…I wasn’t a fighter either but yes you said it…outraged and embarassed. It really taught me how fast a situation can change before you knew it.

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      1. I think it’s a good lesson never to forget and pretty funny. But one day is surely up. How do we think about that our shitty lives makes a difference to the cosmos? It’s just living in the present and having fun.

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  8. Heh. You were lucky. But, I bet you had friends with bail money?

    $3.25 an hour. Remember that well. The photo above resembles one of those tune-able channel Betamax machines. An ex-roomie of mine had one.

    Loved the video with the ‘Flashdance’ feel to it.

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    2. Btw… I am at the office now… some network failure… not us but someone else… affecting everything else…. will reply soon… this is getting old

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      2. I was there til 3 in the damn morning. I’m beyond pissed…ISP…. what happen is we have our MPLS network managed by another company….which is fine but one box is not managed by them… One box which controls DNS for the outside was messed up. Well our network company worked with them and would call me every few minutes with updates….the other 3rd party company was in NO hurry and still haven’t fixed the problem…i wont mention their name…STRATUS….cough cough…

        So the good company worked with me and we had an old home modem their we used for testing that we have goiing right now that is getting pegged but it is keeping credit card sales going through our stores in our network… Stratus still hasn’t fixed the problem and with no updates.
        I told my boss the cfo we are dumping them tomorrow and getting our network company to handle that part. I went to sleep at 5 and woke up at 12….weekend shot.

        Well enough of me bitching lol.

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      4. Oh no…we only have an IT department of 8 including me….and 4 of them are on the helpdesk only…one per shift 365 days a year. I work for a medium size company that runs it like a mom and pop.

        We do a lot in house though… We have one person that handles all POS second tier problems and one that is a tech and me and another guy that handles corp….we are stripped down.

        With support….if you keep in touch with me…I’m happy even if it’s bad news… the one thing I can’t take is being ignored. That pisses me off more than anything…and no urgency.

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      6. Oh yes…I’m basically on call 24/7… but I’ve learned a lot…IThe IT department as you know is the stepchild of a company…we are not a profit center…and that is not liked.

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      8. We have 10 servers…7 of them have………..wait for it….. 2003 server. I’ve tried to tell them we cannot patch them and they are very hackable… Many of them are from 2007….trying to get them to get more and combine servers with newer systems.

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  9. That dude was bad every which way, a swindler and a pimp. I’m shocked he didn’t offer to let “the girls” give you trade for the $60 to make it up. Glad you didn’t end up knocked over the head and in a ditch.

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    1. No I would have never have traded. I was with a girl and happy…just VERY stupid that day. It was a lesson I would never forget. Still can’t believe I was that naive.

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      2. Yea but I knew better….I never told my mom (Max I taught you better than that!) lol. But like I’ve said…60 bucks for a lesson was worth it.

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