Barnes and Noble

It's been announced that one of our neighborhood Barnes and Noble is closing at the first of the new year. Barnes and Noble holds a very special place in my heart and I have so many memories at this particular one.

Growing up, when I began to closet myself away with tons of books, I frequented a very small bookstore in my hometown. It had little beyond fiction but I still spent way too much time, and money, there. Then, in high school, when I finally got my own car, I discovered a Barnes and Noble about twenty minutes from home. This discovery also coincided with my discovery of history - and my passionate love for the subject. I went into my first Barnes and Noble, wandered around, and happened upon the "History" section. This was, by the way, before I had taken any real interest in the technological phenomenon known as the internet. So, to find a section of shelves filled with history books....well, I was in love. These books weren't old and beat up like the library books...they were shiny and pretty and unopened.

I have no idea how often I went to that Barnes and Noble but it was most likely weekly. Two years later, when I started college and my mom took a job in the town which I now call home, I first started coming to my current Barnes and Noble. That was ten (!!!) years ago. I had no idea it would play such an integral part in my life through the years. It was an easy place to meet up, a great place to browse before or after appointments, and, now, an easy stop on the way home from work. I've easily spent hundreds, possibly thousands, of dollars there. And it's always been a fall-back way to cheer myself up; just walking through the doors makes me feel better!

But now I must say good-bye to the store that's provided me with so many escapes and adventures and treasure-troves of knowledge. It's a sad day.