We’ve all heard the expression about carrying on business as usual. Business as usual has changed. Out here in agricultural country, stores used to stay open late one night a week. Early on, it was Saturday because that’s when a lot of country people came to town to buy groceries and other necessities. People visited with one another on street corners; fellows congregated in the pool hall or hardware store to solve world problems while the womenfolk got groceries and gossiped. Youngsters ended up at the movie theater to watch Roy and Gene or, in summer, played ball in a vacant lot. Later on, it was usually Thursday night when you could shop till seven or eight but, one by one, businesses discontinued that practice. Probably about the time stores began to be open on Sunday.
I remember when Saturday shopping became difficult. It began with implement dealers and parts houses. We prayed not to break down on Saturday because we could seldom get to town for parts before the noon closings. But eventually, other stores started half day Saturdays, and it wasn’t long before some businesses were only open Monday thru Friday. Then a few places started closing at noon on Friday. I think this was shortly after the casual dress code for Fridays got to be common. Maybe they just wanted their employees to be able to go directly from work to the golf course or fishing hole. Apparently, the inmates are now in charge, and since help is hard to find, and harder to keep, we never know what will be open, or when.
One of the arguments used to promote a four-day school week has been that teachers and students could make medical appointments for Fridays and not have to take school time for that. But wait—many dentists and eye doctors are now closed on Friday. We used to be able to get into the clinics on Saturday mornings, at least, but with the shortage of medical personnel you’re lucky to get an appointment after 3 pm on a Friday. God forbid that you get sick on a weekend.
It’s no wonder people are doing more and more shopping on line. I refuse to do that for a number of reasons, but mainly because I want to support local businesses. Trouble is, there are fewer local businesses to support. I get numerous calls and emails about transferring my prescriptions to mail delivery, and I ignore them all. Maybe it’s cheaper, maybe not, but a lot of my correspondence has gotten lost in the mail recently, and I much prefer going down to Dave’s Pharmacy where everyone is cheerful and concerned for my health needs. I even get a birthday text from them. They are closed on weekends but there’s an emergency number that will get me the service I need. And I imagine one reason the workers there are so upbeat is that their employer cares for their well-being too, and knows they need a break.
And yet. We can go to Walmart any time of the day, any day of the week. More and more stores are opening on holidays, especially from Thanksgiving through Christmas and New Years. You can even go to the store in your P J’s and flip flops. We are about to enter the annual insanity of holiday shopping, a time when I hunker down at home and only go to stores when the milk gets low. Have fun out there in the frenzy if that’s your thing. I’ll just watch.
Meet me here next week and meanwhile do your best. Somebody might like it.