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Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Over the Border

I hate grocery shopping. For that matter I don't like to shop at all. But, hey sometimes you have to eat and when my clothes get tattered I have to shop. But one thing I do like to shop for is a book. If I have the time I will travel a far distance just to buy my books from independents.

Some times I am forced to shop at Borders.

When Border's first opened here on the island it was a novelty. What a great way to spend the morning, sitting and reading the paper or my favorite magazine, checking out the latest books to see if the story was what I wanted. Oh, and those cushiony Chairs. They welcomed writers and provided coffee and someone to guide the group. Now you can't even get a chair to sit in.



Now when I go to Borders, the chairs are gone, the wonderful selection of magazines have disappeared and even the ones that they carry are not regularly there. I feel like Push Me, Pull Me from DR. Doolittle. I find this great photo magazine from England, I go back the next month, it's not there and the next and it's not there. Then several months later I go in, and there it is. Not just that magazine disappears but others too.



Every-time I look for a book, they don't have it but they would be more then happy to order it for me. Now I can do that myself and get it cheaper from Powells. So I ask myself do they want my business or is this a gimmick? Are they pulling a Wal-Mart? (They have my business and they have chased everyone else out of town then they start to drop the variety of merchandise.)



And now, the biggest pain of all, parking spaces that accommodate Mr. Bean size cars. I've had it, all the stores are repainting their car stalls and there is no way you can park a van in a regular stall and get out of it. There is no way you can park a compact in a compact space and get out of it. Believe me I've tried. I've taken to parking in two stalls so that I can open my door without chipping the paint on my car.


Why do I drive around and around at Borders looking for a space big enough to let me out of the car so I can go into a store that has no books and maybe or maybe not the magazine I want to read?
Well The nearest independent is a 45 minute drive to the other side of the island and I'm not always able to get over there.

These big merchants have broken down are communities. No longer can I walk into the fabric store and talk to the sales woman who knows exactly what I'm looking for and also give me help with the pattern.

The salesperson who suggested wonderful gift books for children has long gone. Your lucky if you can get someone to show you where the children's section is let alone suggest a book. Tis to laugh! HA!

All of the neighborhood stores who were part of the area have been run out of town. (Where's the sheriff when you need one?) There underhanded and up to no good.

So, I am subscribing to magazines, and going to the library. Yes I'm saving money but I'm loosing touch with other people. Look, I'm even writing to myself. What a sad state of affairs.

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Do you want to know about Hawaii from a locals point of view? Where do we like to go? What things do we like to see. This blog is about seeing Hawaii without being trapped. This is a journal about Good eats, Hawaiian events, and looking at the islands through the eyes of someone who has lived here for more then forty years.

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