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Slightly off topic, but here is my contribution to remembering the time when bookstores were numerous in the area where I lived at that time in my life):
I remember when my Mother died in 2004. It was a horrible time for me - for an endless series of months. Working took a lot of the pain away since there was no time to do anything but work. But when the school day was over, the gloom and depression kicked in with a vengeance. I felt empty inside, although teaching filled that emptiness because there was no time to feel anything. About 5:00 in the afternoon, I invariably drove to Borders (about 3-5 minutes away) just to be near people - to be near anyone. I would drink a coffee and watch as both young and old entered. They appeared to be happy to be together. Of course, this brought back the hollow feeling that seemed to govern my life during this period. However, I found comfort in spending time - day after day - in the section that dealt with understanding the grieving process. I would bring some of these books back to one of the chairs there and read through different sections as I drank my coffee. Of course, intellectually I knew what I was going through, but coping with it on an emotional level was beyond my capability. I recall the time I purchased one of those books that dealt with this issue and how the staff there seemed to commiserate (if that is the best word) with me on what I was going through. I sometimes wonder if I would have survived without the comfort of Borders and being around other people.
This bookstore, Borders, was a place that helped me throughout those horrible months when living alone and working approximately 650 miles away from my family helped me through the worst moments of grieving. I was divorced, too, at that time, so that added to the emptiness I was going through.
Borders is completely gone now from the American landscape, as are so many other good bookstores that have passed away. Yet its memory is dear to me.
(Active Moderators - please move this if it is not appropriate.)
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