I found this old photo of the town where I was born.  We moved from there when I was 3 years old.  But I can remember loving to go into J J Newberry’s 5 & 10 store.  I loved the toy section of the store and always had a hissy fit if I couldn’t have a new little 10 cent plastic baby doll wrapped in a bunting.  I remember the Opera House movie theater that was in the building by that tower clock.  I loved the cowboy movies and I remember being scared by the tigers in the Tarzan movies.

I remember the frosty mugs of root beer from the A&W when I was a teenager and how the root beer was sooo good.  I also remember being a car hop and how heavy those mugs were to carry when there were like 5 huge full mugs on a tray.  They used to have fried bread dough that was scrumptious.  There still is an A&W Rootbeer stand in Middlebury, VT.

I remember the Super Duper grocery stores that my Mom like to shop at.  You don’t see that store anymore.

I remember as a little kid the Woolworths store and also Fisherman’s that were so fun to browse around in.  I always got ten cents worth of M&M’s that they weighed and put in a little bag at the candy section.  Sometimes I got ten cents worth of peanuts.  As I got older and a teenager, I worked and earned my own money and liked the expensive department stores and wanted designer and spent every cent I had on clothes, lipstick, make up and magazines.  Also 45 rpm records with rock n’ roll music.  The 5 & 10 stores were mostly gone by then anyways.  I can remember friends that got me interested in a more sophisticated taste.  One of my friends got to be CEO of a computer company in Boston and got a doctrine degree in her education.  She has a BMW roadster as one of 4 cars and has two houses.  One in Vermont and one in Massachusetts.  She met her husband in college.

While I got my education from the school of hard knocks.  Oh well.

My kids used to love the Toy Castle in Claremont, NH.  They had a toy train inside with tracks that went around the whole store.  The tracks were following the walls and about eye level of a tall adult.  All kinds of toys inside and the whole atmosphere of the place was awesome for a child.  That building is long gone.

I loved, loved, loved Borders book stores.  So sad when all those stores in my area are gone.  The cafe part where you could get a coffee or an ice tea and just sit for hours looking over books that you wanted to buy.  I always bought a book and had a hard time figuring out which one I loved the very best and was a must have.

As far as I can see as an older person that has been around for awhile, that there is a trend on almost every business.  The stores start out doing really well.  Then between being taxed to death and if they rent a space, the rent being way much, they just can’t make it.  I think that is wrong.  The politicians running the government locally do not have a clue as to what they are doing.  Sad.

I loved an Olive Garden Restaurant that was in Keene.  Beautiful building and the food was really good.  Keene, NH taxes businesses so much that there is no way they can make a good profit.  That business went out within just a few years.  As for an Olive Garden even thinking of coming to Vermont, they don’t even think it.  Vermont has driven every business out before they even think of coming here.  At least New Hampshire is doable to make a small profit for a business.  I actually don’t know how any business stays afloat, especially a restaurant.  Food prices are crazy to say the least.

And that’s my thoughts for today.