Touch of Grey - SugarMagnolia's Blog - Victoria Advocate http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/SugarMagnolia Touch of Grey will, well, touch upon the rainbow that is life, with a reminder that every silver lining's got a touch of grey. Touch of Grey will, well, touch upon the rainbow that is life, with a reminder that every silver lining's got a touch of grey. en-us A Question of Balance (Motherless Child) http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/SugarMagnolia/9514 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/SugarMagnolia/9514 <p><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#ff0000" size="2">I don't know what's worse: when I dream about her, or when I don't. Sometimes in my dreams I see her as she once was: young, beautiful, alive, vibrant, and smiling....always smiling. Sometimes I see her in her later years, still beautiful, but tired, weary....The dreams can be so vivid, I can feel, smell, even taste as if in a waking state. But when I wake up, she is not there. </font></p> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#ff0000" size="2"></font></div> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#ff0000" size="2"></font></div> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#ff0000" size="2"></font></div> <p><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#ff0000" size="2">The dreams without her seem to be more frequent these days. I fear that I won't remember, won't be able to feel her again. I worry that the only time I will see her face is in photographs. When she appears in my dreams, I always hug her. It feels so real. If I stop dreaming about her, will I ever have contact with her again on any plane?</font></p> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#ff0000" size="2"></font></div> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#ff0000" size="2"></font></div> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#ff0000" size="2"></font></div> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#ff0000" size="2"></font></div> <p><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#ff0000" size="2">Driving alone in the windy darkness last night, I listened to Pink Floyd's &quot;Comfortably Numb&quot; and it made me wonder: Is she anywhere? Does she feel anything? Can she see, hear, think? Is there an existence beyond this life where my mother is....AWARE? I try to balance things in my head. Being the scientist I am, I am forever searching for that balanced equation. It gives order to the universe and reason to our beings. I can't seem to make this life and anything after it balance in my head. Faith and logic escape me now. </font></p> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#ff0000" size="2"></font></div> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#ff0000" size="2"></font></div> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#ff0000" size="2"></font></div> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#ff0000" size="2"></font></div> <p><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#ff0000" size="2">As I watched the leaves swirling, whirling in the wild winds last night and felt the air growing ever colder, I wondered if she is cold where she is. I think that maybe I would like to believe she is basking in the sunlight, young again, glowing in the warmth. I hope she is. The last dream I had of my mother before she died is the way I want to remember her. She had risen out of the water in a beautiful one-piece bathing suit, her tall black bouffant hair inexplicably untouched by the water, straight white teeth shining in the sunlight. She was, in essence, reborn. Does this mean she would be reborn after her passing? I yearn to believe I will see her again. I feel her slipping away, ever so slowly, as if it were all a dream. If I could achieve a balance of having her in my dreams and having her in my life I would have less questions. Perhaps not all equations are meant to be balanced.</font></p> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#ff0000" size="2"></font></div> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#ff0000" size="2"></font></div> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#ff0000" size="2"></font></div> <p><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#ff0000" size="2">If only I could know for sure. If I ever see her again, in my dreams or otherwise, I would just like to ask her:</font></p> <div></div> <div></div> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#ff0000" size="2"></font></div> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#3366ff" size="2">Tell me - did the wind sweep you off your feet?</font></div> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#3366ff" size="2">Did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day</font></div> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#3366ff" size="2">And head back to the Milky Way?</font></div> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#3366ff" size="2">And tell me - did Venus blow your mind? </font></div> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#3366ff" size="2">Was it everything you wanted to find?</font></div> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#3366ff" size="2">And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there?</font></div> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#3366ff" size="2">And tell me - did you sail across the sun?</font></div> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#3366ff" size="2">Did you make it to the Milky Way to see the lights all faded</font></div> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#3366ff" size="2">And that Heaven is overrated?</font></div> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#3366ff" size="2">Tell me&nbsp;- did you fall&nbsp;for a shooting star?</font></div> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#3366ff" size="2">One without a permanent scar?</font></div> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#3366ff" size="2">And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there?</font></div> <div></div> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#3366ff" size="2"></font></div> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#ff0000" size="2"></font></div> <div><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#ff0000" size="2"></font></div>


Title: 250px-WWStoryRome.jpg
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Credit: SugarMagnolia


Title: 250px-WWStoryRome.jpg
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Credit: SugarMagnolia

