The Best Part
- asharpdavid
- Oct 10
- 2 min read
The Best Part
I've told this to many people over the years but it bears mentioning to a wider audience:
The best part of opening this store 18+ years ago has been coming into the shop and helping all of you
So, my THANKS to you for that
Not everybody can look forward to coming into work and I wouldn't have done so in the corporate jobs I had before this endeavor.
The disruption of normal life caused by moving out of our home of 31 years has emphasized that fact.
I've been working less than usual to get our house move accomplished and every time that I've come back into the store after being out for a bit it strikes me how nice it is to be back!
The interaction with old customers - and thankfully now and then, new ones as well - connects me back to a part of a vibrant Oakland community that I know and have been lucky to enjoy for decades now.
Today for instance I had a mother come in with her daughter who is off to college in weeks - and who used to play with our foam blocks up front when she was six or seven. Also a customer who moved away from Oakland several years ago but always stops in when back in town to get a bottle or two and update us on how life in Michigan is going.
Interactions such as those and working with vendors I have long relationships with (which also happened today) will be sorely missed.
Work is also a nice refuge and buffer from things to fret about but that are out of one's control. Having just put our house on the market that's easy to do that even though we've done everything we can to make that a successful event.
Luckily I'm still here in the shop part time through the end of the year and will be doing the behind the scenes work then and also up in Ashland OR next year while coming back every 6-8 weeks to help Sage and Chuck out on the floor as well.
Hopefully I'll even be able to help identify new finds for the floor.
Such as:
all of which I tried and bought today.
Now it's time to go get some bottles out of boxes and onto the floor which in its' own way can be an enjoyable process when not swamped with them.
Take Care.
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