'tis the second of june

the trend is away from the walmart style -- too big, too impersonal, too cheap -- and back towards the publix model of customer service. this, from an email newsletter: ...the national mood has changed. People are struggling to take back control of their lives and their communities. The big store on the highway doesn't do it anymore. What people want is good advice from people they trust. They want a local sustainable economy. And they are rediscovering what's important in their lives: local stores.

seems we're on at a turning point where folks are becoming more interested in staying local. the price of gas is rising, making people not want to travel. the high monetary & non-monetary prices of commercial farming are being revealed, making people not want to buy the products of the big aggregate farms. the focus is shifting from global to local community, from consumerism to being "green" ...to paying it forward ...to getting to know the neighbors ...to developing simple & sustainable lifestyles.

sounds a wee bit like brigadoon, wouldn't ye say?