My daughter just got a dream job — working in a bookstore that sells her favorite music, video games and most of all anime. The last time I visited there, more people with piercings, tattoos, and chains were shopping in that one store than I had ever seen congregated.

One group was clustered around ornately packaged boxes bearing titles like Magick Talismans, Magick Amulets & Charms and Magick Spells & Rituals. From their conversation, they believed them to be truly magical.

My daughter, an extremely open-minded young woman, treated all of them with friendly courtesy. But when she picked up each of their magical purchases to scan them — perhaps it was a mother’s eye — it was as though she were picking up a snake. Later she confessed that as soon as she got paid and used her discount on an anime series, she was finding another store to work in. See. A mother knows.