is under way. We broke up the journey to and from camp with a stop for lunch and then again for ice cream at two mom & pop joints along the way. At both the service was excellent, friendly and caring. A far cry from the impersonal customer service one receives at the chain places where the battle cry remains scripted, followed by "Do you want fries with that?" Again a good reminder of why I enjoy the locally owned and operated. The owners care about what they do and who they serve. Their investment is so much more than the minimum wage teenaged employee.
Our local indie bookstore, 113 years old, is going out of business. It pains me to no end. I wonder about the people who work there, who struck up relationships with the regular customers, who recommended books based on what they knew. Last night was the first of two special sales for their long-time customers. The store was packed to the gills. I kept thinking Where the hell have you people been? If you'd have been shopping here with so much enthusiasm, this store wouldn't be going out of business. NOW this place matters to you, too late. The woman working one check out line worked slowly, despite the crowd, chatting up the customers. I knew she was trying to make these last days at her job last before she ends up at a franchise somewhere selling books or whatever else to the nameless masses shopping at the strip malls all over the city limits. And downtown another storefront will grow dusty behind the For Sale or Lease sign hung in the window.
It's a sad thing to say goodbye.
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