Copyright -Randy Mazie
Genre: Fiction
Homecoming
“Hey Bill!” I shouted at an old friend shambling down the sidewalk.
“Why if it isn’t May Lou, now when did you get here?” he replied as he walked over to my car.
“Let’s go over to the café!”
“Closed.” He replied laconically.
“Well hop in any way.”
We drove around. All I could see were new fancy fast foods…and a huge warehouse like structure.
“Geez! What’s been happening here.”
“Well, first of all there was the Wal-Mart. We thought it’d bring prosperity, so no one objected…when the Mom’s and Pop’s couldn’t compete…of course the franchises closed down the small cafés…”
Word count: 100
I wrote this prompted by the above photograph furnished by Friday Fictioneers. On my last two visits to the United States after having been gone for about 40 years I was surprised to see how the small shops and cafés had all but become extinct in the area where my family originates. The Main streets were for the most part abandoned and many places like in the picture were boarded up. Small towns now often don’t even have a place where people can go and have a coffee and a chat. They’ve come isolated dormitories, no grocery stores either, everyone had to drive several miles just for a gallon of milk. The above were a couple of the explanations given at the time, though things are probably more complicated. So, yes it’s fiction…but only just.
All over the world Georgia, the corner store is disappearing. Well done.
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Thanks Michael. Not so much in Italy by the way…which is why I was so surprised about the American visit. But I orry as the Italians usually copy anything America. Hopefully this will not happen as they’re seeing that maybe American choices are not always the best ones for a community life.
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So true, a McDonalds on every corner?????
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Ach…we kept those out of our Region until about 10 years ago. Now they’re about to open the third, near the train station in Rovereto. The rest of Italy is over-run!
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There are even McDonald’s in Paris. 🙂 Georgia, I think you mean “extinct” here: “all but become instinct.” 🙂 Off to bed now as I’m falling asleep (but not because of your story.)
janet
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LOL…I think your right..it should have been and will be “extinct” … an interesting concept “all but become instinct”, thanks Janet for pointing this out 🙂 And the Golden Arches can be found just about every where. The interesting thing is outside of McDonald’s, at least here in Italy, almost none of the other fast food franchises have been able to establish themselves. In Barcellona there were a few “others” Like KFC…Georgia!
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Dear Georgia,
They even have McGrabandGag in Israel. And we call this progress. There’s a lot more I could say about your story. Suffice it to say, it’s a good one…one of the best this week.
shalom,
Rochelle
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Thanks that’s a real compliment coming from you Rochelle! Ciao to you, Georgia.
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I have lived in the U.S. my whole life, but saw that transformation when malls and big box stores started littering the landscape. It is sort of sad. I am always delighted to find a small town where Main St. still exists.
I like your story and its message!
BTW – So many bloggers I follow participate in Friday Fictioneers, I decided to give it a try. Writing fiction is not my strength.
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Thanks for the coment. Getting out of the comfort zone can be rewarding…I try to do that to keep the old brain fresh! I can’t wait to read your FF!
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You wrote about a true situation. It’s the same in the UK. Our high streets are dying out. However, I lived in Paris and carried a map of all the MacDonald’s – you could always depend on their toilets being CLEAN and FREE! You don’t need apostrophes in ‘Mom’s’ and ‘Pop’s’ by the way. They are plural nouns – plural for Mom and Pop = Moms and Pops. 🙂
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LOL…I did that in Barcellona! But in Rom, not true. You have to buy somthing to use the potty and they’re so over crowded that they’re not usually as clean as in the U.S. and U.K. Funny, but in Italy clean toilets are not a priority…first thing I discovered when I arrived here back in 1970!
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It took me a while to get used to unisex toilets in France. My husband never did!
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Yes…that did take some getting used to, here in Italy as well…as yes, now we do have more of them as places have become more moderized…especially up in the north where I live.
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