ecstaticSo I got home from the office about 8:30 last night, dumped the bag containing all the stuff I lug back and forth every day to keep myself occupied on the bus during my (roughly) 3-hour roundtrip commute (yesterday's contents: The New York Times, The Financial Times, Reading Lolita in Tehran, Beginning French for the Utterly Confused -- don't laugh at the title, this is one of the best beginning language books I've ever used), fed Chloe the cat, and then walked across the street to my local Barnes & Noble bookseller to see if they had Oz Season 4 in stock. Checked the DVD New Release table. Nada. Checked the "Television Shows" section. Rien. Was about to walk out of the Music/DVD room in disappointment when a salesclerk asked if I needed any help. Here's our conversation:
Him (maybe 22, with a scraggly mustache/wispy beard clearly meant to make him look older): May I help you?
Me (considerably older than 22): I was wondering if you have the Oz Season 4 DVDs. They were supposed to be released today.
Him: Yes, we have it. It's one of the things we keep under the counter. Did you want to buy it?
Me: (Bemused) Yes, I do.
So he literally reached under the counter, pulled out a shrinkwapped package, and handed it to me. I paid and walked out of the store, the latest proud owner of Season 4.
Now, what struck me the most about our little exchange was the whole "under the counter" thing. That's what stores do with porn magazines to keep them out of the hands of kids. That I understand. Magazines can be flipped through and things not intended for young eyes can be seen. But a shrinkwrapped, tastefully packaged DVD? Does this make sense to anyone? Now I'm starting to wonder what else they hide away under the counter ...
I'm very excited to have the DVDs, even though I won't be able to start watching them until this weekend. For me, who hasn't seen any Oz beyond the New Year's Eve kiss, it's like 
oz_magi morning all over again. I know everyone who's seen the show is excited about the deleted scenes on this DVD set; multiply that excitement level by at least a factor of 16 and you'll get an idea of how I'm feeling today.
I don't even mind being at the office. :-))))
