Growing up

I live in a city of about 100,000 people and I know that it is not
some huge metropolis. What you have to understand is that where I live
that makes us one of the largest cities in the state. Now even a city
like mine has gone through a lot of changes over the years, we have our
shopping malls, shopping centers and our fast food restaurants but
there was a time when that was all so very different.
I was born in 1961 so I spent my early years growing up in the
sixties, when things were just very different than today. We used to
have to do almost all of our shopping downtown on what was really the
main street. We would hop in the old Buick special, pick up grandma and
head down to the stores. We shopped in big old brick buildings that
were two or three stories tall, very old and smelled like it. You could
go into the local Kress store and pick up many items from clothes to
household items and even eat at the lunch counter, yes a real lunch
counter. I remember having an occasional burger and coke there, and
they were really good, I can still taste them Sitting on the tall
stools and spinning around until mom made you stop. We would spend some
time in Kress and then move on to the McCroy's next door, kind of a
five and dime. I remember these stores having large wooden shelves for
their merchandise with the glass dividers separating each item. I can't
even tell you what mom picked up at these stores as I spent all my time
in the toy isles, looking at all the neat things. I do not remember
buying any toys there just looking at them. The stores were always cool
and it always felt good to step inside and feel that cold rush of air
hit you. We would move onto the next store, which would usually be a
local store that seemed to only sell blue jeans or at least that is all
I ever remember seeing in there. There were jeans everywhere, on big
wooden tables and big wooden racks and women digging through them
everywhere. Well that were the jeans came from that was for sure. I
remember walking down the sidewalks from store to store until grandma
would get tired and say she was heading out to the car to wait on us.
We always went into Sears, which was ok with me because it was the only
building in town that had a revolving door and an elevator. You had go
through that door several times coming in and going out and always
hoped you would ride the elevator. I don't recall if we bought anything
at Sears, I am sure we did at some point, but I sure remember that
revolving door and elevator. Well the whole shopping experience was so
much different back then, it actually meant something and it always
ended the same way, with mom telling me to go get your grandmother out
that car, it's not ours!