The Observation Deck

Around 8am, the veneer brick separated from the concrete wall and crumbled into the
street and sidewalk.








More ready to fall!



Nothing to see, move along...


.

For those who remember that used to be Uncle Bill's--- one of the greatest discount stores in the entire world! It had a whole aisle devoted to automobile additives-- a necessity for those of us who had crappy cars!

I loved Uncle Bills. Hasn't been a general store like that since.

And no wonder the wall failed. I'm no brick mason, but it doesn't appear that there were anywhere near enough ties to secure it. I hope no one was hurt. I can't remember how long ago that veneer was added.

This memory is easily 50 years old and that of a youth.

Did they have a live pet section that resembled a chamber of horrors ? I may have once
escaped punishment for using a string of vile words by insisting that I learned them from
a bird at Uncle Bills.

It was not unusual for people to do major car repairs in the parking lot and just leave the
old parts in the parking space. I would often ride there for bicycle parts and recall wiping
out a few times in puddles of car fluids. It was the dirtbag Giant Tiger.

Russ-- you are correct. Some clowns would change their oil there in the parking lot, maybe even a transmission overhaul ! Now the Rocky River Uncle Bill's on the other hand was class in comparison.
!

Uncle Bill's used to have a small music section there too, where you could get a very cool looking Japanese electric guitar for $29. They had a little plastic amp for it too, and songbooks and accessories as well!

I used to salivate over those guitars...

If I only knew that would lead to me becoming "Guitar Guy Gary" for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame....

I marvel at the opportunities afforded to me and my family when we came to Lakewood from that small hillside Pennsylvania community when I was a child. I received critical pediatric medical care here in Cleveland, learned how to play and fix guitars, and was connected to so many educational and economic opportunities that simply did not exist back in the hills and hollers.

I wonder if I'd even still be alive, had we not moved here?

Don't get me wrong. I loved those hills and hollers. Still do.

But the opportunities here were limitless.

The discounted deals at Uncle Bills alone provided our family with so many necessities when we needed them. That's why you'll hear no words from me disparaging discount stores being in Lakewood. So many people still come to Lakewood from hills and hollers all over the world, and at least in the beginning, things can be REAL tough. Those discount stores are crucial for those people. We're fortunate to have all kinds of retailers here in our satellite city serving all of us.

Back to the banjo...