Going Local
I had a number of errands to run today, and I did them all locally. I started out by going to the local bank of which I am a member to withdraw money for my car insurance. As I waited in line, there were two individuals who stepped to the counter, the lady greeting them, “Hey Mike” and “How ya doing, Sue?” I’ve dealt with this representative many times, but living outside of the city for much of the year, I didn’t expect her to know my name.
I then went to the local insurance office, which is more of a house than it is an office building, to pay for the next 6 months worth of insurance. The lady, who I see every 6 months, struggled outloud to remember my name, but knew my face and minor details about me (“You almost finished with college?” she asked). It was nice.
I picked up a Detroit News newspaper at the local gas station. This place, in fact, is a Michigan gas company. I thought it was too funny that the two most prominent news stories were about education reform and budgeting for art museums in Detroit: two areas I had just recently studied extensively in my Public Budgeting class.
Following this, I decided to stop by the locally-owned coney island, a mere 2 minute drive down the main road. I was the only customer on this late afternoon, and the service was great. No doubt the waitress has many regulars and was bored with no one in the place. She made many stops to my table, attempting to engage me in conversation about excitement for the holidays and gift shopping. From what I could gather, she had a number of children who were anxiously awaiting gift-opening day. I obliged her as much as possible, but frankly was more interested in reading the Sports section. After working NightWatch at my school a few years ago, I’ve become a master at wrapping up conversations I don’t really wish to partake in. Using this skill, she left me with the bill and I resumed demolishing my onion-heavy burger while reading about Jonas Jerebko. I don’t feel bad about it; she’s used to having conversations with her regulars. But today I wanted to support the shop while enjoying my space, and quite honestly did not care to extend the conversation about how her 9-year-old is on the fence in relation to believing in Santa. That might work for her regulars who have similar life experiences, but not for me on this day. I tipped her well, though, for at least trying.
So today I went local for a bit. Tomorrow I’ll be eating at a Buffalo Wild Wings and buying gifts at some combination of Kohls and Walmart. And I’m okay with that. Everything in moderation, as they say.
