What if?
As I watch more and more locally owned stores go out of business along with some chain stores, I have this eerie thought. What if there comes a time when the only place left to shop in small towns is Wal-Mart ? I have sworn to never set foot in on of those stores, but what if it is the only one left?
I hope I’m being overly pessimistic.
I hope I’m being overly pessimistic.
posted by pissed off patricia at 2:26 AM
9 Comments:
Get ready. Small town America is no longer so small.
I also vowed never to set foot in a walmart again. I've been buying from local merchants and farm stands, I also get a lot of stuff on ebay.
Way back in 1993 when we were visiting my wife's relatives in West Virginia, aside from a couple of mom and pop places, the Wal Mart was the only gig around for miles. I can't imagine 16 years later the situation has improved.
My hometown, where my Mom still lives, is so far west in Virginia that West Virginia is the city boundary. Like Randal says Wal-Mart has driven everyone else out of business and they are the only game available within 20 or so miles. You have to drive the 25 or so miles to Princeton,WVa for another option.
So PoP it is happening already in some places and when I visit Mom I have to break my own rule about never going near a Wal-Mart. It takes weeks to recover and still I lose a bit of my soul each time.
Let's hope we all are forced into the same predicament.
We're watching local businesses go under here. It's pretty bleak seeing the big anchor stores at the local mall close up shop. Even though we never shopped in them, their existence meant that the city was thriving and tax coffers were full. Fortunately, we don't have a walmart here.
oh, horrors, PoP!
what a dreadful thought!
one of my standing jokes is about how I've boycotted Wal-mart for years -- and how I've driven that company to its _knees_!
Like Two Crows, I like to pretend that WalMart is suffering because of my seven-years-long-and-counting boycott. I'm SURE they're missing my pennies, those greedy bastards!
I never thought about what would happen if one ONLY had a Walmart. Oh man, talk about a sign of the apocalypse. I hope you're being overly pessimistic too, Pop.
Up near Lake George where the cabin we bought is located, the nearest two towns are Ticonderoga and Whitehall. Whitehall has a couple of small grocery stores but not a lot of selection. Ticonderoga? Wal*Mart. No other grocery store. The other nearest grocery store is a Grand Union over 40 minutes away in Schroon Lake. So we have stooped to buying things in Wal*Mart no matter how much it makes us cringe. The sad thing is there is an empty building in the middle of Ticonderoga that was obviously once the town grocery store, put out of business when WM came to town.
Clarification: 40 more minutes after Ticonderoga, making it an hour each way from our cabin.
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