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Cannabis adult use legal

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An employee at Rise Medical & Recreational Marijuana Dispensary Toledo on Monroe St. checks in a customer on the first day of legal cannabis sales in Ohio. (TFP Photo/Lori King)

Ohio leads revolution against federal prohibition

TOLEDO – Ohio begins recreational marijuana sales today, marking a significant shift in the state’s cannabis landscape following last November’s voter approval for adult-use cannabis. Dispensaries statewide are set to serve recreational consumers, including right here in Toledo and Bowling Green.

One of the dispensaries, Nectar Dispensary in Bowling Green, has spent the past two months preparing for this day by hiring and training staff and stocking up on a very extensive menu and back stock, according to Zachary Gergich, the store’s designated representative.

Gergich said he is expecting a big rush because “a lot of people are excited and have been waiting for this day, especially since it’s been almost 10 months since we we’re able to vote on it. People have been waiting for a while, and I definitely think there’s going to be a big push tomorrow.

“We’re making history … it’s going to be the first day of sales in Ohio for recreational customers I think a lot of people want to be part of history,” he said.

Nectar, which has been open for medical cannabis since March 2023 and receives its product from Ohio, currently has three Nectar stores in Ohio and three more on the way.

Employees at Rise Dispensary in Toledo wait for customers on the first day of legal sales in Ohio. (TFP Photo/Lori King)

The legalization of cannabis in the United States represents a unique and historical chapter in human history. Unlike any previous prohibition, the shift from illegal to legal status for cannabis is characterized by a gradual, state-by-state approach rather than a sweeping federal mandate. This piecemeal legalization has allowed the U.S. to become a leader in cannabis innovation, positioning itself for global dominance in the burgeoning market.

The federal government’s decision to let states act as laboratories of democracy has fostered diverse legal and business models, driving significant advancements in cultivation, distribution and regulation.

According to Lenny Berry, founder and CEO of the Ohio Cannabis Health and Business Summit, “this is an historic mark for everybody who’s been fighting to legalize it and destigmatize the plant for patients who use it and have been shunned.

Lenny Berry

“I also think it gives consumers or people who were curious about the plant an opportunity to venture into the space or inquire about it without feeling a certain kind of way or needing a medical card,” he said.

“I just felt like there was a lot of misinformation while we were trying to pass legalization, and I always feel like the educated person is the best voter, because if you don’t know about the industry, you’ll feel apprehensive about putting your best foot forward to try to make it happen,” he explained.

“It’s a great way to celebrate being the 24th legal state, for us to hit that milestone and get across the finish line, especially when you’re talking about Ohio businesses losing to Michigan,” Berry said. “That was a big thing. The prices may not be as low as Michigan but I think now that we have a legal market, we will keep a lot of consumers here in the state, like tax dollars, job creation, and the list goes on.

In the grand scheme of things, I think the Ohio economy is going to get a major shot in the arm.

Lenny Berry,

Ohio, the 24th state to sell recreational cannabis, is part of a growing revolt against federal cannabis prohibition, joining other states in challenging outdated federal restrictions by establishing its own cannabis policies. This state-led movement underscores a broader shift towards recognizing cannabis as a legitimate economic and social asset. By legalizing cannabis, Ohio asserts its right to innovate and lead in this rapidly evolving industry, setting an example for other states to follow.

The new law allows adults to buy and possess up to 2.5 ounces (70 grams) of cannabis and to grow up to six plants per individual or 12 plants per household at home.

Cannabis is uniquely positioned as a product with both recreational and therapeutic applications, setting it apart from other substances. While alcohol commands a $1.6 trillion annual market, cannabis also taps into the pharmaceutical sector, particularly in areas like anti-inflammatory treatments.

The global market for anti-inflammatory drugs is substantial, valued at approximately $104 billion in 2022 and projected to grow significantly. Cannabis’s potential impact on these markets, though not entirely replacing them, could alter consumer choices and industry dynamics.

Ohio’s entry into the recreational cannabis market impacts local and regional economies, particularly border cities like Toledo and Detroit. Michigan has benefited significantly from Ohioans purchasing cannabis across state lines. According to New Frontier Data, Michigan’s cannabis sales reached over $3 billion in 2023, a 30 percent increase from 2022. However, the precise contribution of Ohioans to Michigan’s sales remains unclear.

