When I was growing up I would look forward to going to town with my Nan on Fridays . It was always the same day to get groceries at the store on the corner of Webster street in Kentville,NS. I think it went with the name Dominion at the time , then switched over to IGA a little later .
The main reason I was so excited to go, it was allowance day . I would usually get a couple of dollars from my Mom and Dad for doing a few chores . Plus my Nan ( OK I was spoiled) would give me a 1 or 2 dollar bill to go with it. So with my pocket full of cash , off I would go just down the street to Chisholms . It was a local book,magazine and hobby store. It is still open , which is nice to see in this age of corporate and online madness.
My heart would race as I entered the store , quickly heading to the racks with magazines and the spin rack full of comic books. Then I would spend at least 30 minutes deciding what adventures I would walk out with. You have to realize that having anywhere between 2 or 3 dollars with comics being around 10 cents or so when I started buying them when I was 5 or 6 (this was 1969) , I was a rich man in comic heaven .
Standing there I would pull each title that caught my eye. From Spider-Man ,The Fantastic Four,The Avengers,Batman,Superman . I would walk out with at least 2 or more , get to the grocery store get a Pepsi or Coke , a bag of chips and then couldn't wait to get home and enter the world of the superhero.
It was exciting and full of adventure . I mean who didn't want to be Spider-Man or Superman. I still recall the towel around my neck , held there with a Cloths pin, flying around the house . They were our entertainment . Who needed cable or the internet or video games . I was transported to worlds of wonder ,with each comic panel full of great art and cool dialog. Much cooler then the stupid books of my primary and grade 1 readers. See spot run! Yeah right ,whatever. I still recall getting into trouble for sneaking in my Comics to read during reading time . Another friend of mine did so as well . It was worth the standing in the corner.
I kept reading comics and buying them till about the mid 80's . Then I grew up (highly overrated) and made a huge mistake of selling them or giving them away . Dumb idea. I miss them at times and sometimes I search out some of the titles I had collected on E-Bay just for fun. They played an important part of my childhood. They helped me escape to a world were good guys won and bad guys paid the price. Not such a bad thing .
So I have great memories of Friday nights , clutching my money and heading off to find that adventure with one of my many favorite heroes.Good times . Simpler and more innocent times .
1 comment:
For me, it was the Red & White Store on the corner in Fredericton, NB. Mind you, when I was that age, it was a later decade. Ok Ok, it was just the next one. I was 6 and you'd walk down to the store and were so happy when you got to keep the change. That was when a quarter bought you something. I can just imagine you and I letting the boys walk any where, by themselves, at 5 or 6. Never happened. Mind you we lived on a relatively quiet one way street. But, there were crazy busy roads on either end (Queen and York, if memory serves me correctly). Oh no Reg, we've reached that age. We're old gummers. When I was a kid, we walked 3 miles to school ever day, up hill both ways, in a snowstorm in our bare feet, and were happy to do it (masochists?). Kids today don't know how easy they got it. Actually, living in central New Brunswick, the snowstorm was right, it was only 2 blocks and you bundled up or you could literally freeze to death. Thanks for sharing another part of your childhood, always interesting.
Love you, Mrs Reg
PS: Now I know why you get a little ga ga when we walk in to Chisholms.
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