I have been thinking about this blog for sometime. I didn't want it to reflect my personal unhappiness at what is missing, I wanted it to reflect what the population thinks is missing.
Then to my wonder and amazement....an article appeared in our twice weekly newspaper 'Needed Businesses'. Wow, I was ready to be shocked, instead I was pleasantly surprised that the people who responded to this query actually came up with quite reasonable responses.
First and foremost the incident that brought this about was the initial groundbreaking of the one and only Walmart. This troubling event was ten years in the making, so you can see just how ornery these locals can be..well, the supervisors mainly. They have fought all building and commerce from the year one. It is truly a good old boy system that I'm shocked anything of this magnitude got accepted.
But back to my original subject...the people here want diversity in grocery shopping. And no bones about it the people want a gourmet variety deli, that includes imported cheeses, ready-made to go dinners, more than is currently offered like the over-spun rotisserie chickens.
They wanted movie theaters . A movie plex would be nice. We currently have two or three that are open for business at odd hours and don't advertise their showings and when they do....it has to be something that has been available on Netflix for ages.
How to attract tourists? How about a boat rental place? How about gambling ..as in a Mississippi River Boat? How about OTB...that might bring in people who might stay longer than a half hour.
We have oodles of land that is available along the one highway thru the penninsula. What about a shopping mall, Outlet Stores, a Lowes, a new car dealership.
The people that live here want to be able to chose a fast food place, they offered up Popeye,Arby's , Chili's. We currently have Mc D's, Wendy's and Bo Jangles.
The kids have always been a concern of mine. They have no outlets for sports, video, ping pong,big screen TV's, meeting places for events that could include families. We do have a YMCA. Not the same is it.
They asked for an Urgent Care facility. Not a bad idea. You either have the local hospital,ugh, or a hundred mile trip to Salisbury.
All of these businesses would offer the much needed jobs for this area. Right now you can work in a auto parts place which there are many of, or you can work in the chicken industry. That's about it.
My point in mentioning this at all is to let my readers know that there are places in the United States that are currently doing without the basics. Yes, you can be terribly disappointed in some of the results of progress, then change them.
But to hold on to a way of life that has long passed and is irritatingly insufferable for those of us that live here now is incompetent. I am personally indignant each time I must drive one hundred miles for the slightest thing. Don't these supervisors realize that we are forced to shop in another state, and they are losing revenue as well?
What are your thoughts? Go with the flow? or stay put in another century. Have a beautiful week, it looks to be a nice one here. RD
3 comments:
I live in a little community that does not have a Wal-Mart but there is one 23 miles away. Taos is a major shopping center for several like communities and yet the citizens of Taos have fought having the Wal-Mart there upgraded to a super Wal-Mart. That fight has gone on for 12 years I know of.
The current wally world is so inadequate I seldom shop there as they will not have what I want. But will drive to Espanola or Las Vegas, much longer trips, to spend my bucks.
We don't have a Lowes but we do have a great hardware store because of the amount of building that goes on here. And they will match prices. And we have a deli and two coffee shops. And a grocery store that is responsive to our requests for new items of a more organic nature. I more and more shop local.
I can do without the fast food businesses but would love to have more than one restaurant that can be depended upon to be open should I not want to cook. We are a resort area with maybe 10 restaurants in season but they all shut their doors during off season and then whine that locals do not eat there.
Nor will the cooperate with each other to rotate their shut times.
Unfortunately for both of us I think everyone goes to the extremes on "business development". They are either totally against it in order to preserve the small town atmosphere. Or want to sell the farm lock stock and barrel. Those of us that want responsible and reasonable development get shafted either way.
BTW any community that wants a deli cannot be entirely bad.
I am all for responsible growth, which the shore is in much need of. Living in an area bereft of all amenities is just plain hard work...always having to do without something or work around not having what is readily available in most civilized communities is tiresome, and the attitude about not wanting to chanfge the "pristine countryside" pretty much gets thrown out the window when the streets are lined with rundown dillapitated homes, buildings and business that are closed, not to forget about the areas that are being stripped of their trees for lumbar and the messes that makes!!!
this is not small town quaint it's just plain ignorance that keeps these new businesses from enriching the life here.
The problem with villages/small towns all over the world is an innate dislike of newcomers! It's a fact of life. Villages and small towns are run by families who go back generations and incoming investment from 'strangers' is often seen as a threat to 'our way of life'. There is a distrust of anything or anyone new which sadly has 'provincial' written all over it..
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