We live in an "up-and-coming" neighbourhood, or at least I like to believe that. When I was growing up in this town, the Fernwood neighbourhood was not very well thought of. That was 30 years ago, and things have changed, for the better. There are still a few unsavoury elements, but for the most part community-minded families have taken over. The great part is that the neighbourhood is old, with a number of beautiful heritage houses and a plum "four corners" village which has just recently started to come alive.
Right down the road from us, however, in the opposite direction, is another "four corners" commercial node. It's fairly ugly. No grand turn-of-the-century buildings here, just 1950s two-story drab. Which is okay. Can't have everything.
There's a tiny useless video store, a haircut place, a boarded up laundromat, and an "antique" store that sells reject 1970s furniture that even basement-suite-dwelling college students wouldn't put their beer on (especially when they saw the prices). But these are all nothing, nothing, compared to the twin dingy leper scraghole corner stores that stare at each other across the street through their rheumy-eyed, putrefied, old-dead-fly, sun-bleached-posterized windows.
How they stay in business I'll never know. Porn and cigarettes, we think. And there's two of them! "I believe I'll purchase my copy of Cherry Pie and a pack of Tarball 100s from uh... hmm... Grubby Store #2 today!"
One is actually marginally more tolerable than the other. I don't even know what they're called, but the one on the north side lets in the least amount of light and smells like a catbox. I have been known to buy popsicles from the other one on the south side, but that doesn't stop me from pretending to lob Molotov cocktails whenever we go past.
Good description, except you forgot to mention the dying plants in the windows, the surly-looking hunched cashiers and the complete absence of any useful groceries.
Last year I bought a pack of veggie dip mix at one of the stores only to realize, when I got home, that it was expired. I didn't even know dry dip mix COULD expire.
Arson is the only option. Then maybe they will build a nice grocery/deli/coffee bar-type place with a cute little garden centre out back.
Unfortunately we will not be able to enjoy it, as we will be in jail.
If you blow it up, where will you get your copy of Cherry Pie?!
Oh, I get it! You've got a subscription! Smart...
three points:
1. i've actually found the video store to be surprisingly useful. they have that wall of pull-out video racks behind the counter so there's more selection than meets the eye.
2. you neglected to mention the ministry of casual living.
3. i always forget that you're so nearby... we should have a games night or something.
You're right about the Ministry of Casual Living, which boasts very cool art installations by emerging artists. But I couldn't mention this because my story arc was "bad to worse". I am a slave to the story arc.
Yes, games!