fahim mohammed
Well-known member
I have a corner shop selling groceries and some other stuff. A family operation. Mainly for the neighborhood, and for the few passersby that stop in for purchases..mostly a pack of cigarettes, youghurt etc. A family run operation..if one can call it that.
I know the shop and the family from way back. I try to stop there once or twice a day to pick up some fruit juice, cigarettes; have a talk..
A little further down the road, by car, is a 2 sq km hypermarket. Actually 3 of them in different directions.
There is Starbucks too! There are gas stations. Branch of my bank, ATMs, Pharmacies, Nikon dealer branch, Electronic shops..you get the picture..Inventory stocked from all over the globe.
Once in a while, at the corner shop, I run into a neighbour. So we talk, buy a few things.
I stop by the corner shop not for products neccessarily, but to keep in touch with the old man who runs it. I would keep in touch with him even if he did not run the corner shop.
His shop is a dying business. His business model failed him a long time ago. As has his reluctance to re-invent his business.
But I have too much invested in that corner shop. It belongs to a friend.
I visit the corner shop for more than just to buy my groceries. I have the Danube, next door for that. Times have changed since the old man opened his corner shop.
And the newcomers that I run into in the cornershop? They do not know me, and neither I them. Just strangers on the way to pick up a packet of cigarettes. And I am too old to strike up new relationships.
I know the shop and the family from way back. I try to stop there once or twice a day to pick up some fruit juice, cigarettes; have a talk..
A little further down the road, by car, is a 2 sq km hypermarket. Actually 3 of them in different directions.
There is Starbucks too! There are gas stations. Branch of my bank, ATMs, Pharmacies, Nikon dealer branch, Electronic shops..you get the picture..Inventory stocked from all over the globe.
Once in a while, at the corner shop, I run into a neighbour. So we talk, buy a few things.
I stop by the corner shop not for products neccessarily, but to keep in touch with the old man who runs it. I would keep in touch with him even if he did not run the corner shop.
His shop is a dying business. His business model failed him a long time ago. As has his reluctance to re-invent his business.
But I have too much invested in that corner shop. It belongs to a friend.
I visit the corner shop for more than just to buy my groceries. I have the Danube, next door for that. Times have changed since the old man opened his corner shop.
And the newcomers that I run into in the cornershop? They do not know me, and neither I them. Just strangers on the way to pick up a packet of cigarettes. And I am too old to strike up new relationships.