not my department

Woodward’s, Eaton’s, The Bay, Simpsons-Sears. My youth was all about department stores – to buy stuff, a source of income, just a place to hang. They’re all gone. Well, the Bay is mostly gone. I am not nostalgic about the stores or the companies. Trends change. Businesses come and go but there are memories. The Bay – my mother’s excitement about the Bay Day sale. Woodward’s – the food floor for wine gums then to the record department to buy a 45. The Bay and Woodward’s – frosted malts. Not the American kind. You ate these with a spoon. Delicious brain freeze. The Sears record bin - 99 cent bargain vinyl.  Part time jobs at Woodward’s - sales and loading dock. Loading dock paid better. A brief stint in the Eaton’s furniture stockroom. The guy before me got fired for stealing TV sets. Amazon just doesn’t cut it for memories.