I had the unfortunate luck of needing to go to Walmart yesterday. The one right by my house isn’t as bad as some, but I am nevertheless guaranteed to leave with “why do I live here again” sitting in the front of my mind. The people that shop there are interesting, to say the least. They remind me of how hard this area was hit when the market crashed a few years ago. It seems this area is never going to fully recover. We recently had two businesses close their doors for good, too. Two that I actually noticed anyway. We lost our IHOP and the Perkins that has been there for as long as I can remember. In fact, it was there before the “No Name” storm of 1993, and had to be rebuilt after because it had been struck by lightning and burned to the ground that night. I spent many a late night/early morning in that Perkins, drinking coffee until the sun came up. I was sad to see that not only did it close, but it was bulldozed to the ground (although, I haven’t eaten there in years). The number of vacant buildings scattered up and down U.S.19 and all along S.R.52 are staggering, but it doesn’t even come close to comparing to the number of homeless, destitute human beings that litter the street corners looking for handouts to feed either their hunger or their addictions. This area didn’t used to be like it is now. We used to live in such a nice little place. No, it wasn’t an affluent area, but it was nice for the most part, and safe. I remember when we first moved to this area, when I was still a child. My parents didn’t lock the doors to anything. Not the house, not the cars, not anything. Things were so different. My brothers and I were safe and free to explore the world, as long as we were home by the time the street lights came on. Now I worry about letting my high school kids walk around the neighborhood. Anyway, sorry for the rant. I just get upset seeing how far our little town has fallen over the course of my life. I did see something funny that brought back memories of my youth at the Walmart yesterday. I had to take a picture of it, since I can’t remember the last time I actually saw one in person. I’ll share it below.
