Requiem for the Soft Tipper
It all started December 11th, 2015 when Randy Slipher posted that Soft Tipper had lost their lease with everything now half price - …. Or did it?
Imperfect memories from the Camelot that was Portland Darts in the 80’s began to resurface. The Doors Open … The Norseman … Islands in the Stream …
Little John introduced me to Soft Tipper Darts in 1983. He was a real promoter for darts, always helping people out. He was a nice guy, doing what nice guys do.
Chris always treated us right too. When I bought my 1st “duplicate” set of darts, Chris didn’t charge me for the shafts since I was going to change them anyway. She didn’t have to do that, but that’s something nice people do.
When I purchased my close out sale ½ price dart board a couple weeks ago, “other” John beat me to the door to help me out to the car. It was instinctive. He’s a nice guy and he did it because – That’s what nice guys do.
Lastly, about the same time, Demetria remembered that a boxed set of hammer head darts I’d purchased only had 2 darts in it, and she saved the 3rd one for me. Even with all the stress of those last hectic days she remembered, - because that’s what nice people do.
My fourth and final inventory purchase on Monday the 28th guaranteed I’ll never need to buy another dart part as long as I live. That’s no small comfort considering the Soft Tipper won’t be there anymore to keep it easy.
That last cold rainy December day completed the scene. Closure - in an Elanore Rigby sort of way. The Soft Tipper by now was stripped bare, looking more like a crime scene without the police tape, than the last bridge to an era that touched every dart player in Portland over the last 38 years.
Joni Mitchell once said: Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you got ‘till it’s gone...
The Soft Tipper was an enigma. A hands on store in a digital age. Like Loch Ness “Nessie” – The Soft Tipper was a dinosaur that should have gone extinct long ago but somehow didn’t - until now.
Soft Tipper Darts 1977 - 2015
AI
