There’s a John McCutcheon song lyric that has haunted me for years.  The chorus goes like this: “We’re taking a giant step into the future, turning into a thousand other towns–I just heard today the news that they are closing the bookstore down.”  Of course, the song is about modern times in the age of the global web, Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, etc., and how for a few decades now we’ve been, in theory, enriching ourselves by browsing and clicking to intentionally–and unintentionally–cut out local retail.

Those mom-and-pop businesses are our friends and neighbors.  We can allow the COVID-19 pandemic to further dismantle and destroy local retail, or we can Love Thy Neighbor and help them and our community survive.  We all buy stuff online, but the need for shopping local has never been more obvious than right now.

Burl Sheldon