 250px-WWStoryRome.jpg SugarMagnolia A Day In The Life http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/SugarMagnolia/9455 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/SugarMagnolia/9455 <p><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#000000" size="2">So it began raining today. Could it be the heavens are crying?</font></p> <p><font face="Comic Sans MS" size="2">Goodbye, Christopher. We will love you always.</font></p> <p><font face="Comic Sans MS" size="2">Jason Alexander, my &quot;moon&quot;....my heart is within your heart is within my heart. I have only begun to feel the depths of your sorrow. Because Guns 'N Roses is one of the deep bonds we share, this is for you:</font></p> <p><strong><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#0000ff" size="2">And when your fears subside and shadows still remain</font></strong></p> <p><strong><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#0000ff" size="2">I know that you can love me when there's no one left to blame.</font></strong></p> <p><strong><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#0000ff" size="2">So never mind the darkness, we still can find a way.</font></strong></p> <p><strong><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#0000ff" size="2">'Cause nothing lasts forever, even cold November rain.</font></strong></p> SCCCREEEEEECH!!!!! http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/SugarMagnolia/9336 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/SugarMagnolia/9336 <p><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#009900" size="2">D'ya hear that? No, it's not the sound of me jerking my needle off my old Andy Gibb album in disbelief I ever bought the thing in the first place. No, rather, it is just the sudden halt of consumerism heard throughout the nation. More specifically, it is the sound of my halcyon days of spending coming to an end, conspicuously and reluctantly. </font></p> <p><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#009900" size="2">Yeesh, I will miss them. Oh, those were the days, freewheeling and heady. Spending like there was no tomorrow. OK, so I'm not exactly rich, never have been, but I have been lucky enough to be able to have a reasonable amount of disposable income throughout the years. What is it about Americans and consumerism? It seems to be the American way, for sure. BUY! BUY! BUY! Accumulate stuff! MORE! We have it drilled into our heads via television, newspapers, glossy magazines, and the like since we&nbsp;become old enough to know that if one box of cereal gives you a toy, then MORE boxes of cereals yields MORE toys! And therein lies the American mentality....MORE TOYS! With the stock market&nbsp;and peoples' tempers on edge during the last couple of months, I daresay not many people have escaped the wrath of getting bit in the rear by the very economy that used to feed us. Maybe it's a long needed correction. I do believe that it is. We have been living so high on the hog as a nation for so long, that it was likely inevitable we should take a dive and subsequently &quot;take stock&quot;, so to speak, of our lives and what really matters.</font></p> <p><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#009900" size="2">So now, finally, I start up a retirement account (20 years behind the curve), get life insurance, and start worrying about what will happen to those I will eventually leave behind. The hi-def LCD&nbsp;TV, the semi-new car, the toys, the &quot;stuff&quot; suddenly don't seem so important anymore. So I will cut corners and buy more generic and store-brand foods. I thank my lucky stars that I have the money to buy food and still live comfortably, not really worry about prescription costs, and have a good life. There are so many that don't. There are so many Americans who were living on the brink before this financial crisis, for whom these past couple of months have meant ruin. There are too many people who do go to bed hungry, become sicker without their medications, and who have their lights shut off because they simply cannot afford the electrical bill. Indeed, there are those unfortunate ones who have lost their homes. No matter whose fault it is - the crooked banks, the greedy consumers, the dishonest CEOs of top companies - there are millions of people who are suffering so much more than I. I really have nothing to complain about. I really didn't need more toys and stuff, anyway. I already have too much.&nbsp; I do know this - this &quot;crisis&quot; has made me take a long, hard look at my spending habits and come to the conclusion that I can and must do much better. </font></p> <p><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#009900" size="2">Sure, it's going to be painful, but it could be so much worse. In a strange way, I am glad for the dive the stock market has taken. I hope I am not the only one who is changed for the better by this, that I am not alone in my changed way of thinking. Of course, as an American, I still covet things and have an urge to keep up with the Jones'. But now, I realize there are more important, more lasting things in life.</font></p> <p><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#009900" size="2">How has the latest financial crisis affected you and your family? Have you experienced a change in spending and saving habits? Do you, as I do, think this is actually a new beginning of better things for our nation?</font></p>