Ohio’s legalization may also influence neighboring states like Kentucky, Indiana, Pennsylvania and West Virginia by encouraging policy changes and affecting local economies as residents travel to Ohio for cannabis purchases.

A billboard along I75 North near Monroe, Mich. promoting House of Dank. (TFP Photo/Lori King)

The legalization of recreational cannabis in Ohio could alter the flow of cannabis and related money across state lines. Ohioans who previously traveled to Michigan for cannabis may now spend locally, impacting Michigan’s sales and Ohio’s economic landscape. Additionally, changes in consumer behavior could influence the flow of cannabis-related money, as Ohio retains more revenue within its borders. This shift might prompt neighboring states to reconsider their cannabis policies to prevent economic losses.

Ohio’s medical cannabis sales in 2023 were $484.4 million, a slight one percent increase from 2022. The market faces challenges, including a decline in registered medical marijuana patients by nearly 8 percent since the November 2023 election. Ohioans spent over $700 million on cannabis in Michigan in 2023 due to lower prices and quality concerns in Ohio’s market. The anticipation of today’s recreational sales launch may also have affected the medical market.

New Frontier data forecasts Ohio’s marijuana sales to potentially hit $2.8 billion by 2030.

Ohio’s legalization of recreational marijuana sales marks a new era of economic opportunity and political discourse. By fostering a competitive environment and learning from states like Michigan, Ohio can position itself as a leader in the cannabis industry. With projections indicating significant growth, Ohio’s market dynamics and strategic policies will shape the future of cannabis legalization in the region and beyond.

Cannabis business in Monroe, Mich. (TFP Photo/Lori King)

Daily Dose | The Humorist

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Editorial Cartoon by Don Lee for the Toledo Free Press

Recreational cannabis now legal in Ohio

Frankie’s bar still rocks

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Tranquility performs on the Frankie's stage as the opening act for Jonny Craig on Sunday.

East Toledo club still a music mecca after decades of live music

TOLEDO – Country. Hip-hop. Heavy metal. No matter the genre, Frankie’s is open to any and all musical styles.

“I love all sorts of music. I love providing a stage for live music,” said Broc Curry, who has owned the East Toledo club since 2020. “I don’t care if it’s country or metal or hip-hop, if it’s good it’s good.”

Frankie’s first opened as a family-owned Italian restaurant in 1945 on Adams Street, named after its original owner, Frankie Andriaccio. The restaurant moved to its current location at 308 East Main St. around 1953.

“Back in the day they did live music acts, in the ‘50s and ‘60s,” Curry said. “It’s amazing it’s been in the same location for so long.

In the mid-1980s, family member Robert Croak took over the restaurant and began booking bands, mostly punk and alternative rock groups.

“It became more of a bar for live music than a restaurant and gradually the Italian restaurant kind of phased itself out,” Curry said.

The club, which has a capacity of around 200 patrons, became a mecca for touring bands as they crisscrossed the Midwest.

Front row fans clap after one of opening bands, Tranquility, ends a song Sunday night. (TFP Photo/Kyle Brown)

“Some of them became really big artists, and some vanished into obscurity. Rob (Croak) was on the cutting edge of that scene. Frankie’s since that timeframe has been known as a good place to stop and play,” Curry said.

Jon Stainbrook was helping Croak find and book bands in the 1980s and ‘90s that were talented but not too big to play a 200-person venue. Stainbrook also performed at Frankie’s numerous times with his punk band, the Stain.

“It was a happening place,” Stainbrook said. “The touring bands loved to play Frankie’s and a lot of local bands got their start there.”

Curry said he has been booking shows at Frankie’s for over 25 years now.”

“It’s just kind of a spot the bands and their managers know is there and they enjoy playing it. It is a smaller room, but to me, I’ve always enjoyed that – the intimacy and the vibe of a small room. You can see some of your favorite bands up close and personal. It’s really a good time, rubbing shoulder with the other fans and with the musicians and just loving the music.”

