Return of The Sharper Image

source: Wikipedia

After a 9-year absence, high-tech gadget/lifestyle retailer The Sharper Image, which opened in 1977 and closed in 2008, returned from the dead with a new store (now owned by Camelot Venture Group) in New York's Times Square.

For me, The Sharper Image meant a lot more. It was my first full-time employer and my first job when I moved to San Francisco in 1983.

The experience gained from my 8 years there set the foundation for my current career - a mix of finance, operations, asset protection and customer service.

Today was particularly bittersweet for 2 reasons:
1. Birthday of a longtime friend who didn't work for The Sharper Image, but worked as a vendor contact to another friend/former colleague/ex-boss.
2. Berkeley visit to see former colleagues who are mother and daughter. The daughter hired me and was my first boss.

Reason #2 is why this Thanksgiving week will be difficult.
The mother is now in hospice care in her Berkeley apartment. The same Berkeley apartment where I met her for many Saturday lunches and was my Thanksgiving dinner destination for 8 years.

After a 20+ years absence, I'll come back to where it all started.