It was so close. I found myself at a quaint downtown pawn shop during my lunch hour this autumn afternoon. And there was the Sharp cassette deck I had only seen once before in the wild. My mirth runneth over upon discovering the hanging price tag which read $10. But I would let this one slip away, too. Cardinal rule of junk hunting: always carry cash. No check, ATM, or credit card would do at Uncle Sam’s Gold n’Pawn. So when I returned to claim my holy grail, it was as if a dagger had pierced…alright enough melodrama. Some bastard was now home playing with the programming keypad on what should have been my cassette deck! And I’m still drooling over an old catalog. Always carry cash…