There were over 9,000 Blockbuster Video stores in 2010. Today there is only one.

Back when VHS tapes and DVDs ruled the world of video it seemed like there was a Blockbuster Video store on every corner.

According to Wikipedia, just a few years ago there were over 9,000 Blockbuster stores world-wide, and about half of those were in the United States.

But then along came Redbox with their $1 movie rentals and dirt-cheap video streaming from Netflix and the folks at Blockbuster Headquarters quickly saw the writing on the the wall.

In 2010 the Blockbuster Corporation filed for bankruptcy protection. By the end of 2013 every one of their company-owned stores were gone.

A relative handful of locally-owned Blockbuster franchise stores remained open, but they too eventually shuttered their doors one-by-one as the Internet and economic reality made it virtually impossible to remain in business.

At the beginning of 2019 there were two Blockbuster locations still in business - one in Perth, Australia and the other in Bend, Oregon. But that changed on March 31 of that year when the Blockbuster in Perth closed its doors for good.

That left the Bend, Oregon store as the last remaining Blockbuster Video store still in business on planet Earth.

There's no doubt that the Internet has forever changed many aspects of our everyday lives.

I believe most of those changes were for the better, but some were not.

I agree it's very convenient to turn on your TV, computer or other device and instantly stream virtually any movie you want to see right there on the spot, but I also miss going to the video store and perusing the tapes and DVDs to try to find a "winner".

I don't know what the future holds for the one remaining Blockbuster store, but I sincerely wish them all the best as they continue their swim upstream against the overwhelming current of the Internet and streaming.

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