![]() ![]() The store had a smell like any father’s closet: dark blazers, thick wool pants, and brushed-cotton shirts all hung from golden hooks. There was only this dark building with a white, roughly painted sign that read, “2nd Hand Clothing.” The place was exactly what it claimed to be. There were no men in vests working the elevators or pretty girls spritzing strong perfume. This was not the glass-counter fantasy world of Higbee’s or Taylor’s, the massive downtown department stores with their endless displays of merchandise. A slight wisp of smoke curled below the overhead lamp. Inside, clothes and hats filled every corner and table. But there was money to be made, the owner thought, so his lights were lit, still hopeful for some customers. Because of the weather, it was almost empty, as were most of the stores that night. ![]() The clothing store, small and narrow, was on the corner of Central Avenue and East Thirty-first Street. Outside, a fat, black lake of a thunderstorm was brewing over the flickering streets of Cleveland, Ohio. The sheets of ink reflected nothing of the lights above. He pressed it flat, like a map, over the long cutting table. ![]() In the back of the store, the white-haired man was reading the late edition of the city newspaper. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or printed without permission in writing from the publisher. Excerpted from Super Boys: The Amazing Adventures of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster - the Creators of Superman by © Brad Ricca (footnotes omitted). ![]()
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