Sam: When I think of one of the most embarrassing moments of my life, I think of the dearly departed JoAnn Fabrics. When I was in 1st and 2nd grade, I often went to JoAnn’s with my mom, as she wasn’t working at the time and spent the time she was home alone during the day doing crafts. I remember going to JoAnn’s one random day after school and begging her to get me some coloring book I saw—most likely Lisa Frank, knowing me. I remember her walking up to the register and placing down her supplies and my coloring book—an older lady turning on the little conveyor belt. When it was time for my mom to pay, I watched my mom swipe her card and type in her pin. I then said, loudly, exactly what the numbers my mom typed into the key pad were. Little did 6-year-old me know, those numbers are basically top secret. My mom got quite mad at me and I wasn’t able to get my milkshake at McDonalds on our way home.
Chloe: When I think back to the 2020s and Coronavirus, I think of expeditions around my father’s house. He still lives there– in Rochester, right off main street, in the radius of many stores. There are stores I discovered during that time, rebelling when I was supposed to be locked inside– there’s a tasty acai bowl place, a Vietnamese restaurant, a tasty vegan restaurant called ‘The Red Fern’, the ‘Chai Guy’ that I still love stopping in every once in a while. Their discovery came around the time I started leaving the house, kicking off my habit of walking as my mind wandered. There was one place on an intersection, still in Rochester, walking distance, called ‘Sinful Sweets’. Their premise was an appealing one to me. They had desserts based on the Seven Deadly Sins, with Greed and Gluttony brownies being my favorites. My brother liked the place, too, though I’d more often be his personal pack mule and take it to his room rather than go there with him. The interior was decorated red, and they had a blackboard behind the counter with the specials listed above.
Before 2020, I was dabbling in getting my first job, and using my credit card for the first time. I had expendable cash for the first time in my life, and it felt freeing to be able to walk anywhere and purchase anything. That compelled me to move farther, to walk and wander farther, sometimes miles away from home. Financial liberation somehow felt like more than that, it felt like a shift to adulthood in my rather packaged life. It was a sin, too, that I dumped most of my money into that cupcake shop. Be it the grudge of being unable to find Vegetarian things, or generally how mid everywhere else was, I’d always find myself at that intersection– Shiny credit card in hand, hair frizzy, eyes disconnected, tempted to empty my wallet and sink my teeth into sweetness that meant nothing.
Escapism is a useful tool for people undergoing crisis, I understand that better than anyone. Distance itself is the forbidden fruit. Things were rapidly deteriorating, but the small scraps of freedom and wanderlust kept them from sinking. There were simple pleasures abound like drawing and writing and walking and raw distraction, activities that ultimately meant nothing, didn’t fill my stomach, but tasted so delicious for the few seconds I used them– until they burned away, I showed up at the corner again, the novelty of the freedom never wearing away.
After Coronavirus, Sinful Sweets started going downhill. I didn’t notice the impending closure, it was sudden for me. All of a sudden, the red streamers and interiors were replaced with a closed door. All of a sudden, there wasn’t sweetness, but absence. I wasn’t devastated to see this store go, but it did take away one of the reasons I had to leave the house.
I still think about Sinful Sweets. I miss the Gluttony brownies. Maybe because it was a small store owned by a little family, but the taste always felt more real than dunkin’ or any commercial restaurant that sold desserts. I wonder how the owners are doing, knowing that their little business plunged. I wonder if they still think about the girl that walked miles to get there, and sometimes still thinks about the way the sin of denial tasted.
Thankfully Cosmic Charlie’s exists now, ggs.
Arleene: Every holiday or every other weekend, my family and I would head on over to Pennsylvania to spend time with other family and shop around the area. One of the strip-mall centers we would often go to had many of the ones we still go to now, including Goodwill, Dollar Tree, and Big Lots. Unfortunately, Big Lots is no longer alive and has since moved either to a different location or completely gone. As Big Lots is officially bankrupt, all of the memories I have in that specific store will forever be encased and buried with it. But this of course doesn’t mean I won’t forget (until later possibly). But the main memory I remember was going with my whole family–my parents, my two older sisters, and my younger sister. At this time, my youngest sister was around 3 and 4, I believe, and I was possibly 11. The best part of having a younger sibling is that they don’t really get a choice like she was still learning how to walk or whatever 3 year-olds do at that time. Anyways, there were a bunch of furniture, mattresses, and couches, and I thought the best idea was to just carry her and prop her up on a really small display bed.
Venus: RedBox and Charles Entertainment Cheese. Truly impacted my life for the better (or worse tbh I definitely got like the flu from the slides.) I still go to the Charles man for birthday parties or when my sister randomly decides to make my nephew happy. Honestly, if their pizzas are recycled, I have eaten A LOT of recycled pizza. Sadly, the location closest to me has no animatronics to stick my head into so :( But if it’s someone’s birthday, the mascot will come out for my cousin to beat on his birthday (true story.) Honestly, it is a lot sadder then it used to be, so you can definitely see the effects of life and having no money, which sucks because it kinda feels like growing up. Kind of being the same person, but a noticeable lack of childlike features and the joy you used to have. And RedBox, I miss you. So many movies rented and I once played the South Park game when I lived in Florida, and it’s one of my rare happy memories from living in Florida so, you’ll always be in my heart <3 First Blockbuster, then you. Video Killed the Radio Star and Social Media killed the Video Star.
Wrileigh: This is a weird one and people probably haven’t heard of this (maybe) but I miss Cheeburger, Cheeburger. It first opened in 1986 in the town of Sanibel, Florida. It was named after a skit from an episode of Saturday Night Live where John Belushi pronounced the word “cheeseburger” as “cheeburger” when ordering at Olympia Cafe. There was a location about 5-10 minutes from me growing up. It was a 1950s-themed casual burger shop. It had the classic 50’s diner look to it and had so much 50s memorabilia and played music during that time. I’d always get the chicken tenders and fries, and they always served the tenders inside a cardboard box in the shape of a 1950s Cattilac convertible. There was also a giant 3-pound burger challenge, where if you eat an entire large burger, you’d be able to take a photo with a plush burger statue. My dad completed the challenge and had a photo taken with my parents and I. I don’t remember their milkshakes but I’d imagine they were good. All locations of Cheeburger, Cheeburger are closed with the exception of 2 (one in Richmond, VA and the other, the starting location in Sanibel, Florida). They also apparently had a location in Kuwait that closed.