“A cement building, white cinderblocks…the sign read ‘Cold Spot’…”
We all seem to have a corner store, a coffee shop or other store in our past or present life. Gathering places where you know each other’s names and share moments together. Where there are no strangers. Kane Brown’s song about his grandpa’s store reminded me of a few places in my life.
There was Mr. Higgins’ grocery near the Willcox Elementary School. We went there after school to buy gum and sodas with our nickels and dimes. My mom went there to buy bologna. You, know, the kind that you have to peel the edge off before eating it.
“It was cool in July and warm in December.”
Then there was the corner Quik Mart where we went after school and on weekends for a Coke, candy or a car magazine. It was just a short bike ride away, the opposite direction from school. When we got there we dropped our bikes down on the raised steps and ran into the open store.
“If I live a hundred years, I’ll always remember the song and the hum of that old ceiling fan…”
They knew Sally’s name before they knew mine. I could grab my favorite mug at Well-Grounded Coffee and sit at a familiar table with Sal at my feet.
“From behind this counter you saw it all…”
Then there were my dad’s drug stores. Bowie, Willcox and Tucson. Getting a Coke from the fountain or Life Savers from his candy counter. Or him selling chips and a soda to the radio DJ running across the street on a station break.
You’ve been there. I’ve been there. Places down the block. And in our hearts and minds.
“But all my memories are alive and well at the Cold Spot…take me back to the Cold Spot.”
Relentless
(* thanks to Kane Brown for the memories)
