Japan is awash in neighborhood shops and restaurants. I know we hear about the conglomerates (Sony, Honda, Toshiba), but most Japanese shop for basics at the corner store. In the past there were dozens of corner shops in Galveston. In fact, a book has been published on the variety of neighborhood grocery stores and shops that once proliferated here on the island. For the most part, they are gone. Why support a local merchant, a neighbor, when you can buy cheap merchandise at a chain store owned by an off-islander? For all of the pride our local “born on the islanders” take in their origins (women often wear a BOI pendant), this pride does not extend to supporting local businesses.
At the end of our Japan trip we shopped in Cassady’s neighborhood. There are countless tiny cafe and stores there, and I wanted to see a dragonfruit. We had dragonfruit for breakfast in Kyoto (white meat with minuscule black seeds), and I am certain that I had never seen the fruit before. Within minutes I had located a local shop with crates of the fruit, packed with shoppers preparing for the weekend.
Yes, I agree that Americans have the constitutional right to be obese, ignorant, bigoted, and uninsured. I have no doubt that this is precisely what the founders had in mind. But for those who want a choice, who do appreciate local foods and farmers as an important part of their lives, the choices are limited. In Austin it is easy, in Galveston impossible. Where would you rather live?
Ted
2 April 2010