Books, movies, and music! These are a few of my favorite things. Sadly, Borders will be closing it's doors for good by the end of September. Sure. It's not as cool a place as it used to be. I worked at the Duluth location (by Gwinnett Mall outside of Atlanta) years ago. Met my ex-wife there. That was back when we got a monthly employee credit of 150 bucks. Interesting fact: I am responsible for a company-wide rule that restricted employees from using their credit in the cafe (I really liked the veggie burgers). Ahhhhhhh! Great days! We could wear whatever we wanted so long as it wasn't too offensive. We even designed our own name badges. Mine was a sketch that I did of a surprised looking Opus yelling, "Jay is really Steve Dallas?!". Well.... At some point after my departure, they did away with the store credit. Employees couldn't creatively express themselves like in the old days. And merchandise prices went waaaaaay up. We'd always made fun of Barnes and Noble for being too stiff, and they ended up winning in the end.
I say, "Thank you, Borders!", for turning me on to music, movies, and books that I would never have found. Shame on you, too, for giving up your identity. You forgot your roots. You are nothing like that first store you opened in Ann Arbor, and I believe that is part of what led to your downfall. I was so excited when you opened a store on St. Charles Ave. (right up the road from where I live), and so disappointed when you closed it a few years later. In this area of New Orleans all we have are shoe shops, bars, and antiques stores. Perhaps a bit of an exaggeration.... but not a big one. Pity us.
We'll miss ya, Borders. And those yummy veggie burgers.
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