I thought it was Colonel Glenn.
Have I been mistaken all these years?
I hate to seem rude, but I think some folks are missing the point, here… at least, the point as I percieve it.
Amazon.com is a fine source of printed matter. If I want a book, I can go to Amazon and be pretty sure it’s there, and that they will sell it to me and ship it to me.
…but Amazon.com exists only on the internet. They do not have an Amazon outlet in my town, or any city near here.
There is a difference between the two situations of:
(A) I want a specific book, and I wish to purchase it, own it, and read it in my home.
(B) I want to browse the shelves, have a seat, examine various volumes, see what’s new, see what’s available, laugh at the licensed crapola, browse the magazines, sit and have a cuppa, read a newspaper, maybe buy something…
One involves a transaction. The other involves the bookstore experience.
The difference between the two is as major as playing “Rolly Coaster Tycoon” on your PC and actually going to an amusement park.
What I am seeing in the OP is partly sorrow at the loss of an old friend… some suffering at the loss of opportunity to browse and hang out at a beloved home away from home…
…and partly outrage at the rotten, hypocritical way some folks scraped that old friend out of the community like a lump of doggy byproduct on the sidewalk, in order to replace it with a soulless chain store.
…am I right?
** …and partly outrage at the rotten, hypocritical way some folks scraped that old friend out of the community like a lump of doggy byproduct on the sidewalk, in order to replace it with a soulless chain store.**
Well, yeah, but rountchere we don’t spec much more of Searcy and Harding.
You are right, a review and photo of the theater about 1/4 way down.
Good point, Master Wank-Ka, and one that I did indeed miss. However, judging by this description
Sounds like the good folks of Searcy, AR, traded up!
Just a quick question…
Besides your coffee, did you and the rest of the opressed non-conformists actually buy anything when you were in there?
Sounds like BAM may have just found an excuse to shut down a non-profitable location.
Master Wang-Ka, you stated that with the simple eloquence I lack, and I mean that as high praise. The book store experience, that’s what is gone. And what makes it worse, what keeps it coming to my mind over and over, is not that it went out of business, not that anybody didn’t care for the place, but that some big bully came and took it away.
And yes Balle_M people bought lots of books from them, they were in business for several years, and did very well. As for the ‘oppressed non-conformist’ jab, if I made it sound like that, then I apologize. It’s not like anyone was persecuted, or stoned in the streets, I guess I’m guilty of over romanticizing a book store that was unjustly put out of business. But if you knew this area, you would know it was tangible loss.
Actually, my wife and I bought virtually all of our recreational reading there…and that’s A LOT.
But a friend of mine was an assistant manager there- trust me, they were making a tidy profit up until the end. It just wasn’t worth the hassle for them. Actually, profits spiked just before the close.
I think that we have to understand that a very vocal minority started this.
Sorry if I sounded snippy.
The reason I asked, we used to have two wonderful used-book stores in town. Both, sadly, went out of business. More than once I had the following conversation:
“Gee…it sure is a shame that ________ Books isn’t there anymore. I used to spend hours looking at their poetry (insert art, history, etc. here…) books.”
“Me too. I don’t know how many books I bought there.”
“Oh…I never BOUGHT any. I just loved to read them there. I wonder why they closed down?”
“Must have been the drought…”
Gee, I feel like our small cadre of Arkansans should get together for some coffee at a bookstore over the holidays…
Anyone in?
FaerieBeth
Nothing beats the browsing experience, as good as Amazon and others are. I asked everybody to give me a bookstore gift cards this year for Christmas.
I got the hell out of this state in 1980 when I graduated high school. After living in places like Dallas, Houston, Denver & Tampa it was quite a cultural shock to come back 3+ years ago.
Were it not for my family and mainly a mother not in good health I’d still be in Dallas (although I must admit a break from the crowds and traffic has been nice).
Arkansas is a very backwards and non-progressive state. Perhaps “regressive” is a better term. But I do love the outdoor life here and the beauty that surrounds me. The people are not so bad. Just like anywhere there is no short supply of dipsticks though.
I had no idea so many people on here lived in Arkansas. So a hearty Howdy to the fellow Arkansans on here from Kp in Morrilton, AR!
Peace!
Every day I feel so thankful that I ended up not going to Harding.
That was a close call.
<snerk>
BTW, Hastings isn’t just a local store. We have at least four of them in Spokane.
There is a Hastings in every medium-sized city within fifty miles of my current location.
I like Hastings well enough… but it’s a chain. They do have easy chairs where I can sit and read, and free coffee!
…but I have had nearly nothing but hassle trying to order books via Hastings. Software of any kind? No sweat! DVDs or videos? Not a problem!
…certain books? Music not released by major distributors? Weeellll… y’see, sir, that isn’t carried by our distributors. You could fill out this form, and if enough people want it, we may start carrying it…
…which leads me to wonder what the deal is with Hastings? Nearly every other bookstore I’ve ever tried to order from can manage to find it, if it’s in print and not particularly rare…
There are practically ruts in the road between my house and a bookstore in Nashville (TN) very much like the one you have described. Unless otherwise directed, my car goes there automatically and stops – like a milk wagon horse used to. So I can commiserate with what you are feeling.
I hate it when other adults feel the need to make decisions for me. I wonder if I participate in trying to control other groups who think for themselves.
Anyway, not all Christians would agree with what these have done.
Can any of you open a place for the open-minded to thrive? It doesn’t have to be a business. Just a coffee pot and book exchange open once a week for starters.
Longtime lurking Doper and newly arrived Arkansan checking in.
I moved to a small town (Clarksville, ~8000 lost souls) here in Arkansas from Nashville a few months ago. What an adjustment! It’s a dry county, which means: few restaurants, no bars, precious little live music…
Add to that no bookstore, no record store, and a really tiny movie theatre, and I say: “Heck, yeah, I’d be up for a coffee klatch with some Dopers at a bookstore!”
Cheers,
–Bill, who now re-enters lurker mode…
I’m in Jacksonville here (LRAFB), and we’ve got a Hastings. Interestingly, they remodled not too long ago. Somehow, all the new age and sexual health books disappeared (so did the humor section, come to think of it), but the Christian book section doubled in size. Hmm…
Never realised there were that many Dopers in the area, though. I feel better about this crummy place now.
Sure, sure. Maybe, most likely, I mean. Depends when and where?
My email’s available and my location’s accurate.