Black Friday and Cyber Monday came and went recently, and our family didn’t buy a thing online.
That’s not how we roll. We’re believers in buying local whenever possible to support local businesses.
Sure, there are some things you just can’t get here, and you either have to leave town to grab that item, or shop online.
Online shopping can be convenient. You can do it from the comfort of your own home. But think about your community before committing to spending money with a few mouse clicks. Think about how by purchasing an item locally you would support a local business owner, and his or her staff, and how overall that contributes to the local economy.
People complain about taxes and how there needs to be more diverse shopping options in Chatham-Kent, but if they are quick to leave town to shop for items they can readily access here, they are part of the problem. Support our local retail sector, and other businesses will see C-K as an area of opportunity. We may not get every retailer we want, but the choices would improve.
And we’d all help support the collective C-K economy.
I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating. Anyone working for the municipality – people paid by local tax dollars, should lead the charge in the buy local, shop local movement. It is taxes paid by the likes of Barb Anderson at Barrypatch, or the Lally family at several car dealerships in the municipality, or those of hundreds of other local business owners that fuel the salaries of C-K staffers. Those staffers should honour that by spending here, first and foremost.
For me, one of the owners of The Chatham Voice, most of the revenue this paper receives is from local business. It only makes sense to pay our customers back. From vehicles, to electronics, to appliances, we like to shop local. I urge everyone to do the same, whenever possible.
And when people say they can get a better deal elsewhere, while that may be correct, it’s not necessarily right. Granted, you are spending your own hard-earned cash, but by spending it elsewhere, you are undermining the commercial fabric of your own community.
For those of you who won’t listen and will continue to shop as you see fit, that is your right. But please don’t stoop so low as to do what one storeowner told me occurred at a neighbouring shop.
A woman went into the shop looking at pants. The storeowner bent over backwards showing different styles and sizes. The shopper thanked her for her time and left without buying.
She returned weeks later. The shop owner remembered her and asked if she’d decided on which pants she wanted. The shopper said she bought them online. She used the local shop just to see what size of a particular brand would best fit her.
That’s low, people. It’s not even comparative shopping. It’s exploiting the local business.
It’s also a burned bridge. Do you think that shopkeeper will spend much time helping that woman in the future? And if that shop were to go out of business, that selfish shopper would no longer have a place to go to try on clothes before buying online.
Thankfully, the shop has some pretty dedicated local support of other customers from what I’ve seen.
Aches, pains and yard work
My wife and I have come to the conclusion that we’re getting old.
We spent a good part of Sunday afternoon in the backyard on a crisp fall day on leaf patrol.
We used a leaf blower and rakes and bagged up a whack of leaves.
OK, I used a blower and then a rake to pile the leaves, while Mary did the bagging. My back wasn’t prepared to do all that bending and stuffing right now.
And, it seems Mary’s decided to tell her it wasn’t impressed on Sunday, as it cramped up on her at one point.
Isn’t aging wonderful? My arthritic joints try to keep me in check.
I must say, blowing the leaves can even be a bit of a chore.
I used to use a leaf vacuum that resembled a lawn mower, but after years of dedicated service, it died on me last year and I haven’t found a suitable replacement yet.
But we do have the trusty blower/vacuum. I only use it as a vacuum in tight spots because when you have two mature maple trees, a huge oak and a Japanese maple in your yard, the little bag on the blower fills up in seconds. It takes more time to get the leaves out of the mesh bag than it does to fill it.
But as a blower, it’s fun and functional. But as the leaves build up, it gets harder and harder to push them along. I form a number of piles in our yard, and blast a layer over our side gardens.
We didn’t get all the leaves bagged on Sunday, but made great progress.
I also topped up the chemicals in the hot tub. There’s more yard work to be done, and I think we’ll have to soak away the aches afterwards.
On Sunday, I relied on liquid pain killer after the fact, enjoying a nice cold adult beverage.
I should have enjoyed a few in the backyard, with the Egg fired up and some meat on the grill, but the ladies had their own plans for dinner. Looks like some night barbecuing is in the forecast during the week.
That’s one thing about this time of the year – if you want to barbecue at night, and folks like Benny, Greg, Sensei Jeff and I do, you have to be prepared to do so in the dark. Benny does it in his garage, with the door open, Greg has a sweet awning over his cooking area as needed, while Jeff and I are a little more exposed to the elements. But we have our lighting. Jeff’s got an LED light on his Big Green Egg handle that automatically comes on as he opens the lid. I run a motion sensor LED light, as well as a more direct clip-on LED light with a flexible neck that I attach to my table right beside the Egg so I can see what’s cooking.
At least at this time of the year you only have to deal with the dark, and not the biting cold. In no time, I’ll be out there battling snow and wind as well.
But the taste is worth it!
