Book Description

The Henrietta, New York, Toys R Us has existed in its current location since the 1980s. The layout of the floorplan remains largely as we remember it when our children were young and full of desires to take possession of many things that were contained within its perimeter. A trip to Toys R Us, with or without one or more of the children in tow, triggered much anxiety. If a child were not present, the store offered precious few winning prizes amid thousands of potential disappointments. Getting through the store with childen felt like crossing a minefield. Much emotion was expended by our family in that store. But that doesn't stop us from feeling a powerful nostalgia when we contemplate the store closing. I am transported back to more than one Christmas Eve pawing through disorganized remnants of the holiday shopping frenzy looking desperately for something to balance the scales and mitigate the inevitable disappointments of the following morning. A few times I succeeded. More often my exhausted decisions ended up making matters worse. Before we left the store today, I asked the cashier whether she knew when it had opened. She said she had no idea, and asked some of her co-workers, who also did not know. I told them it had been there since long before any of them were born. When Toys R Us no longer exists, I wonder how people are going to shop for toys. Perhaps from now on children will simply ask Amazon to bring them whatever toys they want, whenever they want them. We should figure out a way to have Amazon charge it all to their student loan bills. No more parental anxiety!