Retail in the Meadow

I love country stores. Not only are they rich with emotional associations; they're also an essential part of the past. The American entrepreneurial spirit. To learn of the development of the mercantile system in this country ..... pause, turn around, and take a backward look.
Jim Harrison

I grew up on the edge of town in a neighborhood called Sunrise Terrace, next to cow pastures and woods. In the summer, we adventurous children trekked almost daily down the hills to a tiny grocery store called Parlanti's, for fudgesicles and fire balls. The freedom, the journey, the ring of the entry bell, the commodities ...... aaah, the pleasure.

These stores still exist and must be a vital thread in the American business fabric. They continue to thrive next to the foreign monsters with whom they cohabitate. Absolutely amazing. Some bitterly lament the dwindled numbers and fear their complete demise, but I have my doubts.
I was just thinking the other day of a marketing plan for my musical act, and I thought, "I can do just about anything I want". And sell it. Anywhere.
Illustration: Jim Harrison