When Words Aren't Enough

Some places on this earth become living, breathing beings. Some places come alive thanks to the people that inhabit them and work in them. Pages for All Ages bookstore was one of these places.

Pages wasn't just a place: it was a friend. One of the best friends I've ever had. Oh, I see. You think I'm overly sentimental. You think I'm too dramatic. That's fine; I'll let you think that. The fact is, however, I'll miss Pages just as much as I miss a dear friend that moves away or a loved one that passes on.

Within those walls, some of my dearest memories dwell. I remember the first time my mom took me to the store, when it was located at the Old Farm Shoppes. I'd never seen anyplace so WONDERFUL. Books towered over my head, and within them endless worlds to discover, characters to meet, and friends to make. My favorite corner was the beginning of fiction, right next door to horror (where I bought my first Anne Rice novel) and the bathroom (Yes! this store even had a bathroom!). I loved the card room, where I could pick out quirky, cute cards for my girlfriends, and I loved buying all of them gift cards for their birthdays. But, the best part of all??? The kids section.

Rows upon rows of fictional odysseys...not to mention New Kids on the Block biographies and Ghost Writer serials. Oh, my! To get a gift card and run to Pages on a Friday night with my mommy to spend it! These are seriously some of the fondest memories of my childhood. I decided on these Friday nights that my future career was in books, and my future job would be HERE.

My childhood dream came true in the summer of 2000 when I got a part-time position at my old friend of a bookstore. I was SO excited! I couldn't believe it! My prayers had been answered, and I started five of the happiest years of my life at the new store in Savoy. I also made some of the dearest friends I've ever known: Mr. Bill, Tonia, Robin, Brian, Dean, Neil Boy Cashier, Miss Molly, Norma, Teri (who has the best laugh in the world) & Stuart, and so many others that passed through the doors, even for a short time, and blessed my life with their presence. I finally moved on, to concentrate on teaching, but I knew I would return one day...hopefully as a retired teacher, working in the Kids' Section, where I first fell in love with the store.

My story ends here. I'll have no more memories of my dear friend. I'll miss the rows of books, browsing with my gift cards I still always received for my birthday, my beloved friends--both fictional and real--and yelling out the Iron Chef greeting to Mr. Bill. But, what will I miss most? The smell. The saddest part of my final trip there was the fact that the smell was gone. I didn't smell Pages; I smelled greedy people cashing in on the demise of my best, most dependable childhood friend. That's when I knew it was really over...when the smell of books, love, and coffee were gone.

Bye, Pages. I'll miss you.