Goodbye, small town life

In which, why do we downsize and outsource in times like these?



Whatever happened to the small town feeling in businesses? I miss it and find that I hang onto whatever closely resembles it, whenever possible. True, I never knew movie tickets for 50 cents or milk for under a dollar, let alone delivered to my door. But I do remember walking to the local store and hearing "Hey, Rochelle. How's your Mama?" Or. "I know you're good for it." When you're a nickel short. Then making sure to bring the nickel with you the next trip to the store. I just found out the bank my family has used for years is closing our favorite branch. This is not just a bank. I know the ladies that work there. They know us by name. They ask about my kids, using their names and remember the details. They know my word is good and that means something these days. We bought a puppy. So, "V" bought his brother because they are the cutest puppies EVAR! We have play dates with the puppies. But. The economy is in the toilet. Not a newsflash, I know. So, the branch I love, the ladies I grew to know and trust with my money, are leaving. They are closing the Walla Walla branch. I feel cheated. I feel bad that they are going to lose their jobs. Worse yet, no one can do a thing about it.

I started thinking about this while I was dealing with a ginormous company that owns at least 15 of the US state's phone lines. I spoke to 3 representatives in 3 different countries. Not one of them being the U.S. Don't get me wrong. I don't think people are "taking our jobs". The companies are moving our jobs away from us.