Tuesday, October 16, 2018
My Time at Sears
With the announcement that Sears is in bankruptcy and apparently in a death spiral, many of us are becoming weirdly nostalgic. For some, the memories are longer than mine-- for example, they may have grown up in a home that was literally ordered from the Sears catalogue, a thick volume that sustained much of middle America for generations.
My own Sears memory is incredibly specific, but very real.
When I entered 7th grade, I discovered that instead of going to the middle school that was nearby (Parcells), I was, through some quirk of districting, destined for a school that was about five or six miles away (Brownell). Razorite Christine lived on my block, and on the same side of the street, but I think her parents lobbied for an exception and she got to go to the closer school.
Not me. And I didn't ask for a switch; it seemed like it would be kind of an adventure to go to that school far away. And I was right! There were no school busses in the Grosse Pointe School System, so I had to get a ride, ride my bike, or take a city bus. On the days that I either biked it or took the bus, I often carved out a little time to explore the neighborhood near the middle school.
It was fascinating, too! Within just a few blocks I found Grosse Pointe's only fast food joint (Burger Chef), a tiny independent pharmacy that seemed to have some funny business going on, a bustling florist, a store that baffled me called "The Groove Shop," a sleazy bar, a post office with a raft of employees smoking out back, and... Sears. I got kicked out of most of the other places (understandably-- I clearly had no business in the "Groove Shop"), but found I could wander around Sears to my heart's content.
And I found two things I loved there. One was the stereo section, where employees were often trying out the equipment with the latest offering from Bob Seger or the J. Geils Band. The other was Pong.
Pong was, pretty much, the first video game. It was shockingly basic: you moved a perky-jerky line of light on a black-and-white screen as a dot of light bounced around, protecting your "goal." There were a few versions of the game-- tennis, soccer-- but that really just changed the size of the scoring area. It was sold at Sears as a giant console unit with a screen and controllers, and they usually had it turned on so you could check it out.
I loved Pong.
Soon after I discovered Pong, I brought my buddy Brian up to play it with me. We were both in awe at this technology. Fortunately, even then, Sears was so poorly and inattentively staffed that no one shooed us away. Careful to budget enough light as the sun crept down over Detroit in the dank winter, we blooped away, feeling like we were getting a stolen taste of the future. All around us, the city was falling apart, bit by bit. People sometimes imagine that Detroit collapsed all at once under the weight of endemic racism, systemic disrepair, and economic disruption, but that's not true-- it faded one life at a time, when no one was looking. I wasn't looking, either. I was playing Pong.
And then, not long after Pong was discovered by this inveterate explorer from the far-away land of Grosse Pointe Shores, I graduated from middle school.
Then Pong was gone. Then that Sears store. And now, I suppose, Sears as a thing in American society. Pong is survived by 500,000 grandchildren and great-grandchildren, a group that includes every video game that entrances every middle school student in the entire friggin' world. And me.
[Note to readers: Often after I post one of these nostalgic remembrances, I get a note from my Mom and Dad along the lines of "Oh- that's what you were doing!" In my own memory, I like to think I told them all this stuff, but the evidence is to the contrary. Sorry, Mom! Sorry, Dad!]
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What a lucky adventure. It should be noted that he rode his bike those 5 miles with no bike helmet; sometimes on sidewalks ans sometimes in the street. It should also be noted that if he had attended Parcells he would have ridden his bike a slightly shorter distance but there were no diversions unless you count the Jack in the Box and Big Boy restaurants across from the school.
I in turn rode my bike to school (without helmet) with girlfriends that I picked up along route; including someone near and dear to you and then Amy, Kathleen Andrea and Debbie.
I in turn rode my bike to school (without helmet) with girlfriends that I picked up along route; including someone near and dear to you and then Amy, Kathleen Andrea and Debbie.
Mark, about that same time I had a fortunate adventure at this same Sears store that led to many more family adventures. We were doing some painting at or home and I ventured to Sears to buy some paint. While I was shopping for the paint, I spotted the camping equipment area and was caught in it's web. When I returned home, I had the paint and also a very large canvass tent...I think it was 12'x 14'. As a young teacher, I did not make a lot of money, but Sears offered me a charge card (with a discount) to make this huge purchase possible! Janet was surprised and a little bit worried about the expense, but that tent gave us many years of family adventures in Ontario's Provincial parks, Michigan's many camping areas, and even the Disney World Campground. I suppose that Dick's Sporting Goods would be the magic place for this adventure nowadays...but they don't sell paint there, do they?
# posted by 
: 12:08 PM
: 12:08 PM
Mark, about that same time I had a fortunate adventure at this same Sears store that led to many more family adventures. We were doing some painting at or home and I ventured to Sears to buy some paint. While I was shopping for the paint, I spotted the camping equipment area and was caught in it's web. When I returned home, I had the paint and also a very large canvass tent...I think it was 12'x 14'. As a young teacher, I did not make a lot of money, but Sears offered me a charge card (with a discount) to make this huge purchase possible! Janet was surprised and a little bit worried about the expense, but that tent gave us many years of family adventures in Ontario's Provincial parks, Michigan's many camping areas, and even the Disney World Campground. I suppose that Dick's Sporting Goods would be the magic place for this adventure nowadays...but they don't sell paint there, do they?
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