Global, Schmobal—Give Me Local!

I detest big-box stores. Walmart is, in my opinion, a mini-version of hell with its noise, its low quality, the blaring ads on monitors that dot the aisles, its glaring lights, its piles of junk on the sale tables. To me, everything in there is planned obsolescence on steroids.

And all its stock is purchased from around the globe making Wally World a prime example of the awfulness of globalization.

Same with K-Mart, Best Buy (known as Same Buy in this house because its prices are really no different than anyone else's), BJ's and any grocery store except the co-ops here in the Upper Valley.

Which brings me to these eggs and my visit to the hairdresser's last night.

Notice the beauty of these shelled wonders—not all brown, not all the same size and shape. These eggs came from real hens housed in a fenced area that keeps them safe from the fox and weasels that live around here. They strut and nest at will, eating good food, tended by my neighbors. I can see the hens when I pick up my eggs.

And when I crack them open, the yolks are firm and the most gorgeous shade of yellow you will ever see. They cook up nice. They have real flavor.

All for $2 a dozen, right up the road at the neighbors' house with the added benefit of a moment of chat when I pick them up. Local food, local producers, neighborhood connections.

Important stuff.

Here's another example. I drove over to Lebanon, NH yesterday for a much-needed visit with my hairdresser and friend, the scissors-wielding Rita. We're about the same age, similar life experiences, and have kept up this long running conversation about what's going on in our worlds for several years now.

Rita was coming around the back of my head and was listening to me talk about Mom's death. In walked her next client, a friend of mine from my quilt guild, a lovely warm woman named Karen. So what did we do?

Expand the conversation to include three people instead of two, of course. Rita finished with me, Karen and I switched chairs and while scissors were applied to Karen's locks, we continued our powerful conversation.

Local services, local folks, connections among people of good will.

Important stuff that requires an attention to the world you actually live in, not the one that the media and marketers and WalMart think you can't live without.