Magazines

Magazines, written by George Farina

I’ve always enjoyed flipping through magazines. Even at a young age, I saved the magazines I purchased. I use to have a crate filled with magazines.

As I grew older I began working as a stock clerk, putting up stock overnight at a supermarket. I often spent my lunchtime flipping through the magazines in the magazine aisle.

Years later I moved to Miami. I frequently took the bus to South Beach. Many of the establishments along Lincoln Road kept small racks with free magazines. I snagged some of the magazines stores gave away, many I saved, adding to my collection.

As online auctions became more popular I purchased lots of magazines through auctions, usually bulk lots of older magazines with cool covers, mostly old Life Magazines, Saturday Evening Post, and Collier magazines. I had a 1940’s Marilyn Monroe Life Magazine in near mint condition, an Audrey Hepburn Life Magazine along with a bunch of Saturday Evening Post magazines with very cool covers.

Sometime thereafter, I began getting free magazines through Craigslist. I posted adds asking locals who were going to dispose of old magazines to let me pick up their magazines before they disposed of them.

A couple who lived on Miller Street replied to my adds for many months when they acquired magazines they didn’t want. When I arrived, they had a box of magazines waiting for me at their door.

I’m thinking they might have owned a business where they kept magazines in the lobby. Then, saved the older magazines for me when new magazines arrived.

Some of them were very cool, rare, collectible. They gave me a bunch of Olympic magazines. I hadn’t ever seen Olympic magazines for sale in stores.

Another lady who lived in downtown Miami condo complex also gave me a bunch of magazines.

Arriving home, going through the magazines was always a thrill. The coolest magazines I kept. Others I sold.

Nevertheless, many times, as in this case, all good things come to an end. Eventually, people stopped replying to the ads I posted. I’m not sure why. I think others began placing the same ads, giving my ads less views. Maybe they saw the same value in magazines as I did. Not just the financial value from selling them, the value from their knowledge and enjoyment.