I had heard about the infamous Beck DeRobertis long before I met him in person. For a long time he was known to me only as “the magical night kid,” because I had heard that he would always say, “Have a Magical Night,” after a customer rang up an order at Lowry Hill Liquor Store.
Lowry Hill isn’t the usual place I go to buy beer, because even though it’s cheaper than the other stores in my neighborhood, it’s just a little bit farther away than several others. Still, for the last couple of years, the times that I did stop by the store, I would watch out for the Magical Night Kid. He never happened to be working on the nights that I stopped by the store. I still heard about him from others. His message as customers were rung up expanded to “Have a Magical Night and a titillating tomorrow,” and he also began to be quoted for other sayings. Still, though, any time I went to the store, DeRobertis would not be there. I began to believe that he didn’t actually exist.
This changed recently when I learned that the notorious cashier now was selling DVDs of a movie that he wrote, starred in and directed. I simply had to check it out. I went over to Lowry Hill and there he was. As he was ringing up my purchase, he asked me if I would be interested in buying his movie for $5.
I bargained with him, asking if I could have a free copy if I wrote an article about him and his movie. Normally I wouldn’t do that until I checked to see if I could get an assignment first, but I was so anxious to see the movie that just crossed my fingers that it would all work out.
Luckily it did. I watched the movie that night (a very fun and weird little movie that is excellently put together) and returned later in the week to interview DeRobertis. He was all decked out in Vikings gear, and was gracious enough to comply when I asked him to give the camera a taste of some of his sayings. I don’t know what it is about him, but he has a cadence and delivery that is just hilarious.
You can see the little piece I wrote here, along with the videos. This is one of my favorite kinds of stories to write. On the one hand, you have a local business supporting the artistic endeavors of its workers, by letting a young filmmaker sell DVDs at the counter. On the other hand, DeRobertis is just such an interesting person, and there’s no doubt that many people who frequent the store appreciate his original personality. To me, the world needs more people who just allow themselves to be who they are, not changing into a person they think they are supposed to be.
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