And this is how a legend dies . . . in the lonely silence of abandonment. The public has decided and has gone elsewhere. Actually, the accountants and executive committees beat them to the punch, they saw it coming and got out while they could.

But once upon a time, not so many years ago, K-Mart was still very much a part of working class suburban life. This was the K-Mart in West Orange, NJ, which has been closed for about a year now. I made trips here every so many months, to pick up a new pair of jeans and some socks and maybe a few other household items. Back in the 80s and 90s, this store could actually be quite crowded, especially on weekends.

Then came Amazon and Wal-Mart, and K-Mart along with its iconic parent (Sears) got caught in a marketing netherworld. Certain big stores such as Target managed to stay relevant and find a niche, but K-Mart was a bit of a dinosaur. It once did what it did so well that it just couldn’t accept that it had to try to come up with something very different. Despite a few minor innovations and flourishes, despite an e-commerce web site and an on-line order pick-up desk (that was usually empty), K-Mart in 2015 looked pretty much line K-Mart in 1985.

So farewell, K-Mart, old friend. Thanks for being “the savings place”, thanks for being “right here, right now”, thanks for the “great brands, great value”. As your shopping bags once said, “Life is Ridiculously AWESOME”. Your stores didn’t inspire much awe, as can be seen in these pics. But they did the job. I’ll miss the blue rotating lights!