They love the Fine Sweet Shoppe. Photo by María Helena Carey
Some days, you need simple things: a dozen eggs for breakfast, some sort of starch to go along with them, and perhaps some fruit. So maybe you get in your car and drive yourself to the supermarket; or you walk a few blocks and grunt hellos under the fluorescent lights. In and out: transaction over. You’re back at home with breakfast foods, and maybe a sense of longing that you shut off as you click the TV on.
That longing? It could be solved by knowing that you know the person who sold you the eggs. By saying hello to the grocer who’s seen you come to the same place for five or ten years and who hands you a free banana before she takes your order. It could be filled by moseying on down the street and popping in to say hello to any and all of the people who are also your neighbors, and who over the years have become your friends. The people who don’t just remember how you like your coffee or whether you like to drink a beer or a Margarita during kids’ night but who ask after your children or your dogs, or your children and your dogs, by name.
Here is a New Year’s toast to you, fellow Hillies, fellow DCers, small business owners and workers: thank you for offering smiles and asking after our day in a way we know you care. Thank you for setting that one thing aside because you know we really liked it and we would return. Thank you for carrying that one brand, even if others are more financially sensible. Thank you for providing more than just service, but a sense of family.
You are the people who give meaning to our blog’s name.