Village Green/Town²

  I love photographic images. I’m not so good at taking them myself. For example, the things I catch while on vacation aren’t exactly picturesque: The view out of our hotel room window. Breakfast at the Robin Hood in Rehoboth. Reading by the pool. Absolutely required dinner at Go Brit: Room service? One sight that draws me in, time after time, is this: It’s a wall of retro candy in a little toy store along Penny Lane in Rehoboth. I return to it like a pilgrim to a shrine. It’s not because I eat any of these sweets. It’s because they speak to me of my childhood. People and places change or even disappear. Looking at those familiar wrappers brings it all back for a moment.  Look what I found from ten years ago:   Something Sweet, August 23, 2016 I can't visit Rehoboth without stopping in to Fun For All! Toys on Penny Lane. Something about paying homage to the candy and toys of my childhood gives me a sense of reassurance. My childhood is still there. It hasn't been forgott...

  You go in a store and see that the product that you want to buy is locked up. What do you do? I won’t buy it at that store. I’ll buy it in a store where they don’t treat customers like criminals. Maybe I will buy a different brand that isn’t locked up if that will work for me. Some folks will leave the store and purchase the desired item online.  Locking up merchandise is meant to reduce theft but it also reduces sales. It introduces an atmosphere of ill will with customers. It says we don’t mind inconveniencing you and making you feel like you are worthy of being under suspicion in our store. One of the most effective ways to reduce theft is to hire, train, and pay enough human employeees both to  help customers and to reduce environments that make it easy to steal. But paying workers costs money. Reducing labor costs is one of the first things that big companies do these days. Putting barriers between what you are offering and the people who actually want it is counte...

  Yesterday I learned that poor reading comprehension is a serious problem in a community that prides itself on being well educated. I am not talking about folks who barely made it out of highschool, either.  Banning books means banning books.  Suggesting that a public institution that claims to be safe for everyone shouldn’t throw parties that elevate the work of someone who does actual harm both to young people and adults is not book banning. I am just gobsmacked at how many people tried to argue this point.  I don’t expect that everything I write will meet with complete agreement. But I do object strongly when the response is to fully misrepresent what I am saying. ***** It’s Saturday. Support your local markets.  Howard County Restaurant and Craft Beverage Weeks are underway . Make sure to try something delightfully “mid” if the spirit moves you.  The Visit Howard County website has updated their events calendar. Check it out and see what you think....