End of an era.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2018/03/14/toys-r-us-to-close-all-u-s-stores-after-weak-holiday-sales-doom-its-turnaround-plans/?utm_term=.79877e6983b1&wpisrc=al_news__alert-economy--alert-national&wpmk=1  

My first child, a daughter, was born in 1991.  We were really poor then, I was just starting my career at a low salary and we had to sell our first house for a 20% loss that same year one year after buying it due to some neighbors from hell.  When she was about 1 1/2, maybe 2, we realized that she didn't have any toys.  When my wife would take her to playgroup with her other new-mom friends, our daughter would go nuts playing with toys. We felt guilty. So we went to Toys-R-Us and bought her a bunch of stuff. Maybe $100 worth. But at that time in our lives, that was a huge amount of money. We really couldn't afford it, but we did it anyway.  But we played with those toys with her every day for a long long time.  My wife and I both agree that this was one of the highlights of our younger selves, and we are proud that we had the sense to do it and not worry about the money.  So I am saddened to see Toys-R-Us go under.