Running a good shop is a service to one's community, of much greater value, in my view, than the work of two hundred social workers, five hundred psychotherapists, and a thousand second-rate poets -- and more honorable than the efforts of the vast majority of the members of Congress. A nation of shopkeepers, far from being the put-down Napoleon thought, sounds more and more like an ideal to which a healthy country ought to aspire.
Joseph Epstein In Praise of Shopkeepers
I agree completely. I come from a family (both sides) of shopkeepers. And I live in a Boston neighborhood that has lots of independent stores. The shops are really the glue here. Chains just don't have the warmth and friendliness.
Posted by: Rhea at July 16, 2009 9:14 AMVery interesting. More generally, I think it's a pride in doing a seemingly menial job well and taking it seriously. A sense of service rather than entitlement. That's what the concept embodies for me, anyway.
Posted by: mattbg at July 16, 2009 10:35 AM