Artists that played Frankie’s early in their careers and later went on to stardom include the White Stripes, Jelly Roll, Limp Bizkit, X, Smashing Pumpkins, the Black Keys, Idina Menzel, and the Lemonheads.

Frankie’s Toledo is located on Main Street in Toledo. (TFP Photo/Kyle Brown)

The club was forced to shut down in March 2020 when the COVID pandemic hit, and Curry said the pandemic was unfortunate but the timing actually worked out well for him. He had been booking about 150 shows a year at Frankie’s and another 350 events at other local venues and was on the verge of feeling burned out.

“I’m not happy there was a pandemic or anything but at the time we were looking to step back. We had been doing 500 events a year and there were some weeks we’d have like 20 events in a week and then 30 days of nonstop shows.

“We have a small staff and that meant that those people who worked for us worked 30 days in a row, in the office during the day and then at the clubs at night until 3, then getting up and getting back in the office at 10 a.m. It was a grind but we love music and we love Toledo. We felt like we were doing something important.”

Tranquility performs on the Frankie’s stage on Sunday. (TFP Photo/Kyle Brown)

At the time the pandemic hit, Frankie’s owner Robert Croak was running multiple businesses and was no longer based in Toledo.

Curry said he had a chance to “refocus my energies” and thought it would be a good time to try to buy the club.

“I spent more time in that building over my entire life than anywhere else. I didn’t want to see it fade into obscurity or topple over,” he said.

Curry ended up buying the building and renovating it from top to bottom, putting in a new roof, new electrical and plumbing systems, new HVAC, and more.

“My other businesses were doing well and I had money to put into Frankie’s so we spent a year of actually revamping the club and doing all the stuff that needed to be done.”

The refreshed and renovated Frankie’s reopened in July 2023 and Curry and staff are being selective about what artists they book and how many shows they put on.

The priority is to help local musicians have a place to play.

“Now I know that Frankie’s will be here well past when I’m gone and some other whippersnapper can take it over. It’s real important for me to set it up for success for the future,” Curry said.

Trent Turshon, of Tranquillity, plays his guitar on stage during a song at Frankie’s in Toledo.
Lead singer and guitarist, Brett Christopher Kaminski plays with his band Tranquility as the opener for Jonny Craig at Frankie’s Toledo Sunday night. (TFP Photo/Kyle Brown)

Museums for All in Toledo

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Sauder Village in Archbold, Ohio. (TFP Photo/Erin Holden)

Museum accessibility breaks income barriers for Toledoans

TOLEDO – If you can get a child interested in going to museums at a young age, you might just be instilling a habit that continually opens their worldview for the rest of their life. For some families on a tight budget, that doesn’t always seem like a viable option because of the cost of admission at many institutions. That’s where the Museums for All program comes in.

An initiative of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Museums for All launched in 2014 to promote museum accessibility for food-insecure households. Officially, this means that households who receive SNAP benefits can present their EBT card and gain admission with a maximum of $3 per person, but most places will also accept a WIC card. It is a nationwide program that can be used across state lines.

There are five museums in the Toledo area who proudly participate in the program, and you can search for others through the Museums for All database. We did some digging about our local institutions, all of which accept both SNAP and WIC, to help Toledoans enjoy the savings. Visitors must bring one of these cards to receive the discount.

Fort Meigs Historic Site

Visit Ohio’s War of 1812 battlefield, fort, and museum. Both self-guided and guided tours are enhanced by historic figures dressed in period clothing who all hold a wealth of knowledge about the site.

General admission regular price is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors, $7 for students, and free for kids aged five and under.

Museums for All discount: $1 for adults and free for those 18 and under. Must present Either WIC or SNAP cards are accepted to receive the discount.

National Museum of the Great Lakes

Marvel at the rich history of the Great Lakes region with a trip to this national museum. It features a fascinating documentary to begin your journey, followed by exhibits that explore everything from cruise ships to maritime technology. There are also many interactive exhibits for kids of all ages.

General museum admission regular price is $11 for adults; $10 for seniors, military and first responders; $8 for children aged 6-17; and free for kids aged five and under.

Regular price for those visiting the museum and touring the Schoonmaker and Ohio vessels: $17 for adults; $16 for seniors, military, and first responders; $14 for children aged 6-17; and free for kids aged five and under.

