Hero
Remember those bumper stickers, “Practice Random Acts of Kindness”? With the speed of today’s world, we weren’t sure people had time for the effort. Then we heard about Heather of Mill Valley, who delights neighbors with her thoughtfulness. She recently was driving (on Heather Way, no less) and waved down another driver, Kat, who thought that the woman must be looking for an address. Heather got out of her car and surprised Kat by handing her fresh roses arranged into a lovely bouquet. She said that she was out doing random acts of kindness and the card attached to the vase said, “Flowers on Friday: Heather.” Another neighbor reports that Heather recently left a bouquet at her front door. We sure hope this catches on.
Zero
Oh, Amazon, why’d you mess with success and change Whole Foods? We loved discovering small brands and local vendors on your shelves, things we couldn’t find anywhere else. Now you’re squeezing out those companies with new costs that they can’t afford. You’ve dropped minimum-order requirements and raised the prices for prime shelf space. How’s the little guy gonna compete? Those in-store samples that introduce us to new products, typically staffed by the small vendor, now have to go through a consulting firm at an exorbitant fee. Bring back our unique foods, because we can get the big-brand bland stuff at less pricey grocery store chains. We remember Amazon promising that nothing would change at Whole Foods when they bought it. Weren’t we suckers!
Got a Hero or a Zero? Please send submissions to [email protected]. Toss roses, hurl stones with more Heroes and Zeroes at pacificsun.com.
Okay, call me a curmudgeon, but WF never was a good store! They bought up Jerry’s Meats’ little quonset hut on Miller and messed up the entire trafffic pattern, and drove five LOCALLY OWNED natural food stores out of business. Then after a few months they literally doubled their prices, and took the profits back to Texas. I have my own permanent lifetime boycott of WF; I’ll never shop there, so those who do deserve what they get now! Call me a zero if you wish, but it won’t hurt a bit.
BTW, I miss Long’s Drugs, too, another California chain gobbled up by corporate greed. CVS is not as good. Safeway looks better and better :-)!