Yesterday, my wife and I drove to East County on an errand. Returning, she missed an exit, and we ended up in downtown La Mesa. What an opportunity! We took it. Annie parked in the neighborhood nearby the Christian bookstore where in January 2021 we bought a Bible for her and in November 2022 another for me.
We were shocked! The shop is gone. Another retailer fills the space. I searched online for some information about what happened and when but found nothing—not on Yelp or the former business’ social media sites, like Instagram. But given the new occupant, I presume the demise isn’t all that recent.
When we bought my Bible, new owners had just set up shop. I questioned the decision to reduce the massive inventory:
Big inventory switch occurred; new replaced the old, which was packed in stacked boxes behind the cashier’s counter for future sale online…businesses thrive or die on sales. Having lots of choices in a new and used bookstore increases likelihood perusers will become purchasers.
I had expressed my misgivings to Annie about removal of the many used books, which appealed to us; I now wonder if change from a mixed new-and-used method that worked largely contributed to the establishment’s end.
I used Nikon Zf and NIKKOR Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR lens to capture the Featured Image, today. That’s the Bible bought from the store about 30 months ago. I am not a minister and don’t pretend to be one. The day we shopped, because of the inventory swap, there were few King James Versions to choose from.
Photo vitals, aperture manually set: f/4, ISO 100, 1/8 sec, 24mm; 8:24 a.m. PDT. the Zf has fantastic balance, which is one reason I could shoot with slower shutter speed without camera shake. Placement of the water pitcher, which Annie bought from IKEA for $4.99 earlier this week, was deliberate. You choose the metaphor.