I’ve heard that most people say that it is their sense of
smell that brings back memories to them. I can’t recall a time when smell did
that for me. For me it has always been sight or hearing. Lately, I have been
reading a lot of Marvel comics’ Essential series. Right now I’m reading Volume
7 of the Essential Spider-Man. The first story in this series is a reprint of
#138. It was the very first comic book I bought when my family moved to the
town where I still live. I recalled buying it at the local convenient store
that was just a block and a half away from my new home. It was called Stop and
Go. The store is still in that area and moved a half a block closer but I’m not
in that house anymore. It’s also now called the Dairy Mart. I remember thinking
how lucky I was to have a store that close sell comic books. You see, before we
moved, the closest store that sold comics where I lived was at least a mile
away. That lucky feeling didn’t last too long. In less
than 6 months they stopped selling comic books. A local drug store, that was about
5 blocks in the opposite direction and across the town’s main highway, was now
my closest connection. It was still closer than a mile away, but it wasn’t like
having them as your next door neighbor. The good thing about the drug store is that I
had to pass it on my way home from school. Sometimes I made a quick stop there
to see what books were out.
It’s now rare to find any convenient stores or drug stores
that sell comic books. Comic book specialty stores are now where most people
have to find them. If you are a comic
book fan, and lucky enough to live a block away from your local comic book store,
then cherish that feeling.
