SPC Charles Brown 171344 <div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Gone and Forgotten <br />Hello everyone, hope you all had a wonderful night for the 4th of July. I read something today that got me thinking, whatever happened to the little guy? I remember when I was growing up there was a local store for almost everything. In some of the smaller communities the little guy may still be in existence, but today’s larger cities have Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Lowes, and other such large all encompassing stores. I have some very fond memories of the candy store that I used to pass on my way to school. I remember stopping in there either on the way or on the way home and spending a few pennies to get what then was actually penny candy. I also remember when Katz/Skaggs, Macy’s, Sears, Montgomery/Wards, J.C. Penny’s as well as the Woolco/Woolworth’s names were the biggest in department stores. Now just try finding anything other than Sears and Macys brand stores still in existence. Even then these stores are usually found attached to some shopping mall instead of standalone stores like they used to be. Even Kmart has had to merge to stay in business; Wal-Mart has pretty much done away with the rest.<br /><br />My mother, may she rest in peace, would go grocery shopping at Kroger, or Safeway back then they were the major grocery stores, today they sell flowers, deli goods, and all sorts of things. All of these changes have happened in the name of convenience. Now don’t get me wrong, it has made things so much easier for shoppers, but in exchange for this main street businesses have taken a huge hit. It is great that what used to take all day can now be done in just a few hours, but our cities and towns have lost so much of their individuality and personality.<br /><br />What is the cost of so much progress? Our nation is prosperous, and is a major power in just about every arena, yet we have people out of work in record numbers, families living on the street or in shelters because they cannot afford to rent, let alone buy a house, and fewer and fewer people believing in God. I wonder if there is a connection in here somewhere. I would like to see a return to some of the things that have slipped into the past. Small independent barber shops where you waited for your favorite barber and swapped stories with other patrons, locally owned hardware stores, where you knew the clerks by name and took pride in their work, and independently owned grocery stores where the produce was brought in by local growers, fruits and vegetables were sold by seasons, the beef sold in the meat department was butchered on site instead of somewhere else and trucked in.<br /><br />Just imagine if these places were to make a comeback, how many jobs would that open up? How many people could go back to work, and take pride in their product? Yes in some towns there are still stationery stores, but they too have to compete with big box stores like Staples and Office Max, and are struggling to stay in business. Many of us alive today have such memories of stores long gone and forgotten, but no big business stores want to see these places come back into existence. Radio Shack is still hanging in there, and while they are part of a huge corporation they still maintain some small town stores that are small in size. Life may be simpler now than it used to be because of the convenience of one store shopping, but at what cost? But I guess in some manner I have already asked this question.<br /><br />My ruminations are best saved for my family because it is obvious to me that no one else is going to read these thoughts. I really miss those days, the likes of which will never be seen again. Thanks to all those stores and business people that created these memories I have from my childhood, many of whom have passed on. Although I don’t know where we ever got the idea that those days were simpler times, but they at least made for more employment. And finally here is irony for you; here in Oregon even the people who worked in the employment office are looking for work, the system has been computerized putting many of them out of work. Where does the employment counselor go when they are looking for work, maybe a human relations position somewhere? Are they having better luck than the people they used to help? Only time will tell… 2014-07-05T14:51:53-04:00 SPC Charles Brown 171344

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Gone and Forgotten <br />Hello everyone, hope you all had a wonderful night for the 4th of July. I read something today that got me thinking, whatever happened to the little guy? I remember when I was growing up there was a local store for almost everything. In some of the smaller communities the little guy may still be in existence, but today’s larger cities have Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Lowes, and other such large all encompassing stores. I have some very fond memories of the candy store that I used to pass on my way to school. I remember stopping in there either on the way or on the way home and spending a few pennies to get what then was actually penny candy. I also remember when Katz/Skaggs, Macy’s, Sears, Montgomery/Wards, J.C. Penny’s as well as the Woolco/Woolworth’s names were the biggest in department stores. Now just try finding anything other than Sears and Macys brand stores still in existence. Even then these stores are usually found attached to some shopping mall instead of standalone stores like they used to be. Even Kmart has had to merge to stay in business; Wal-Mart has pretty much done away with the rest.<br /><br />My mother, may she rest in peace, would go grocery shopping at Kroger, or Safeway back then they were the major grocery stores, today they sell flowers, deli goods, and all sorts of things. All of these changes have happened in the name of convenience. Now don’t get me wrong, it has made things so much easier for shoppers, but in exchange for this main street businesses have taken a huge hit. It is great that what used to take all day can now be done in just a few hours, but our cities and towns have lost so much of their individuality and personality.<br /><br />What is the cost of so much progress? Our nation is prosperous, and is a major power in just about every arena, yet we have people out of work in record numbers, families living on the street or in shelters because they cannot afford to rent, let alone buy a house, and fewer and fewer people believing in God. I wonder if there is a connection in here somewhere. I would like to see a return to some of the things that have slipped into the past. Small independent barber shops where you waited for your favorite barber and swapped stories with other patrons, locally owned hardware stores, where you knew the clerks by name and took pride in their work, and independently owned grocery stores where the produce was brought in by local growers, fruits and vegetables were sold by seasons, the beef sold in the meat department was butchered on site instead of somewhere else and trucked in.<br /><br />Just imagine if these places were to make a comeback, how many jobs would that open up? How many people could go back to work, and take pride in their product? Yes in some towns there are still stationery stores, but they too have to compete with big box stores like Staples and Office Max, and are struggling to stay in business. Many of us alive today have such memories of stores long gone and forgotten, but no big business stores want to see these places come back into existence. Radio Shack is still hanging in there, and while they are part of a huge corporation they still maintain some small town stores that are small in size. Life may be simpler now than it used to be because of the convenience of one store shopping, but at what cost? But I guess in some manner I have already asked this question.<br /><br />My ruminations are best saved for my family because it is obvious to me that no one else is going to read these thoughts. I really miss those days, the likes of which will never be seen again. Thanks to all those stores and business people that created these memories I have from my childhood, many of whom have passed on. Although I don’t know where we ever got the idea that those days were simpler times, but they at least made for more employment. And finally here is irony for you; here in Oregon even the people who worked in the employment office are looking for work, the system has been computerized putting many of them out of work. Where does the employment counselor go when they are looking for work, maybe a human relations position somewhere? Are they having better luck than the people they used to help? Only time will tell…