Museums for All discount: If touring only the museum, admission is free for all ages. If touring the museum and boats, visitors aged six and older pay $3 each.

Imagination Station

Per their website, “Imagination Station believes that science is for everyone, and Museums for All is focused on removing financial barriers.” Regardless of income, all Lucas County children are admitted for free on Saturdays, so you can save even more money that day!

General admission regular price for Lucas county residents is $15 per adult, $14 for seniors, and $13 for children three and older. Kids under two are free. Non-residents of Lucas County pay $2 more for regular admission.

Museums for All discount: $3 each for up to eight visitors.

Museum of Fulton County

The Fulton County Historical Society oversees the museum that highlights the stories of Fulton County residents throughout the years that have shaped our region’s history. There are also special rotating exhibits and interactive features for all ages.

The regular price for general admission is $8 for visitors aged 16 and older, $7 for seniors, $3 for children aged 6-15, and free for those aged six and under. Also free for military and veterans.

Museums for All discount: $1 per visitor.

Sauder Village

Step back in time at Sauder Village, where visitors can immerse themselves in the life of early 1800s settlers and Indigenous peoples to life on 1920s Main Street that features an old-timey soda shop and speakeasy with a secret entrance (Psst: it’s in the candy shop).

The regular price for general admission is $25 for adults, $23 for seniors, $19 for students aged 4-16, and free for kids aged three and under.

Museums for All discount: $3 per person up to 6 people.

Outside the Toledo Area

These options are an easy drive from Toledo if you’re in an adventurous mood:

  • Henry Ford and Greenfield Village
  • Ford Rouge Factory Tour
  • Arab American National Museum
  • Outdoor Adventure Center
  • Belle isle aquarium
  • Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD)
  • Michigan Science Center
  • Ford Piquette Avenue Plant
  • University of Michigan Museum of Art

Daily Dose | The Humorist

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Daily Dose | The Humorist

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Cartoon by Jerry King

Community vigil for Massey

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Anika S. Fields and her son Asa, 11, attend the community vigil for Sonya Massey, a black woman killed by a white police officer in Illinois. The vigil also included other groups supporting Palestine, murdered children and human rights.

Activists inspire citizens to take a stand, call out police violence and injustice

TOLEDO – As half a dozen people lingered around a table littered with protest buttons, event flyers and The Final Call newspapers, Brother Washington Muhammad took the opportunity to announce what was going to be discussed during a community vigil for Sonya Massey, a black woman shot in the face by a white police officer in her Illinois home last month.

Washington Muhammad leads the community vigil at Junction Park.

“The things we are going to say today aren’t normally said. We get criticized for speaking about the police. We get criticized for speaking about the rights of the Palestinians and for talking about anything folks believe we should shut up about,” he told them.

“And we get criticized when we talk about our children that have been murdered. This is not the place where we’re going to minimize our words or our spirit, alright? If we wanted to do that, we would just watch CNN and be done with it. So, that’s the spirit we’re going with today, with love, and that’s why I pulled all of you here.”

While Muhammad, co-founder of the Community Solidarity Response Network of Toledo (CSRNT), held their attention, Khadijah Cunningham stood nearby and lit a single white candle to symbolize hope and healing.

When asked why she came to the event, Cunningham said she was “a black person in America who is not happy with my people being slaughtered.”

The community vigil not only memorialized Massey but was intended for citizens to take a stand, rise up and call out police violence and injustice within the community, explained Muhammad. Speakers represented the American Muslims for Palestine, the Northwest Chapter of Parents of Murdered Children, the New Order Human Rights Organization, and the Media Decompression Collective (MDC).

Muhammad began the vigil with a collective chant: “It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love each other and protect each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains.”

He went on to say that not only are they memorializing Massey, but there are also international aspects of the fight for freedom and revolutionaries, specifically of what’s happening in Gaza, which is a “thumbnail of what’s going to happen to us here, so if we’re silent on Gaza then they will expect us to be silent here.”

Wearing a shirt with the country of Africa imprinted on the front and a baseball hat supporting Palestine, speaker Amjad Doumani, founder of MDC, said he was honored and proud to stand amongst his brothers and sisters behind him and in front of him because all of their struggles, be they here in Toledo, throughout this country or throughout the world.

