Friday, July 6, 2012

Dime Store Books



When he was six he was deemed
old enough to ride his bicycle
(red) the mile and a half
to the dime store, a place
of magic with rows of toys
and candy and those racks
of 59 cent books, Trixie Belden
and the Secret of the Mansion,
Black Beauty, the Bobbsey Twins,
Kidnapped and Robinson Crusoe.
The library was too far and across
the highway so he learned to buy
instead of borrow.

This is another in a series of poems about growing up in the South, suggested by Nancy Rosback. The dime store in question was called TG&Y.

7 comments:

Martha Jane Orlando said...

Ah! The long-ago magic of the dime store . . . This brought back some memories I'd not thought about for ages.
Blessings, Glynn!

Maureen said...

I think it's genetic. You and I both exceeded our allowances in the books we bought.

Hoping you are staying cool. St. Louis temps are rivaling, maybe even exceeding, D.C.-area's own.

Anonymous said...

(red) ... i love it.
this boy (you) got out and about at an early age!
yes...i suspect that this is not fiction.
good list of books.
you started your book buying at an early age too.

Anonymous said...

Very evocative, Glynn, for those of us of a certain age and landscape...thank you.

Marcus Goodyear said...

"he learned to buy instead of borrow."
Isn't that what all Americans have learned in recent generations?

SimplyDarlene said...

ah, the beginning of your cycling mania.

we buy books too 'cause of the whole library distance too -- but ours come via ups

blessings.

S. Etole said...

Saving up my allowance for a trip to the dime store which was 30 miles away was a major event.

Thanks for the memories.