I’ve spent the last week in my hometown catching up with my family and checking in on my mother at the nursing home. My grand-niece and nephew are growing up quickly. I also have a grand-nephew-to-be who’s set to make his debut in late February. Mom’s doing well.
The downtown areas of small cities like Fulton and Oswego continue to be hollowed out, while the peripheries hold every big-box store and fast food joint imaginable. Dollar stores are also breeding like rabbits. I counted three different dollar stores on a two-mile stretch of street in Fulton. As a strike against this ugly trend, I try to frequent downtown businesses. Today I bought a couple of items at the River’s End Bookstore in Oswego. This store has a lot of titles I wouldn’t expect to see in upstate New York. I got several ideas for children’s books to order for the church bookstore. I also had lunch twice at Canale’s Italian restaurant. (Sometimes you just have to feed your red sauce need.)
The same plague of dollar stores was evident on the way to the Rochester airport today. I lost count of the number I saw on route 104. Downtown Rochester is also hollowed out, courtesy of Kodak’s successive cutbacks over the years. At least the universities and medical center seem to be thriving.
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