Holy Melted Jellybeans!

Jellybeans Book Store.  One of my favorite places.

     I am so bummed!  My favorite local used book store, Jellybeans (www.jellybeansonline.com),  got hit by lightning and was destroyed last week!        
Firefighters said the lightning bolt went right through the roof, through the floor, and into the basement.  Luckily, the place was closed. 

 

                    View of fire at back of the store; and front of store after fire was extinguished. 


                                        ABC News video link:
       http://www.abc12.com/story/25459265/jellybeans-catches-fire-after-suspected-lightning-strike-wednesday-night


     It must've been a hell of a fire, too, because that place was packed floor to ceiling with books, movies on a variety of formats; records and CDs; magazines and comic books; and video games.  It was a giant bonfire just waiting to happen.   

     Only people who love to read and who love books as much as I do will get this, but... I sniff books like people sniff flowers, or like we used to sniff the still warm, mimeographed copies of assignments our teachers passed out to us in elementary school (remember that, people over 40?).

     To me, there is nothing like the smell of a brand new book opened for the very first time.  It's kind of like the new-car smell.  Everyone loves how a new car smells inside before it soaks up the essence of the lives of its owners.  

     It's the same for me with books.

     Even better than new-car or new-book smell, though, is the smell of a used book store and its books.  It's a little dusty and a little musty smelling from the old, well-loved and yellowing book pages, mixed in with the starchy aroma of the old hard covers on the books.  Being inside Jellybeans was aromatherapy for me.  I could easily spend most of a day there (and often did)! 

     Being in a used book store can give you the feeling you get when you're exploring a well-stocked attic - a little adventurous and a little curious about the prospect of what you might find while  rummaging around, mixed in with a bit of dread that you'll really find treasures you just can't live without (and where will you keep them when you already don't have enough room for what you have?). 

     I'm really going to miss that experience at Jellybeans.

 

                        Just a few of the treasures I found at Jellybeans, all in pristine condition.  The
                    Steve Martin book is a hard cover which looks like it's never even been read!

     Jellybeans is a classic small-business story.  It was started in 1978 with a $500 income tax refund and a newly married couple who decided they had too many books and too much music for one household and wanted to sell off some of it.  It bloomed into a family affair and has always been family-owned and operated.  It became a beloved destination for anyone around here who loved books. 


Owner Ron Samek, the morning after the fire.

     The owner, Ron Samek, is in his seventies now and  says he doesn't want to start over, and who could blame him? Since it was a family enterprise, though, I'm hoping some of the younger members of his family will decide to rebuild, or at least find a new location to start over.  I'd donate  books to help them build up a new inventory, and I'm sure other people would, as well.

     Don't quite know what I'm going to do for my bookstore fix now.  I don't even know if there are any others in my area.  I'll have to start looking and I hope I find one because there will be a huge void here without a used bookstore.  

      Really, though, I'd love to have the means to open my own used bookstore.  That's something I've dreamt of for awhile and now would be the perfect time to do it with Jellybeans gone.  But, alas, that is not in the cards right now, so I'll just  have to keep on dreaming.  

    My condolences to Ron Samek and his family on the loss of their business.  Jellybeans will be sorely missed.    



Pages from a long-time family business being scattered in the wind.

Until next time,
Robin in Flint

To learn more about the city of Flint, visit www.cityofflint.com