General Store
Sears and Roebuck
The original Amazon
The circles of
time-periscoping
Evolution
Of the landmarks of our
Consumerist commitment—
Beacons that guided
Our travels
Before GPS
White Front
To Gemco
To Target
Rexall
To Longs
To CVS
To Cannabis dispensary
Mr. Jordan’s corner tobacco/liquor
To 7-11
To million dollar condos
Joey Franco’s
To PW
To Safeway
Frye’s
To radio shack
To best buy
Dave’s hardware
To Orchard Supply
To Home Depot
Costco & IKEA
Go Big or
Go wireless….
My mom made us go to
Imahara’s farm stand store
In the 70s
Before posh
farmer’s markets
Were the rage,
Carrying our embarrassingly
re-folded paper bags
she insisted
We reuse
Before anyone
Recycled,
To support our neighbors,
To have long
(Very long to my child’s eye/experience)
Conversations with those who
Grew and brought us our food
Or to “pick your own” fruits/berries
We also had Peninsula Creamery
deliver our raw milk and cheese each week,
And mom’s big treat was to Call
Chicken Delight (Don’t cook tonight)
Also delivered to door, before Colonel Sanders
Came to town
January Handl
Your mother was a woman ahead of her time, January. I love your poem’s chronology of the evolution of shopping from Sears to Amazon, the old hardware store to Home Depot… And now we don’t even have to talk to anyone when we shop online. Kind of sad.
It is sad in many ways. My adult kids are so go at it, everything (well almost) delivered to their door!❤️
A wonderful inventory of the shape-shifting ways of our cultural landscape from brick and mortal, to on-line retail, and the days when re-using paper bags weren’t cool to now, when it is essential. Great treat to see you take on the world, January.
Thank you Betsy!
Wonderful memories, January. I’d forgotten about Chicken Delight. Your transitions were pointed and moving.
🙏🏼❤️
You name Sears and Roebuck twice. Portent. One for its 1880s beginnings and rapid expansion into supplier to the prairies’ sod huts, waiting for the pans and boots and corsets and tongs they so desperately needed, at once saviors and killers.
Two for the sudden death via hedge fund garroting by Eddie Lambert, born in 1962.
I love. Your list of what the Prairie folk might be waiting for…made me think of the pony express and railroad days as well. Thanks!