tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1086978161944568008.post4137166552533030215..comments2023-09-18T08:44:40.951-05:00Comments on faith in community: Bookstores, Reading, CommunityDiane M. Rothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07749136181846671327noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1086978161944568008.post-91932824976374903302012-02-08T06:26:57.807-06:002012-02-08T06:26:57.807-06:00My father won every election he ever entered, main...My father won every election he ever entered, mainly for city council which was the one thing he really loved. He won with remarkably little campaigning and always said he didn't care if he won or lost. But one year he drew an opponent, sometimes this happened, sometimes not, and he got all geared up for campaigning: Yard signs, some campaign events, going door-to-door. I think he might even have gone to church! I asked him about it and he told me that the reason he needed to win this election is that his opponent didn't see the importance of a local drug store and supermarket. He said that if we lost those two things the town would not be able to survive. I think he was right. Little Sweeny manages to hold on to a nice-sized supermarket, complete with DVD rental section, and a drug store which won't pay any property taxes in my lifetime, but it'll be there for the old people. Just stand around in either one for a few minutes and you'll see friends greet on another, inquire about illnesses, share the gossip a little. Local city councils can do a lot to promote businesses and policies which build community. Whenever I go to a small town I always look to see if they have a supermarket and a drugstore.Lindyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04662429826507775390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1086978161944568008.post-57294235504720936112012-01-06T05:21:01.800-06:002012-01-06T05:21:01.800-06:00A moving post with good, provocative and important...A moving post with good, provocative and important questions.<br /><br />The bookstore... I feel so sad because you have written about said bookstore, so I feel like I know it a little too. I am so sorry for the store and the community that gathered around it. I am always sad when community seems to diminish in some way or another, but I have to wonder where community is regrouping? (there are some answers to that but not now...)<br /><br />It is interesting to read about your experience of bookstores as we are exactly the same age. For whatever reason, the small city in which I grew up had a big bookstore, Aldine's. It was actually really big, although not by today's standards.<br /><br />Our crazy family had some redemptive qualities and one of them was the floor to ceiling books - everywhere. This led to lots of visits to Aldine's, a favorite place to go. <br /><br />Fast forward to 1980. I traveled to San Jose, CA to visit a friend and we went to a bookstore that had a small coffee bar. I was so intrigued! Many years later, this was to be seen all over the place, but at the time, it was rare.<br /><br />Bookstores are special places. I am sorry for the loss of the one you loved. I am pondering your questions now...Franhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07181529277715646835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1086978161944568008.post-69336831623298456452012-01-05T23:38:50.806-06:002012-01-05T23:38:50.806-06:00Great post Diane! Love the picture:) And as a sm...Great post Diane! Love the picture:) And as a small business owner who just last week closed a business (a statuary) in a small town, I know the pain of not just losing income but of losing relationships with regular customers and meeting new people.<br /><br />There is value in shopping locally as it does create community, as well as serving to remind us that we are all connected to one another.ROBERTAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09130103117335080071noreply@blogger.com