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Credit: SugarMagnolia


Title: mtpockets.jpg
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Credit: SugarMagnolia

 mtpockets.jpg SugarMagnolia It's Been Such a Long Time (Redux) http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/SugarMagnolia/9284 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/SugarMagnolia/9284 <p><strong><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#ff0000" size="2">So forgive the rehash here, but inspiration seems to be running short these days, as is my free time. I thought the election slant entirely appropriate, however. Just substitute &quot;elections coming up next month&quot; for &quot;primaries coming up tomorrow&quot; and, voila! There you have a do-it-yourself blog, of sorts. I have grown so weary of this election I cannot even find words. I remember how &quot;psyched&quot; I was when I wrote this original blog back in March. Of course, November seemed a world away then. Now it is upon us. My advice is still the same....VOTE! So without further ado, here is the original March '08 blog.....enjoy. And to&nbsp;view the original YouTube videos, just access my March '08 archives.</font></strong></p> <p><strong><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#660066" size="2">Since I've blogged, that is....Looking for inspiration seems to be little problem for some bloggers. Many find their voice in politics recently, which is to be expected, given the primaries coming up tomorrow. I don't need to tell yall to get out there and vote, because those who will, will. And those who won't, well, if you don't want to take advantage of the freedoms and responsibilites of being a citizen of the greatest nation in this world, then there is nothing can be done to change that mentality. </font></strong></p> <p><strong><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#660066" size="2">So why the purple text today? Just cuz....it seems like a purple day to me, a combination of our great nation's&nbsp;red and&nbsp;blue people, politically speaking. What&nbsp;better color to represent our combined efforts, Republican and Democrat, Independent and otherwise? To take the edge off your Super (or not) Tuesday, I can't imagine any better remedy than a Two-fer You Tube feed.</font></strong></p> <p><strong><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#660066" size="2">Enjoy the inanity of the candidates' push to be elected with the one and only Alice Cooper's &quot;Elected&quot;. This great vid hits a little too close to reality, monkeys and all. And, in the spirit of the color purple, I have one of Deep Purple's greatest songs, &quot;Lazy&quot;, just to encourage you&nbsp;to not&nbsp;be (lazy) tomorrow. &quot;Lazy&quot; is an epic rock tune that is not to be missed! After your hard work as a voting citizen is done tomorrow, find some good music for yourself to enjoy, and thank your lucky stars you are an American and have the freedom to play your stereo at full blast, and to attend a concert (or two, or a hundred) if that is your wish. God Bless America and rock on, kiddies! And....support your local politician!</font></strong></p> <p><strong><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#660066" size="2"></font></strong></p> <div style="CLEAR: both"></div> <div class="blogbodyfooter"><strong>Tags:</strong> <br /> <div class="bloggreytext">posted by <a href="http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/User/SugarMagnolia"><font color="#689898">SugarMagnolia</font></a> on Monday, March 3, 2008 at 11:06 PM <br /> <a href="http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/SugarMagnolia/6803"><font color="#495169">Permalink</font></a> - <a href="http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/SugarMagnolia/6803#comments"><font color="#495169">Comments [0]</font></a> - <a href="http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/SugarMagnolia/6803#leave"><font color="#495169">Leave a Comment</font></a> - <a class="BlogReportViolation" href="http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/ReportViolation/BlogPost/6803"><font color="#495169">Report a Violation</font></a> - <a href="http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/PostNow/Blog/Edit6803"><font color="#689898">Edit</font></a> - <a href="http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/MyBlogs/Delete6803"><font color="#495169">Delete</font></a> <div style="CLEAR: both"></div> Viewed 31 times </div> </div> Please Protect Her http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/SugarMagnolia/8876 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/SugarMagnolia/8876 <p><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#0000ff" size="2">I thought I would save you the agony of trying to figure out my photography in exchange for a more professional slide show&nbsp;<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/100s-new-species-discovered-Australia/ss/events/sc/091808ausreefspecies#photoViewer=/080918/481/fc0127daadc8462f9ea6e4aa3ccbd20f">here.</a>&nbsp;It seems that once again scientists have discovered many (&quot;hundreds&quot;) new species of ocean life off a barrier reef near Australia. It is the folly of man to think that he has discovered all there is to discover; it is our greatest joy and our humblest moment to find that there is so much more out there than we could have ever imagined.</font></p> <p><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#0000ff" size="2">Please, people, let's protect and preserve this planet even as she suffers the insults heaped upon her. I hope there will never come a day when there is no more to discover because there is just no more, period.</font></p>