2014-07-05T14:51:53-04:00 2014-07-05T14:51:53-04:00 CPT Jacob Swartout 171366

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>What irritates me is when those stores hires employees who have no experience or a clue on how to help your situation. They will know what aisle the product is on but that is just about it. Seems like they won't hire the experts who have done those jobs for decades. I wish there was a craftsman, plumber or electrician at those stores who could really answer and fix your problems instead of some guy who is just there to stock shelves and earn a paycheck. Some will just say that they "think or believe" this product "would or should" work. Customer service is everything and I might as well not ask anyone who really doesn't care to know the ins and outs of their current job.

2014-07-05T15:12:39-04:00 2014-07-05T15:12:39-04:00 CPT Private RallyPoint Member 171384

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>I think about this issue all the time. We go to giant box stores to by poorly made foreign products. A big driver of this is our desire to own so much stuff. I learned a lot from living in Bosnia for 4 years. Just about every store or restaurant is individually owned. Women dress to the nines, but they only have 5 or 6 outfits, one nice coat, 2 or 3 nice pairs of shoes - that's it. That's all the clothing they have. The would rather have a very good dress than 5 dresses. In a Bosnian kitchen, you won't find a dozen electric gadgets - you probably won't find even a blender or coffee maker. They make everything by hand and once you learn how, you will realize that it takes as long to chop by hand as it does to clean the food processor. In any event, we fill our homes with junk, always shopping and buying. We need low prices in order to keep up our shopping habits.<br /><br />Since we don't know the people who live in our communities, we don't care when Bob's hardware store goes out of business, or Mary's florist shuts down. We accept crappy service or no service at all (online). We have no social "glue" any more. People don't attend religious services. Organizations like the VFW struggle for members and then the members they have never show up at anything. We are all at home binge watching recorded TV shows.<br /><br />I am worried. I see our families falling apart. We need to figure out how to put people ahead of "stuff" and how to de-compartmentalize our society.

2014-07-05T15:48:35-04:00 2014-07-05T15:48:35-04:00 MAJ Private RallyPoint Member 171389

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>I really go out of my way to shop at local brick-and-mortar stores. The problem with the large stores like Wal-Mart is that all that money is removed from the community, vs local businesses that tend to reinvest locally.

2014-07-05T15:56:24-04:00 2014-07-05T15:56:24-04:00 MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca 171416

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>A very moving and reminiscent piece, CPL Brown!<br /><br />Getting out of the WABAC circa, OCT 1984, I finally get my job at the local supermarket chain, Almacs, where my dad has worked all his adult life. They actually sent us to 9 hours of training before we were put into a store. There, we LEARNED how to provide customer service, how to properly bag groceries and were coached on correct appearance and demeanor. I wore a dress shirt and tie, even when shagging grocery carriages/carts on a warm day. My boss checked how well the bathrooms were cleaned, how high the grocery bags were stocked and what our appearance was when we entered the store for our shift. People got sent home if they forgot their tie or wore jeans. Some guys chose to wear wigs to hide their long hair rather than cut it. <br /><br />I left Almacs 5 1/2 years later in 1990 when I finished school, got my commission and headed off to AD. My dad medically retired soon after. By 1994, the company was gone and over 3500 workers out jobs because some company from California saw Almacs as a good tax write-off. Within 2 years, they purchased it, raped it and left it and its employees to rot.<br /><br />Ain't that America for you.

2014-07-05T16:38:57-04:00 2014-07-05T16:38:57-04:00 MSgt Private RallyPoint Member 171462

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Hate to say this but in a recent article in the military times (which ever one you read Army, Navy, etc) Walmart was one of the top employers of Veterans. I believe they where like 14th or 15Th out of the top 100. Now myself I can't stand Walmart and would prefer a mom and pop store. But I suppose they have their place in the economy.

2014-07-05T18:55:46-04:00 2014-07-05T18:55:46-04:00 2014-07-05T14:51:53-04:00