Hillbilly Elegy

are doing well, and many have ceased
operating altogether. Twenty years ago,
there were two local malls. Now one of
those malls is a parking lot, and the other
serves as a walking course for the
elderly (though it still has a few stores).
Today downtown Middletown is
little more than a relic of American
industrial glory. Abandoned shops with
broken windows line the heart of
downtown, where Central Avenue and
Main Street meet. Richie’s pawnshop
has long since closed, though a hideous
yellow and green sign still marks the
site, so far as I know. Richie’s isn’t far
from an old pharmacy that, in its heyday,
had a soda bar and served root beer