Walkin' On The Sun

This is a love attack I know it went out but it’s back…
It’s just like any fad it retracts before impact…
And just like fashion it’s a passion for the with it and hip…
If you got the goods they’ll come and buy it just to stay in the clique…

(Smash Mouth – Walkin’ On The Sun)

Well, after a cold and rainy week, it looks like we are full steam ahead with sunshine!! So happy to see it’s return that it really does feel like you want to be walkin’ on the sun…

It’s the perfect week to begin another love fest with our little local market of love! Have you heard? Local is the new fad, it’s hip, it’s rad, and everyone wants to be a part of the local goods and the hippest clique around.

Most of us have been doing local all of our lives, in one shape or another. Most of us were raised on local/seasonal foods, we grew up in towns without big box stores, and we shopped at small, local places. We ate from backyard gardens, farm stands, roadside farm markets. The local grocery.

One such place that meant the world to my growing up, in the West End, was a small corner market called, Kadel’s. It was a local grocery, local meat counter, local produce, and a huge magazine/candy/soda area. One of the coming of age activities of the West End was to be able to ride your bike to Kadel’s. When you arrived, you would see a mountain of bikes that belonged to the kids of the West End. We could shop for penny candy, a cold bottle of soda, and Tiger Beat magazine:) The shop owners were a family. They knew us and our mothers all by first names. They kept a watchful eye on all of us. We would make our purchases, and then venture out to the sidewalk to all sit and plan the rest of the afternoon.

Bike rides in the country? A trip to the magical Pony Hole? Hanging out and listening to music? Swimming? Hanging out at the ball field?

Meanwhile, mothers and friends would be filing in and out for their weekly groceries. Everyone left with a smile, a wave, a shout to each of us. It was the local way in the mid 70s. Shop local, shop the way of the season, and do it in a friendly environment. We didn’t know that one day, this way of shopping and eating would be considered hip. For us, it was a way of life.

This is what our little local market of love reminds me of. A return to the local way of shopping. A return to the local way of eating. A return to the friendliness of local. We’ve got it all…and we do it all, locally. With a smile. With local goods. We see that local is now hip, again. We are cool with that. We are the hippest happenin’ spot around…shop us!

Peace and Love,
Cosmic Pam