On 4/15/06, Mike H > wrote:
>
> Jenn Ridley > wrote in
> :
>
> > Sometimes there *is* no choice, OK? Sometimes the only lemons in the
> > store are the green-y shrivelled up type, OK? (at which point *I*
> > make a different kind of pie, but not everybody will do that.)
>
> No produce stand/store? Only one store?


Welcome to the (concept of) the hinterlands.

In our town we have two grocery stores, neither has very good produce (or
cheese beyond the common ones). The next town up has one small grocery
store. Both have a health food store with a limited selection of produce.
Produce stands exist for about 4 months of the year.

And what is available is grossly overpriced. The local stores feel this is
a resort area, so they charge extra. A "good" price on milk is 2 gallons
for $5.00. Normally, it's over $4.00 for 1 gallon. Everything is about 30%
more than at a store about 60 miles away. However, because of the mountain
roads, that store is not always easy to get to. When I lived in a large
city, 60 miles was "across town," here it's a potentially perilous drive.

When I recently visited my parents in Dallas, I was stunned. At one
intersection there were 6 grocery stores, each of which was larger than both
of the stores in my home town. After a while, you forget the comforts of
living in a large city.

On the other hand, I NEVER lock my car, and we rarely lock the house. I
don't bother locking up my bike. People leave their cars running while they
go into the post office, and the cars are still there when they come out (I
think those folks are idiots, but not because of the risk of theft - they
are burning lots of gas for no reason).

Mike