The joy of shopping locally

This morning we decided to end our 5 months of printerless status by buying a new cartridge (yes, we are so lazy that it took this long to get around to getting one). So, we walked over to Main street, where there is a cartridge store. And what a store it is: to give you an idea, picture a narrow space, made even narrower by the piles and piles of boxes - laser printer cartridges mostly. And fairly dim, because most of the lights weren't on. It was like something out of Dickens, updated for the computer age. Whew. Anyway, we entered the shop, but it was unoccupied. While we were standing back out on the sidewalk, trying to decide what to do next, the owner came back, with his cup of coffee from the cafe down the street. After a bit of searching he found what we needed - much cheaper than if we had gone to Office Depot - and when we confessed that we didn't have any cash on us, he told us to take the cartridge and come back before noon. No problems, no worries. So, we trotted over to the bank, got the cash, returned and paid. Whereupon, he handed us two coupons for free pizza slices at the place across the street. This is a perfect example of why shopping local is so much better than big chain stores! A mini-adventure, just to buy a print cartridge :)