There are two things I've never experienced in person before: a trading card shop with a random collection of used items and a tazer of 500,000 volts; Bill Arnold owns both. Arnold, who is in his early seventies, has been in business since 1997. He is the owner of a card shop near the major transportation hub of Kensington and Allegheny Avenues. Before he got into the card shop business, he was a general contractor in Philadelphia for 45 years. Arnold recalls that when he first started his business it was going pretty good until all the customers who came on a regular basis moved out of the neighborhood. "Now I'm lucky if I bring in 30 dollars a day," Arnold says. "I'm the only card store left, but I'm getting so tired I just don't care anymore." With little profit being made, it's easy to assume that Arnold isn't in it for the money. Since he is retired, the shop seems more like a hobby than anything else. Arnold mentioned that since business is so slow he covers his rent by selling most of his items at a big flea market in Columbus, NJ on the weekends.
The most interesting thing about Arnold's business structure is that he does not feel the need to have security guards or even a security system to protect his store from intruders or potential robbers. Instead, he simply pulls out a huge black tazer from beneath his desk and shows me exactly what it is capable of doing. Upon pressing the side buttons, the electrical shock I observed from a distance was more than enough proof for me to realize just how strong 500,000 volts is. My immediate reaction was, "He could do major damage with that thing." My expression probably said it all and almost as though he heard my thoughts or read my mind, Arnold said in agreeance, "Yeah, I don't need no shotgun, this is all I need."
LaToya Allen and Herry Pierre-Louis, Group 1, Kensington
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