Title: earth as seen from moon
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Credit: worldmapsonline.com


Title: earth as seen from moon
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Credit: worldmapsonline.com

 earth as seen from moon worldmapsonline.com Testing 1,2,3...Here Kitty Kitty Kitty http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/SugarMagnolia/8860 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/SugarMagnolia/8860 <font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#ff6600" size="2">This is likely meaningless in the larger scheme of things, but I am learning at a snail's pace how to transfer pictures from my camera to the computer to my blog, etc. Bear with me here. If this picture comes out right, it is of my cat, Sunny, a very large, gorgeous longhaired orange tabby.&nbsp;Be&nbsp;patient&nbsp;with me, this is a new skill for me. Woohoo for me if it comes out right.</font>


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Credit: SugarMagnolia


Title: trial%20001.jpg
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Credit: SugarMagnolia

 trial%20001.jpg SugarMagnolia City Of Dreams http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/SugarMagnolia/8779 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/SugarMagnolia/8779 <p><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#0000cc" size="2">So it appears Ike is barreling toward the upper Texas Gulf Coast, specifically Houston via Galveston. While we on the lower coast can breathe a sigh of relief (for now), I resent Ike taking aim at Houston just as much as I did when it was heading straight for us. I will always consider Houston my home, and when I wasn't spending time in the city growing up, I was on the beautiful island of Galveston. When Ike slams mericlessly into Galveston and Houston, it will feel like Ike has&nbsp;buzzsawed into my own heart.</font></p> <p><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#0000cc" size="2">Houston has seen worse, of course. Hurricane Alicia, tropical storm Allison, and Hurricane Rita come to mind. But Ike has left such a swath of destruction in its path that I pray for the residents, many of whom are friends and relatives, of the Houston area. Lives, both personal and business, will no doubt be disrupted on a grand scale. Refineries and the Port of Houston will likely be hit quite hard, as will those folks who are not able to evacuate for whatever reason - physical, financial, or otherwise. </font></p> <p><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#0000cc" size="2">I love my city, you see. It has a pulse and a rhythm that no other place even comes close to, in my opinion. It is populated by people with a strength and indomitable spirit that is unmistakably Houstonian. Galveston, for all its determination and drive, has never quite been the same since the 1900 Hurricane that stands in the record books as the deadliest Hurricane ever to hit the Gulf Coast. The loss of life and commerce cost the island dearly, and was on such a scale as to diminish the town for decades to come. I sincerely hope we never see such a tragedy again due to a hurricane. </font></p> <p><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#0000cc" size="2">I know that whatever happens, whatever Houston and Galveston must go through,&nbsp;they will come out even stronger for it. I have no doubt of that. That beautiful skyline will always stand proud, and the seawall will never be lost. These concrete and steel structures stand as a testament to the people of these cities, the bold and determined people that I was lucky enough to be raised among and influenced by and have the good fortune to still call my neighbors.&nbsp; Fare thee well, my city of dreams. After the nightmare is over, there will be clear skies and the promise of a new day ahead. I know you will make the most of it.</font></p>


Title: Houston, City of Dreams
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Credit: cfiles.com


Title: Houston, City of Dreams
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Credit: cfiles.com

