Expressway: Sad end at a favorite bookstore

"If I am ever missing, you know where to find me," I occasionally say to my family and friends.

They are well aware that a local bookstore is my favorite escape. But these de-stressing destinations are dwindling. First it was Borders earlier this year. Every time I drove by the Syosset store on Jericho Turnpike with its giant yellow "Store Closing" banner, my heart sank. Now another great bookstore will be shutting its doors on Dec. 31, the Barnes & Noble in Huntington Station. Thankfully, this is the only location closing.

A Barnes & Noble executive told Newsday that "the owner has decided to divide the store up into smaller spaces and lease to other retailers at rents we simply cannot afford."

Some people will accept that it's a sign of the times, as more people purchase books online or download their reading material. But I know plenty of old-fashioned souls like myself who relish flipping through the pages of a newly printed novel, with soft music playing and cafe aromas wafting in the background.

On a recent weekday evening, my daughter needed a copy of "Native Son" for her English class, so we ran over to the store. Searching through the Ws, we were startled as a jazz band came to life from the other side. This group, the Long Island Jazz Orchestra, entertains there on Tuesdays at 7:30. When I heard about the store closing, I immediately thought of all the employees. Then I also remembered the jazz band, all the book club members, the college students with their laptops, the Bed, Bath & Beyond associates on break, the moms and children who come for weekly story time or on a rainy day, so their kids can stretch out on the carpet and exercise their imaginations.

This B&N location has a stage-like area in its children's section where little ones can act out a scene or pretend to read to a riveted audience. During their kindergarten years, when the markings on the page magically transformed into words, my girls loved to visit the store and spin the early-reader display, often grabbing a Level 1 Cifford the Big Red Dog book. Later, it was a Frog and Toad adventure, and then my personal favorite, the Junie B. Jones series.

But that was then, and this is now. Thankfully I can drive about 25 minutes west to the Barnes & Noble in Carle Place, or north to the venerable Book Revue in Huntington village. (I can imagine protesters with torches and pitchforks if that place were ever in jeopardy.) But with gas prices and my free time at a premium, my escapes will probably be fewer. So now if I ever go missing, I may have to settle for a latte-less retreat to my local library. Let's hope its doors remain open for a long time to come.

Reader Barbara Mars lives in Plainview.