that intoxicating smell

this weekend i went to The Great Escape ( comic book store ) on bardstown rd. i have probably talked about this before but i am going to say this anyways. when my mom and dad got divorced he moved into some crappy apartments down dixie hwy ( one time there were a ton of cop cars and a police helicopter outside an apartment down the street ). i can still remember the pigeon sitting outside the window. needless to say we didn't like staying there ( i would visit every other weekend ) so we would go out and do stuff. we would go play frisbee golf, ride bikes, or go street hiking. sometimes we would jump on the number 18 bus and go downtown. we would switch buses and finally end up around the gallaria ( the mall downtown ). we would then walk all the way down bardstown rd to the comic book store. we would stop at different places along the way and just have fun. sometimes we would buy bouncy balls and try to not bounce them in the street. we would try out different places to eat ( i didn't like the twig and leaf at the time...i need to try it again ) and look at places to shop. reaching the comic shop was a feat all in its self. when you walk in, you can smell the comics ( just as it did back then ). the guy at the counter gives you a , " hey man" and you walk on. the walls are covered with expensive comics and collectible toys. on one wall is a rack where all the new comics are. they have everything from archie to spawn. in one of the corners is where famous people would come and sign the comic books. along the wall and in the center are bins full of comic books. each comic has a plastic bag and some even have cardboard backings. you want it, they have it. if you have g.i joe numbers 34 and 36 but and you need 35, they probably have it. by the counter is a little walkway where you can go to the other side of the store. here they have movies, cds, and trading cards ( i only looked at the cards on that side ). after i payed for my comics they would put them in a brown bag and i would go back out into the brigh sunlight. i don't know why but that brown bag was special. it made me feel like i had just bought something really cool and nobody else was alowed to see. it made me feel cool. after that we would walk as far as i could go until my legs felt like they would give out. we would stop and get on the bus. i would usually either read one of my comics there or just fall asleep.

those are some of the best memories i have of my childhood. my dad finally remarried and moved to texas ( i stayed in louisville ) while my mom remarried and i got a crappy step-dad that was verbally abusive ( he has become better now that i am grown and he knows i won't take any crap from him ).