 Houston, City of Dreams cfiles.com A Noble Tradition http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/SugarMagnolia/8551 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/SugarMagnolia/8551 <p><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#0000ff" size="2">How many of you have been enjoying the Olympics? I have been watching as much as possible, and still feel like I can't get enough this year. Besides the fact that the U.S.A. is doing very well overall, with a few pleasant surprises, the underlying theme of sportsmanship and unity as one world that seems to be the spirit of this year's games has been a real inspiration to me these last couple of weeks.</font></p> <p><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#ffcc00" size="2">It is too bad that we have these games only every four years (every two, if you count the Winter Olympics) during which countries largely put aside their political and cultural differences to compete in friendly rivalry for all the world to see and enjoy. Sure, I know there is a serious aspect in the race toward gold, silver, and bronze, and that China is under fire for their heavy-handed control over their populace, their athletes, Tibet, and, well, just about everything they touch. Still, they have proven themselves to be splendid hosts, if for no other event than these Olympics, and it is good to see that most people recognize that this is all about the games.</font></p> <p><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#000000" size="2">There are serious questions about the age of the Chinese gymnasts, the U.S.A. track and field athletes and diving teams have run into some serious competition, and we watch with our hearts breaking for Yao Ming, Manu Ginobli, Chellsie Memmel, and Laura Wilkinson as their injuries contribute to the dissipation of their dreams. We rejoiced when the U.S.A. men's gymnastics team, against all odd, snatched the bronze medal, but despaired when the women's team of our country had to settle for silver. We protested when He Kexin took the gold in a hotly contested tie against American darling Nastia Liukin on the uneven bars in women's individuals. We cried tears of joy and triumph when Michael Phelps bested Mark Spitz's seven gold&nbsp;medals for swimming by winning 8 of his own, 7 of those obtained in &nbsp;world-record style.</font></p> <p>&nbsp;<font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#00ff00" size="2">In years past, I have always tuned into the Olympics to watch women's gymnastics, my favorite event. The earliest gymnast that made an impression on me was Olga Korbut. She captured my imagination as a youngster, and I remember having a poster of her on the balance beam hanging on my wall. Then along came Nadia. No last name needed, no. She will be forever known by that single name and her perfect tens. Mary Lou Retton, Kerri Strug, now Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson, the list goes on. I have truly enjoyed the gymnastics this year, as I always have. But here's the surprise: I have loved watching nearly all the other events that I had given short shrift to in years past. The biggest surprise this year?&nbsp; Beach volleyball, particularly the women's team (although, along with the women's team, the men's beach volleyball team also attained gold, a first double gold for any country in this event). The enthusiasm and teamwork of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh has been a thrill to watch. It was over with too soon.</font></p> <p><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#ff0000" size="2">Blue, yellow, black, green, red. You may have noticed these are the colors I have been typing in. These are also the official colors of the Olympic Rings. The colors, and the rings themselves, represent all that is right with the world right now and hold the possibility of what we could be and do if we but persevere and live our lives with purpose. These are the thoughts, scattered with wonderful moments from games past that are foremost in my mind as I watch the 2008 Olympics, a modern version of a noble tradition born so many centuries ago. The best of humankind is exemplified in these five rings, and our greatest hope for the future is personified in these young athletes who have shown us what greatness truly looks like on the world stage. I can't wait until 2012.</font></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><font face="Comic Sans MS" color="#ff0000" size="2"></font></p>


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Credit: beijing2008olympics


Title: thumbnail.jpg
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Credit: beijing2008olympics

 thumbnail.jpg beijing2008olympics Sometimes I Feel So Uninspired http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/SugarMagnolia/8347 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/SugarMagnolia/8347 <p><font face="Comic Sans MS" size="2">Well now, isn't serendipity wonderful! I wrote the title (a great song by Traffic) to this blog because I literally have been feeling uninspired of late, unable to form even a decent thought for a posting. But lo and behold! There it is, in all its irony, precisely the moment I am typing it in! Traffic, or that is, specifically Steve Winwood, will be coming to Houston on August 29th,&nbsp;with headliner Tom Petty. I remembered seeing the ad for tix a few days ago in the Houston Chronicle, but it just kind of went over my head; I took notice of it but it didn't really sink in till now.</font></p> <p><font face="Comic Sans MS" size="2">All apologies to Petty, it should in my book be the other way around (Petty opening for Winwood). I have seen Tom Petty in concert, and he is truly awesome. I had never before Petty been to a concert where the band just launches into a cover (and a very adept cover, at that) of Count Five's &quot;Psychotic Reaction&quot;. That will forever stand as one of the greatest moments in concert history, as far as I am concerned.</font></p> <p><font face="Comic Sans MS" size="2">Having said that, I must admit, ashamedly, that as much as I love Steve Winwood, and as talented a musician he is, I have yet to see him in concert. Why? I just don't know. What a pity. I am looking to change that on August 29, however. I just won't let him get away again. I have far more Steve Winwood records, solo, with the Spencer Davis group, Traffic, and Blind Faith than I have of Tom Petty. I remember being in junior high and buying his &quot;Arc of a Diver&quot; lp and listenting to it over and over. I probably wore the grooves off that album. Have it still. Jeez, this guy has been at it for at least 40 years. I will say that again, guys.....40 YEARS.</font></p> <p><font face="Comic Sans MS" size="2">That's as long as I have been on this earth. And he's still out there touring and being creative. Yep. I'm gonna go to see him come the 29th.</font></p> <p><font face="Comic Sans MS" size="2">And that, my friends, is true inspiration. Steve would be proud. Looks like his times of feeling uninspired were few and far between. Lucky for us. </font></p>


