Like a breath of fresh air.

After thirty years, a certain amount of cynicism sets in. I've always admired teachers, for instance, who can keep each school year fresh. But...experience after experience after experience can make you....realistic? Sober? Wary?

So it's been fun to have the three young guys I have currently working for me. They are peppy and fresh, and they seem to like working in a comic store, and they read a lot of the same comics my customers read and like talking about them. (I, on the other hand, tend to be efficient about moving people along, and...I read comics that either no one reads, or one or two people read.)

I've tried not to influence these guys too much. I've tried not to give them too many instructions. (I have a tendency to lecture and lecture and say too much.) I want them to explore the possibilities.

For one thing, if they sell the same exact stuff I suggest that they sell, where's the advantage in that? Preferably, each of them would sell a slightly different mix of product.

I've always been lucky in that I could hire from my customer base. I get to observe their behavior for a period of time, and judge their character. It's amazing the clues you can pick up from the little things -- which represent the big things.

But mostly their good attitude seems to be, I hate to say it, a function of age. They are young. They just haven't become jaded. They think it all ought to be fun. Having a job is an adventure to them.

I've lightened up a lot in the last year. I stopped trying to control my customers behavior about a year and half ago, and that pretty much stopped the occasional disputes. I've had more time off, and that has made me a bit more fresh. I've learned to zip my mouth shut. Over these 30 years, I've had runs of really good attitude, and a few runs of bad attitude, and a whole lot in-between. But I'll probably never again have the innocence I see in these young guys.

I was talking to Matt at the end of the day yesterday, after I'd gone home early because I was feeling a little sour, and I kind of blurted out to him, "You guys are a breath of fresh air."

And I realized I totally meant it.