Blockbuster Video stores have been closing at a rapid rate the past couple of years. But you probably aren’t too worked up over it, since you’re busy binge-watching pretty much everything on Netflix.
When Hector Zuniga found out that the Blockbuster he goes to in Mission, Texas, is closing down, he took it hard.
The 20-year-old has autism and trips to the Blockbuster store were part of his regular routine.
So his father came up with a brilliant plan. He built a mini-Blockbuster store at home.
“My autistic brother was sad that Blockbuster was closing down,” his brother, Javier, posted on Twitter. “So my parents made a mini one at home for him!”
It took their father just 45 minutes to whip up the home Blockbuster Video display, stocked full with his favorites — lots of Elmo and Barney videos — and even a Blockbuster logo at the top.
Hector Zuniga is nonverbal, but it’s obvious that he was thrilled, as he’s seen in the pictures his brother posted of him smiling and clapping his hands.
“He has been going to Blockbuster since he was 13 years old,” Javier Zuniga told CNN. “He would go rent Veggie Tales, Barney, Elmo, Rugrats and Baby Einstein (videos). He always rents the same ones when we go back; sometimes he’ll even get two of the same ones.”
Javier Zuniga’s tweet has been retweeted tens of thousands of times, and he says it’s been a way to connect with others dealing with a family member with autism.
“It has been, for the most part, great and I hear mostly from the parents and siblings who have someone who has autism,” Javier said.
Even though he now has a video store all his own at home, he still has a chance to make one last run to the real thing. The Mission, Texas, Blockbuster Video store closes its doors for good on Friday.