[at-l] Wal-Mart & Vermont

[TrailR at aol.com (TrailR@aol.com)]

In a message dated 6/3/2004 11:14:16 PM Eastern Daylight Time,  
GoVolsKelly@aol.com writes:

I, too,  like the line "Shop local, Shop Often."  How else can we preserve 
what is  near and dear to our hearts?  Do Walmart employees know or even care 
that  little Janie has a cold or that Grandma passed away?  No.  They're  so 
damned busy they could care less.  Next isle, no lines, no  waiting.  Meanwhile, 
at the farmer's market, the fact that Janie has a  cold and Grandma died is 
known and passed along, so that Janie's mother gets a  covered dish on her door 
step from a neighbor and the whole damned town shows  up to grandma's funeral. 
 Screw a bunch of Walmart cheap shit.  It  only takes a locally owned, small 
market to keep a community together.   

That's my opinion, and that's that, smarty cat.

GoVols 
*
You guys are way off. What held the communities together was the church,  not 
the stores in town. Yes, they got to know people, were friendly, and good  
people, but not the first line of community communications. The church &  
neighbors of Janie & her grandmother were the ones telling the people at the  stores 
what was up. They were also the ones with the covered dishes. They were  the 
communities life blood.
I grew up in a small town (it's still called a village). We shopped for  
clothes at Sussmans, a local clothes store, shopped for shoes at Mastroes  
(local), we bought food at the local butcher & small market, until big  grocery 
stores/ department stores came into the area .Shopping local is all  fine and good, 
but growing up poor in a rich town makes it hard to do for some  local 
families. I got few new clothes & less shoes, because they cost so  darn much at the 
local stores. I got picked on because I was the kid that wore  worn out 
clothes, hand me downs and funny shoes, because we couldn't afford new  ones (and 
all the rich kids wore tons of new clothes all the time). I ate crap I  
wouldn't wish on anyone, because it was high in protein & vitamins, even if  it did 
taste like crap. No dessert, or snacks, just meals (except once or twice  a 
month, we got a soda & a scoop of ice cream), and this was at grocery  store 
prices (cheaper).
Do you think I gave a rats butt about village atmosphere? No, I wanted to  be 
able to afford food & clothes, I wanted people to quit staring at  me. 
Probably why I fought so hard to get an education & a good job, so  I could finally 
buy things. From poor, to a decent income was a slow climb,  but the toys I 
bought along the way were cool. Finally making up for the toys I  never had as a 
kid, maybe the life I never had as a kid too (but that's another  story).
So I guess my bottom line is... Priorities...
Shop local, shop often, if you can afford it.
Go to WALMART, or similar big stores if you can't.
And no, this is not a gear issue, it's a life issue.
And anyone who picks on people for doing either, needs a life...
To make this trail related, I'm looking at the Foothills trail in SC.
Trying to figure a good time to hike it. Summer heat (less weight),
fall (more colors and cooler), any ideas? Anyone else interested?
hotdog AT 03