Friday, January 5, 2007

NOSTALGIA

In days of yore, when I was in my youth, people would shop in mom & pop grocery stores, clothing stores, and hardware stores. They would eat in establishments ran by locals. A drug store only sold drugs and had a counter where one could purchase shakes and malts and other ice cream concoctions.
Suddenly, McDonald's appeared on the scene and slowly followed by other franchise chains. People flocked to this new phenomena. This was followed by the giant box stores, with the lure of saving a few pennies, and no service.
One by one these old small independents began to fall like dominoes, and nobody cared. The stores where the owner knew you by name. Where they would bend over backwards to make you happy. Other words they appreciated your business.
If you walked into the hardware store, when you told the owner the problem, he had an answer , and knew exactly where the part was, and you only had to buy the one thing, not a box containing a dozen. Now it's Home Depot where everything is prepackaged, you can't see if that is really the part you need, and you always purchase more then you need and in the long run you end up paying a lot more.
Now we come to the HOW STUPID IS YOU. Along comes an entrepreneur with a grand idea on how to fleece the sheep. Let's bring back the small business. A bakery, butcher shop, a small clothing store and the like. But wait those went out of business. Well then let's give them fancy names. Add natural or healthy. BUT MOST IMPORTANT CHARGE OUTRAGES PRICES, so they think they are really getting something. And they are it's called the shaft.

3 comments:

La Sirena said...

You are correct, sir! I actually bend over backwards to patronize small businesses. In the big gentrifiction game, you know a neighborhood has been converted hopelessly to yuppieism when the small businesses close.
My neighborhood is still a neighborhood -- complete with small businesses. It's my favorite part -- but for how much longer?

Pelmo said...

People such as you and I continue to fight, others may follow and see the light.

La Sirena said...

That rhymed. It could be a slogan!