All but one or two independent pharmacies are left in Duluth, all the others have closed in the face of Walgreens, Target, Wal-Mart, and other big box stores.
Happily, local breweries are flourishing.
Sadly, there is only one independent new-books bookstore left, all the others are used books only.
Happily, independent restaurants seem to be popping up and flourishing.
Sadly, independent coffee shops are losing to the chains. The latest is Bixby’s in the Mount Royal Shopping Center. It had been around before we moved to Duluth in 1999. This fall, the latest owners were featured in a neighborhood newspaper. The owners were optimistic even with a Caribou and a Starbucks within five minutes walk away.
Today, when I went to Bixby’s, there was a sign on the counter that it would close on January 1. Although the staff was being cheerful to the customers, I think I heard a bit of sobbing from at least one of them. Consider that the staff were mostly college students who had to work to keep up with their bills. Losing a job in the middle of the school year is a bit hard to take.
I could go to a coffee shop/restaurant on our block, but that doesn’t give me much of a walk. I could go to an independent pizza shop/restaurant in the same building as Bixby’s for coffee, but it just doesn’t seem like a coffee shop. I don’t think it would be a place where we would stop for coffee for the trip to Brimson.
I guess I can’t complain too much because I didn’t go to Bixby’s as much as I used to. Two of my coffee buddies died and the other moved out of town. Plus, as I’ve gotten older I’ve walked the mile to Bixby’s less frequently, often wimping out because of rain or snow. I didn’t drive there much either because the whole point was the exercise and the comradary.
Big-ga boxes, big-ga boxes, all made of ticky-tacky, all-a look the same!
Showing posts with label neighborhood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label neighborhood. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Monday, April 08, 2013
Commerce without connection
"Historians will tell you that nothing changed the American retail experience in the 20th century more than the shopping mall. Once developers clustered hundreds of stores in a single place (with ample parking), the American Main Street all but disappeared. People stopped seeing each other in the center of town. They felt less connected to their community — certainly less connected to its businesses."
Mitch Albom, Duluth News Tribune 2013-04-08
This quote was in "'Just browsing' may become a memory" also published on his website on 2013-03-31.
His article is on how the shopping on the web is changing our shopping habits as much as or even more than the shopping malls changed our shopping habits.
I grew up walking or taking a street car or bus almost everywhere I went. At one place we lived there were three locally-owned groceries on our block and two store-front chains a bit farther. At another place we lived there were three locally-owned drug stores in walking distance.
Now almost everything is chains. The only locally-owned stores are restaurants, bottle shops, hardware stores, and some gas stations. I really appreciate the few of these places where I can walk in, know the names of the people behind the counter, and be known by them.
Mitch Albom, Duluth News Tribune 2013-04-08
This quote was in "'Just browsing' may become a memory" also published on his website on 2013-03-31.
His article is on how the shopping on the web is changing our shopping habits as much as or even more than the shopping malls changed our shopping habits.
I grew up walking or taking a street car or bus almost everywhere I went. At one place we lived there were three locally-owned groceries on our block and two store-front chains a bit farther. At another place we lived there were three locally-owned drug stores in walking distance.
Now almost everything is chains. The only locally-owned stores are restaurants, bottle shops, hardware stores, and some gas stations. I really appreciate the few of these places where I can walk in, know the names of the people behind the counter, and be known by them.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Diversity Revisited
In reviewing yesterday's use of my blog and web site, I saw that there were three hits on http://www.cpinternet/~mdmagree.diversity_2001-03-08.html. It's web title is "I Hate Diversity" and was originally published in the Reader Weekly as "One little, two little, three little Representatives" almost eleven years ago.
I didn't write it against diversity itself; my whole life has been diverse in the people I've known. I wrote it against the bean counter approach to diversity; there has to be so many women, so many people of color, so many … I don't give two hoots whether the people I associate with are purple or orange.
Time for a diversionary chuckle. I think Bill Cosby told this story. A school bus driver got tired of the squabbling between white and black kids. He stopped the bus and told each kid alternately that they were purple or orange, independently of their skin color. When done he went to the front of the bus and told all the orange kids to go to the back of the bus.
Maybe you think this is just another example of racism. I think it is a good example of the arbitrariness of people who make judgments based on skin color or other external, non-relevant factors. "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
Who I am interested in are people who share some of my interests. Not lock step agreement, but enough overlap that we can have a pleasant conversation. This was highlighted by a chance meeting at our neighborhood bus stop.
When we arrived at our neighborhood bus stop, a black gentleman was waiting in the shelter. I had never seen him before. We said "Good morning" and he replied equally cheerfully. The three of us started a conversation. When the bus arrived, my wife got on the bus and the other man and I still in conversation got into a "Aprés vous, Gaston! Mais non, aprés vous, Alphonse" moment. Then I realized I should be following my wife and got on.
We continued our conversation to our stop. It was mostly about a lecture we had attended last night; he had wanted to go but had another commitment.
My wife knew him by reputation, but I don't think I had ever heard of him before.
I looked him up on the web this afternoon, and no surprise, I learned he had a different take on the "Unfair" campaign. I don't care; he's an interesting person and I hope to meet him again at the next lecture in the series. I won't give you his name; I don't want to embarrass him.
I didn't write it against diversity itself; my whole life has been diverse in the people I've known. I wrote it against the bean counter approach to diversity; there has to be so many women, so many people of color, so many … I don't give two hoots whether the people I associate with are purple or orange.
Time for a diversionary chuckle. I think Bill Cosby told this story. A school bus driver got tired of the squabbling between white and black kids. He stopped the bus and told each kid alternately that they were purple or orange, independently of their skin color. When done he went to the front of the bus and told all the orange kids to go to the back of the bus.
Maybe you think this is just another example of racism. I think it is a good example of the arbitrariness of people who make judgments based on skin color or other external, non-relevant factors. "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
Who I am interested in are people who share some of my interests. Not lock step agreement, but enough overlap that we can have a pleasant conversation. This was highlighted by a chance meeting at our neighborhood bus stop.
When we arrived at our neighborhood bus stop, a black gentleman was waiting in the shelter. I had never seen him before. We said "Good morning" and he replied equally cheerfully. The three of us started a conversation. When the bus arrived, my wife got on the bus and the other man and I still in conversation got into a "Aprés vous, Gaston! Mais non, aprés vous, Alphonse" moment. Then I realized I should be following my wife and got on.
We continued our conversation to our stop. It was mostly about a lecture we had attended last night; he had wanted to go but had another commitment.
My wife knew him by reputation, but I don't think I had ever heard of him before.
I looked him up on the web this afternoon, and no surprise, I learned he had a different take on the "Unfair" campaign. I don't care; he's an interesting person and I hope to meet him again at the next lecture in the series. I won't give you his name; I don't want to embarrass him.
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