I’ve
received a couple of questions about Local
Friends for Local Business. Two are specifically
about the challenge that begins next Thursday.
The
first of those questions is: What constitutes a market? The February
Local Friends asks participants to visit a neighborhood market
on one of the days between February 9th and February 13th. And
considering how chain markets have taken over… it becomes a pretty
good question…
Let
me point to the “how
to” section as a partial answer: “…if you
feel your dollars are contributing to the local economy and business
options because of the support given to a place you find brilliant
and worthy, then they are.” I don’t want to steer you away from
a store that has multiple locations and has legendary status in
the community. In fact, on the “history”
page we list a few places that do have multiple locations. For
this, the hope is simply to try and bring attention to places
that might really be in need of your attention and dollars. I
think it would be great if you could find a corner shop, probably
one with the name of the owner on the sign out front and only
one location, that more often than not you don’t even notice when
you drive by. Still, if you go into a store, and believe you are
supporting a local, small business type of market, then you sure
are.
And
the second question: Can it be a specialty store?
Absolutely.
If you want to go to a place that specializes in meats or seafood,
that would be great. In fact, back in 2007 our traveling band
of six friends was in California. During a day in Napa, we booked
a day-long limousine tour (always drive responsibly when wine
tasting to extremes). When asked, the driver suggested The
Oakville Grocery for picking up some sandwiches
and creating a picnic that would allow us to enjoy some of our
purchases. It was amazing. Great place… and I would consider that
to be sort of a specialty shop and a great neighborhood market.
Daniel
Radcliffe has his new movie coming out soon. Here
are some facts about him and The Woman
in Black.
Great
article about Tom Brady as the Super Bowl
approaches. Truly places him as the greatest quarterback ever.
We
start things off with Local
Friends for Local Business.
And
to do that… a story… from more than three decades ago…
In
my life, I have never seen a winter storm shut things down the
way the Blizzard of ‘78 did.
I’ve
lived in the northeast all my life… including four winters spent
in Syracuse, New York… and no storm can approach the one from
February of 1978, and my view of it in Rhode Island.
When
I think back to that storm, I see images of the highways littered
with abandoned cars that seemingly froze in place in every lane.
(And the plowing nightmares that resulted.) I remember stories
of Dad stuck at work. (He worked for a television station that
happened to share a building with a department store, and most
of the people working several days straight with him shopped for
the essentials down a few floors from their offices and studios.)
And,
I remember Mom and a sled.
The
schools were closed. Kids were home. And there was no traffic
on any of the roads.
A
day or two after the storm… Mom took the three kids, placed us
on a sled, and off we went. She dragged us about half mile down
the road. Out of the driveway, around a couple of corners, and
out onto the main road. I don’t think we ever saw a moving car.
The local neighborhood market was open and we were out to get
a few things.
About
a week ago I was driving in the old neighborhood. It struck me,
as I went by the plaza where that market had been, that none of
the stores that were there in 1978 remained. The barber… the salon…
the place for fish and chips… the market… all gone. Only a pizza
place could be considered a common element… but the ownership
and name has changed a couple of times since 1978, including a
period of time when it was closed.
This
month for Local Friends… we’re thinking about February, looking
back at the Blizzard of ‘78, fondly recalling a ride with Mom
pulling the sled, and with thoughts firmly set in those memories
we’re tipping a cap to the neighborhood market.
It
could be a small general store… perhaps it specializes in meats
or seafood… it may be the place where you know the name of the
butcher (and he’s already correctly assembled half of your order
before you get from the door to the counter)… occasionally it’s
where you settle in for a cup of coffee or to buy your lottery
tickets.
It’s
often like Needful Things… without Leland or the chaos,
but often you know the owners and send your children to school
with theirs… and when you enter looking for something you really
want, there it is.
It’s
serving your neighborhood… it’s the local market.
And
Local
Friends for Local Business in February 2012
is asking for you to stop by between the 9th and the 13th.
If
you have any questions about Local Friends for Local Business,
here are some of the contact details. We do have pages set up
at Facebook and Twitter, and share general announcements and updates
there. Please feel free to like or follow us for those postings.
LocalFriends@inmybackpack.com
Facebook – Local Friends for Local Business
Twitter – @FriendsLocal
The
new M&M character -- Ms. Brown -- has made her first official
appearance. Here’s an
interview with Neil Patrick Harris that not
only is a good read, it shows him at the ceremony for Ms. Brown.
Are
you surprised by the
changes at The X Factor? Nicole Scherzinger
didn’t work for me… so that’s one change I understand. Steve Jones
seems like a nice enough guy, which is fine and great and wonderful,
but as a host for this show it wasn’t working at all with him…
so that brings it to two changes that make a ton of sense. Paula
is the interesting one for me (and I know others as well)… especially
since Simon chasing her down for the show was so publicly covered…
but I do believe her group of contestants was eliminated quickly
and without much fanfare, and that’s just one reason this change
could also make so much sense.
Miss
Piggy delivers a wonderful comment about Fox
News. (The article covers the entire story, including the history.)
Two
new articles for you today…
First
– The
Super Bowl edition of the 2011 NFL Playoffs
Second
– “It’s
politics… it’s politicians… it’s not a recommendation”