“There’s a common struggle, a class struggle, where people need to throw off the shackles of colonialism and imperialism and how it oppresses us everywhere,” he said to about 20 people who showed up to listen, support each other and vent.

“Israel is about to attack Palestinian areas and bomb them to death. They dropped leaflets telling the Palestinians ‘we’re concerned about you so we want you to move from this section to this section and over there.’ But what ends up happening is they bombed them where they moved to, so they lied to them just the way the police are lying to us here,” Kanaan said.

“Our struggles are interconnected, and we all live with the generational trauma of our ancestors, you know,” added Walaa Kanan, American Muslims for Palestine Toledo chapter board member.  

“There is not anything you don’t know enough about – we can continue to uplift one another by educating ourselves, becoming more articulate, learning those talking points, but we have to start somewhere.  We can’t start if we continue to gaslight ourselves because that is what they want you to feel – powerless,” she said.

The greatest way of giving up your power is just recognizing that you don’t have it,” Kanan continued. “So, while I find myself sitting in really deep grief at this time, I also find myself deeply optimistic because I think this is the generation that is going to make a difference because we have learned to stop listening to those in power.

“I urge you to wake up tomorrow and realize the power you have and connect with other community members and help us in this fight to make a difference.”

Another speaker who stepped up to the mic was Siti Dotson-Chambers, of the New Order National Human Rights org. She didn’t mince words.

“Today, I just stand and ask that you continue to fight the fight. When we have these rallies and we come out, continue to bring other people with you. I mean, it’s no reason this place shouldn’t be surrounded right now with all of the stuff that’s going on right here in Toledo.

Siti Dotson-Chambers

“When you can have an officer calling a woman a fat wench, which is a derogatory term, and nothing really happens – a slap on the wrist. So, first I called you a fat wench; then I stopped you and give you a ticket for walking in the street; then I let my dog bite you. I shoot you with rubber bullets when you peacefully, peacefully decided to speak out, and then I kill you,” she said, making her point.

“When we call them for help, even though they have a CIT department, they still shoot and kill those with mental health, so today we stand in solidarity with each other because you don’t have to look like me to stand up. We need to come together in the city of Toledo, although it’s happening nationwide … but we don’t want it to happen here,” said Dotson-Chambers.

In a press release for the event posted on their Facebook page, Muhammad wrote that CSRN intends to search for answers and ask the difficult questions regarding local law enforcement.

About 20 people listened as speakers call out police violence and injustice within the community.

Daily Dose | The Humorist

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Happy Jeep Fest Day, Jeepsters!

Wild Side | The Goldfinch

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A male goldfinch balances itself atop the heavily-flowered stem of dense blazing-star while its mate feeds further down the stalk. (TFP Photo/Art Weber)

Time for goldfinches to nest in meadows, prairies

American goldfinches look and act like the happiest birds of our summer meadows and prairies.

It starts with the bright yellow plumage of the male goldfinch that literally glows, seemingly more so in contrast to its rich black wing bars, forehead and tail. Active and acrobatic, these small birds even seem to have fun as they flit above our meadows and prairies in an undulating fashion, their flight noticeably rising and dipping in synch with alternating wing flaps and glides.

The female, though beautiful in her own way, is dressed down a bit, presumably to be more camouflaged in her role as nest builder and in laying and incubating the eggs. The male’s role is to bring her food – the goldfinch diet is almost exclusively seeds — as she sits on the eggs. His role will get much larger with the responsibility of feeding the nestlings after they hatch.

Most of our nesting birds have already completed the task of raising their broods, but now is goldfinch time. They wait until about now to nest because is the best time for the plants of our meadows and prairies – thistles, blazing-stars, thistle and others – to produce the seeds the goldfinch prefer.

In the image, a male goldfinch balances itself atop the heavily-flowered stem of dense blazing-star while its mate feeds further down the stalk. Dense blazing-star is among the common wildflowers native to our tall-grass prairies.

Text and photos by Art Weber, Metroparks Toledo nature photographer

Plight of the Homewrecker

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The Jell-o band, inspired by The Beatles.

