I read blogs and newspapers and all the articles are about bailouts and banks going under, people losing their homes, and still it seems abstract to me. That is, until another of my favorite businesses closes its doors.
Earlier this summer, we lost a treasure in Carbondale: the feed store that had been downtown for more than 100 years. They tried to hang on selling pet food and plants for your garden and seed for bird feeders, but in June they closed. Then I called Animal Crackers, the slightly nutty, hippie-dippie pet store/kennel to schedule baths for the dogs. Phone disconnected. Store closed. Last week, we saw the signs go up in the windows of one of our favorite stores, Kaleidescope. They (used to) sell reasonably-priced imported items, candles, cards, scarves, jewelery—a perfect source for a wife or sister’s birthday gift.
Tonight it was a punch to the stomach when I drove into Murphysboro and dropped by the grocery store to pick up some things for dinner. I suddenly noticed all the shelves had empty spots, and when I got to the checkout, the magazine racks were bare. I asked, “are you closing?” “Yes, December 13.” I tried to imagine what it’ll be like in this little town with the grocery store an empty building.
Each of these businesses employed people, and gave vitality to our community. They feel like canaries in the coal mine.
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3 comments:
The hardware store near me closed a few months ago. Went with a friend for lunch to a little restaurant and discovered it gone. There are usually only three short columns of "Help Wanted" ads in the daily paper and two of them consist of $6 an hour or "commision only" work. Oh, but everybody advertises on-line now, don't they? All the good jobs must be there.
Time to relaunch Mom and Pop America...
It is every where. The Bush Blight, his legacy. No matter where we are we see it, small towns, large cities. He and his "colleagues" have left us for dead and here we are looking at our paychecks wondering how many more we will receive.
A casual walk to our mailbox and a glance at the houses on our streets make us wonder which one is next to show the tell-tell signs of abandon. Another family gone, but to where?
We could be doing really well if we were the friends of “W” and Cheney and Rove. Those corporate oli and war buddies have made out really well on the backs of our parents who were naive enough to think Medicaid Part B would help them make ends meet.
Bush’s era, a continuation of Ronnie’s Morning in America has come and gone and left us for dead. It is time for us, the people, to retake what is rightfully ours, the constitution, the bill of rights and our dignity.
Robin
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