For The Love Of Old Grocery Stores....

Oh maaaan....I miss old style grocery stores. I miss the garish lighting, gaudy colors and the entrance doors with the rickety metal dividers. I miss the pastel produce cases and the real fishnets full of plastic replicas of crabs and swordfish in the meat/seafood department. I miss the shiny vct (most likely asbestos) square tiles, the check cashing/courtesy booth and the cluttery decor. I miss the hand painted signs on white butcher paper and the 'cha-ching' sound the clunky cash registers made. By the time the 70s rolled around and I was was shopping in there, these places were beginning to lose their luster. They were still wonderful, but the lighting was dingy and floors were stained & crumbly in places. the pastel produce cases were out of style in a brown world and the carts were squeaky & had bad wheels. Eventually the clunky cash register would be replaced by the kind that beeped and the front door electronics were failing, making them sticky & hard to open. I didn't care, I loved them just the same. Obviously I still do. I'd give my eye teeth for one more trip to 'Bob's Thrift' on 33rd and Perry to buy a Mad magazine, some 'Grease' bubble gum cards and a package of wax bottle candy. Unfortunately, it will never be possible because Bob's is now a Library.