The bite of the bug(s) influenced local boy to become future rock star

I have no plans to make this column a chronological endeavor – my grey matter doesn’t really work that way. Having said that, I do feel compelled to offer those who choose to read this column a bit of background and how it is that I came to put all my eggs in the basket of attempting to become a rock star.

I do not have enough fingers and toes to count the number of arguments my father and I got into on this topic. The cliched “Get a real job!” spewed from his mouth over and over again, starting in high school and continuing into my early adulthood. And don’t get me wrong, my father was an intelligent man, just set in his ways – not really very broad-minded. And I truly believe, in hindsight, that he had my best intentions at heart.

All three of my brothers seemed to eventually have taken my dad’s advice, though, and to their credit, are financially successful today. It was I, the lone Pisces, who became obsessed with the visual arts and music and became the black sheep of the clan. Three out of four ain’t bad, I guess.

But yeah, it’s always been a challenge to pay the bills. Vacations? Fuggedaboutit. Retirement plan? HA! IRA? What’s that? For the most part, though, I have lived the life I’ve wanted, making a lot of art and music for seven decades, and depending what day of the week you should ask me, I don’t think I would’ve had it any other way. I have an inclination toward the arts, and believe that the world would be a dismal, dull, flat entity without the simultaneous beauty and cacophony that they offer.

The r’n’r bug hit me early, at the spry age of 4-5 years old. My mother (unlike my pop) encouraged my brothers and I to be creative, to find our muse. By buying us records and exposing us to the culture that would be a way of life, she was our hero. Hell, she even bought us all the hippie clothes (bell bottoms, paisley, polka dots, etc,) in the ‘60s. A true enabler, eh?

And not unlike so many others of my generation, it really started with those four dudes from Liverpool. I cannot tell you how much John, Paul, George and Ringo changed/directed my life – for better or worse. Who’s to say? Even my dad couldn’t stop that!

My Dad worked for the C&O railroad and when I was in the sixth grade, he was transferred to Russell, Ky., a real shithole of a town. The house we rented was a dilapidated disaster. Cockroaches, walls you could easily put your fist through, stench – it was bad. But it was there that my brother Dave and I watched the Ed Sullivan show on Feb. 9, 1964. It changed my life, truly.

As I recall, we had one friend in Russell, and though I don’t remember his name, I still recall that he looked a lot like an infant W.C. Fields. All three of us hung out after school, in large part due to The Beatles. Subliminally, there was something scratching at my soul, brought on by this band, but I was in middle school, unaware of most of the outside world – what could I do? I had no inclination whatsoever that I would someday be fronting my own bands.

So, the three of us started a Beatles Club. In that club we would come together in one of our parents’ houses and we’d draw pictures of the band. At that point we didn’t even have any of their music. There were Beatles’ bubblegum trading cards, and we’d trade the cards then draw the pictures. I also learned how to sign/forge the Fab Four’s signatures, which were printed on the cards. I would often sign my school work with one of their names. What a nerd!

Occasionally my family would come back to Toledo to visit the grandparents. Pack up the Chevy II, put the dogs in the trunk (!) and hit the road. I’ll never forget those journeys and the stench of the paper factories as we drove through Chillicothe, a smell of old cabbage and chemicals, as well as the early shards of teenage angst, as we pleaded with my dad to put some R’n’R on the scritchy AM radio.

It was one Easter (‘65?) that I had earned an allowance of $10, a substantial sum for me. Thinking of nothing but Beatles, I took that money, posthaste, to the corner record store, which was called Kaufman Bros on Central Ave. It was a great place, with albums, 45s and reel-to-reel tapes (I still can’t wrap my head around buying/playing albums in that way). They also had listening booths, where you could try out the music before you bought it.

Without any hesitation, a 12-year-old on an inspired mission, I plopped my wrinkled $10 bill on the counter and was the immediate proud owner of “Meet The Beatles! The First Album by England’s Phenomenal Pop Combo.” Though I was ecstatic, I knew my grandparents didn’t have any sort of stereo equipment, so as difficult as it was, I had to wait till I got back to Russell, armpit of America, to put the needle down and immerse myself in Beatlemania.

It did happen, though, and there was absolutely no turning back from there.