When I was a teenager back in the 70’s, I read in MR an item (either from an editor or from the mailbag) which stressed the importance of doing business with the LTS. There, we can handle and see the products, consult with the owner, meet other hobbyists-all which add real value to our purchases-which are worth the extra cost versus mail-order.
It was suggested that a monthly visit to pick up a copy of MR would help support that local store for obvious reasons-you are there, you may buy, you see new products, talk with people, etc.
I agreed, so I have done just that for thirty years. Yesterday, that ended.
It was in the nineties, humidity about like a sauna, sun beating down on me. On my days off, I run errands like these using the bus system, where I can read and write and work crosswords instead of being frustrated by traffic. My LTS is about ten miles from me.
The bus stop is about ten blocks, the route takes about thirty minutes. Round trip for a half hour or so at the LTS takes an hour and a half, plus a twenty block walk. Add about twenty to thirty minutes to that for waiting on the buses. This was over a two hour investment in my day-off time to go pick up my MR.
A traffic light was out, and delayed the bus about twenty minutes. So I am anxiously looking at my watch, because the store closes at 7 pm. I get to my stop, sprint across five lanes of traffic and put my hand on the door at 6:57 pm. It is locked. The familiar face at the register, smiles, waves, and goes back to counting.
I wear a watch that is synchronized to the universal time signal out of Boulder, Colorado. It was 6:57. The shopkeeper knows nothing of my efforts, but a smile and a wave was insufficient. I used to work in retail and I know the impulse to see an empty parking lot and get a five minute jump on getting home. The risk of that is losing a customer who has been figh