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Credit: static.com


Title: s6511.jpg
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 s6511.jpg static.com Goodye to the Mom and Pop Store? http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/SugarMagnolia/7977 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/SugarMagnolia/7977 <p><font face="Comic Sans MS" size="2">There has been an interesting thread on the VicAd discussion forum concerning Wal-Mart and peoples' experiences there. While I could jump in and join the fray, venting my frustration at the long lines and sometimes less than courteous associates at the big-box stores, I have been thinking all day about the smaller stores, the mom-and-pop stores, if you will, that seem to be a vanishing breed nowadays.</font></p> <p><font face="Comic Sans MS" size="2">Contrary to one poster's sentiment, the mom-and-pop store is NOT yet gone, but is rapidly fading in the shadow of all the mega-stores, the Johnny-come-latelys of retailing. Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target, and others have changed the landscape of the retail world, and have left their mark on American consumerism. Left in the dust are the smaller stores, the little guys who were always there, on the town square, to do business with a smile and a &quot;How are the wife and kids? Have a good day, now, hear?&quot;. The days of walking in an establishment (not through&nbsp;a sliding, electronic-eye door, mind you), hearing that bell on the door announce your arrival, and being helped by a friendly and KNOWLEDGEABLE person are going the way of the dodo.</font></p> <p><font face="Comic Sans MS" size="2">I recall even in Houston, we had a few small neighborhood stores that offered a welcome respite from the concrete jungle surrounding them. One grocery store in particular, Stutes' on Jensen Drive, was the one we would always patronize for small grocery items and meats. Mr. Stutes, the owner, knew every customer by name and would cut and wrap his own meat daily. He would cash a check for money for the customer, serving as the local bank in a way, as well. He always had a smile and a kind word for every customer. I remember well the old cash register, the kind that seemed to &quot;talk&quot; when the lever was pulled, not these modern electronic contraptions that have no personality. There was one cashier in particular named May, and whenever my parents would come in with me in tow, she would let me sit up on the counter while she keyed in the price of our groceries. She was always so kind and cheerful. I wonder if kids nowadays will have memories of this sort when they get older? It seems such an impersonal world now. In addition to Stutes', there was also a corner grocery called Doyle's and a service station (when service really was FULL SERVICE) called Jone's Gas. How I miss those small stores!</font></p> <p><font face="Comic Sans MS" size="2">There are some small mom-and-pop stores left, particularly in the small towns. There is one place I love going to in particular, Morrow's Hardware, here in Yoakum. The wooden floors appear to be the original ones from its inception, and the shelving is likely the same that has always been there. The Gin and Feed&nbsp;in Yoakum&nbsp;has been transformed to a farmer's market but still has the original architecture intact. I must confess, I don't frequent these small stores as much as I should, finding myself in Victoria half the time and stopping by Lowe's or Home Depot, because it is most convenient.</font></p> <p>&nbsp;<font face="Comic Sans MS" size="2">I am reminded of an especially poignant &quot;Wonder Years&quot; episode where Kevin finds employment at the local hardware store, yep, the kind with the bell on the door and the wooden floors, just like Morrow's. But the lure of the burger stand in the local mall is calling to him, and he leaves the hardware store to work in a &quot;cooler&quot; place, the mall, where he can be around all his friends. Meanwhile, the little hardware store is dying day by day, and the old man who owns the place has nobody to pass along his knowledge and concern for good customer service to. We all know the unhappy ending of stories like these, even though the episode doesn't go into all of that. Kevin has a decent job, making even more at the burger stand than he ever could have at a local hardware store, and he seems cooler to his friends. But what of the things that have been lost? How to put a price on that? How to restore pride, care, and love of a business that has been built through generations, from the ground up? It seems that many of us are too busy nowadays to ponder these questions. Someday soon, the whole point may be moot, as we mourn the demise of the mom-and-pop store.</font></p> <p><font face="Comic Sans MS" size="2"></font></p>