Needle Drop

Leaving the arcade behind, I jogged a block south and slipped into the cool aisles of a vintage record shop. Right on an open wooden tasting counter sat a listening station with a turntable spinning an empty rubber slipmat. Couldn't let good rpm go to waste. I sprang onto the casing, grabbed the brushed-metal tonearm with both gloves, and swung it out over the grooved black vinyl record waiting in the bin below. Giving the cue lever a snappy tap with my shoe, the needle dropped right into the outer run-in groove with a crackle and a pop. Nothing like jump-starting the groove yourself.