Stories
Comics
I never knew my paternal grandfather. He died before I was born. My Grandmother Neel lived in Geiger, Alabama.
My maternal grandparents, Barney and Evie Lee, also lived in Geiger. When the Geiger Yellow Front Store closed, my grandfather Lee moved to Berry, Alabama.
We visited Pawpaw and Grandmamma Lee in Berry, often, on weekend trips. We would alternate trips between Berry and Geiger.
From Birmingham, these drives are still long. Back then, they seemed even longer, driving two-lane roads. I dreaded these trips and wasn't much for being away from my friends, even for a weekend.
Geiger was more fun. I had a bunch of cousins in Geiger. Every visit was a family reunion, so we weren't just cousins; we were friends.
Mom's brother and sister lived in Virginia and rarely visited. All Berry had for me was Comic Books.
Next door to Bawpaw's Yellow Front Store was Lunsford's Drug Store, two of the four stores on one side of Depot Street. Just inside the front door, on the left, was a magazine rack full of comics. On each visit, I bought the newest copies of Fantastic 4, Spiderman, Iron Man, X-Men, Hulk, and Thor. They were a cheap diversion for a bored kid and worth the 12¢ each to my parents to keep me quiet and occupied.
When the Berry Yellow Front Store closed, Bawpaw opened a country store on Highway 18. I would still visit Mr. Lunsford for the comics.
I kept them all in a stack, about a foot and a half deep, on the bottom right shelf of the bookcase behind the door of the room Jim, Don, and I grudgingly shared in the Wahouma house. None of them would be highly collectible today. All were well-read and well-worn by a kid who dreamed of being Peter Parker, Johnny Storm, or Thor.
I had the first Spiderman magazine and some of the first Fantastic 4, Iron Man, X-Men, and Thor. Even in their used condition, they would be worth hundreds of dollars.
When I became a teen and girls, cars, and sporting events became more important, I threw them all away. What treasures I discarded!
It was not my last mistake.