We used to have a favorite food store just down the street. It was open all night and had great prices and the kind of food we liked. Before I started growing my own purslane indoors year-round, it was possible to get it fresh seasonally in their produce section. They also sold good tamales at a reasonable price and had a special section with a plethora of dried herbs and spices with an amazing catalog. The store was rather cluttered and you bagged your own, but the staff was friendly and their selection amazing. When they cleaned the store's image up and hired baggers, I said "Oh, oh, this is the beginning of the end!" Sure enough they are closed now. Their absence leaves a big hole in the shopping center and an empty spot in my heart.
The mail forwarding service I have been using was right next door and now it is going bye-bye at the end of this year. That is an unfortunate time because tax documents start floating in very late in December and all through January. They were a well-known franchise business, so I did not expect this to happen. But due in part to lease issues in the complex, the individual owner could not commit to the 5-year contract the corporation required. He is not the only one. The complex is starting to look like a ghost town.
To their credit, they did make arrangements for my mail to be forwarded to another local business which has agreed to honor our previous arrangement. Since I prepaid a year in advance it was good to know that I was not being stiffed. Still, there is the matter of changing the address with all of my correspondents. This does not make me a happy camper. I used to come here five months out of the year, but now I live less than a day's drive away, and therefore come oftener and stay a shorter time. So maybe I will just ask for a refund and stop trying to get mail here altogether.
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