The times, they are a-changing

I am blessed to live in a community that values public transportation. We have many bus lines and are bordered on two sides by three different train lines. Yet, due to my own laziness, the only part of town I frequent is the east side, where I live.

Well, Saturday I went to my southside vet's office, but without a cat. Since I didn't have an appointment and was only there to pick up prescription pet food, I was able to travel at a leisurely pace. When I was done at the vet, I stopped by an independently-owned grocery store to pick up some essentials (specifically paper towels, canned tuna and, for the food pantry, a box of pasta -- they always need pasta).

This store has been family owned for decades. Now that it's run by grandson, there's been some rumbling that the quality isn't there at the meat counter. I wasn't shopping for that, so I can't comment, but I did notice a distinctly different vibe than Trader Joe's, where I usually grocery shop.

First of all, there are wood shelves and the lighting isn't as blindingly bright. The shoppers I encountered don't peruse the aisles -- they know what they want and they grab it and go. Everyone seemed like me, there to just pick up a thing or two or three -- no full carts at the checkouts, no one even took one of the red plastic baskets by the door.

And on the way out, I was sad to see empty white wire shelves where the tabloids used to be. No People or Us or Vanity Fair. Also no Enquirer, Globe or Star. It made me sad because I could imagine Liz and Dick headlines screaming from those racks. I guess the Internet makes magazine displays like these obsolete.