Part of the LOOOONG line at Borders!

Good evening!

Well, it is official! Jason and I went to Borders this evening, and it already is nothing like the safe haven that we had come to know and love. The coffee shop, Seattle’s Best, is already closed, the chairs are all stacked and put away, and the books are just an ever-loving mess!!! You had better have known what you were looking for and where in the general area you were going to find it, because staff people were hard to come by. Then when it was time to finally check out, the line wrapped all through the store  it was QUITE INSANE!!! You would think that people would NEVER be able to purchase a book again!! The “sale” prices that we thought would be coming out today, really never materialized. Most everything had a mere 10% off, which meant that I am going to be doing some waiting before I go there looking for some great end of business deals. The staff did say that they were hoping that they would be open through September, but really, whenever the merchandise runs out, that’s about it!

So, this is it. No more Borders. There seem to have been a lot of people running around feeling a lot like I am:

“Now what?”

“What do I do now?”

“I can’t believe this place is closing!”

You see, in Salem, Borders is more like a community center. People stop there, of course, to read and purchase books, magazines, music, and DVDS, but there are also groups that meet there every evening, and to come enjoy the live music during the weekends. People stop by to grab a coffee and catch up with friends, do some studying, spend some time people watching, or to come practice some sign language with other like-minded individuals, not to mention some of our most memorable times of midnight release parties of special books like and of the books from the Harry Potter series, or the Twilight Saga DVD releases.

Good times!! 😉

I heard one woman say,

“Now what am I supposed to do with my weekends?”

That was pretty sad, but she is kind of right. Besides going out to eat, or going to the movie theater there really isn’t much in the way of entertainment in this community. It is going to take this small city some time to recover. Who ever thought that the one and only true book store in Salem would EVER close???

It might be time to look for a new stomping ground. It’s something I am going to have to seriously consider.

Anyway, I am going to go spend some quiet time with my sweetie!! Until tomorrow…

Have a FABULOUS evening!! 😉