It Takes A Village

We were going through Amherst recently where, in the newly widened public spaces of Kendrick Park, ice skaters and hockey players were out and sharing an (as yet) rudementary but usable patch of ice. There where a couple of very old houses on the location, that were recently rolled away. Yes, rolled away...





We were on a hunt for a good dog walking route for the pooch. We continued on through Amherst center and then passed through UMass, where there was an odd cloud of smoke rising near one of the frat houses. I know what you're thinking, but no.



It wasn't a very large or menacing or looking cloud, but it was big enough to smokescreen an entire firetruck and about four firefighters who suddenly appeared from behind it.



I was going to keep driving, but decided to pull over when I saw the fire truck, thinking there might be more to this than we first perceived...



But, the firefighters made short work of what soon revealed itself to be short work; apparently the alarm was just a barbecue gone terribly wrong...



Onwards through Hadley, where Kelly sadly noted that a cherished holiday destination from her childhood was in it's final days.



The Christmas Loft, a long-time Christmas supply and trinket shop, is unfortunately having a store closing sale...



If only the Loft could have held out a little longer it might have seen a resurgence of profitability as the bigger chain stores sink one by one...

We continued over the Coolidge bridge, but sidestepped downtown Northampton this time, and headed for the more northerly hamlet of Florence. By this time the dog was bouncing off of the car ceiling. We unleashed him (figuratively) on the peaceful, unsuspecting village...

When in Rome...We parked behind the Miss Florence Diner, where a picture had to be taken. This is possibly the most painted and photographed eatery in western massachusetts...



If you've been to any of the art galleries in the area, you're probably aware of the iconic sign and diner's effect on local artists...



The Silk City Tap Room is right next door. This fine local pub is very unfortunately in the news these days, as the location of a recent late night tragedy that occured just outside it's doors...



We walked a little further down route 9, and hung a left at Cooper's Corner.



I've stopped here a couple times for a fresh deli grinder. Actually, there are plenty of casual places in Florence to eat; especially pizza joints; it appears that Florence is packed with pizza joints.



Cooper's though, reminded me of one of our bike outings a couple of warm summers ago where Kelly, the kid and I were half way through what turned out to be a 29 mile mega-bike-trail-ride. Tired and hungry we pit-stopped at Cooper's, stuffed three of their grinders, some chips and drinks into a backpack, and pedalled on to nearby Look Park for an impromtu, rejuvinating picnic.

Aaah, pedalling on. Remember pedalling on???



We looped around the block and made the return leg via a dark but cleared Northampton bikeway...



The old factory buildings on this side of the neighborhood have been renovated and appear occupied. Small business plods on in spite of the brewing storm.







Home Depot recently anounced it is cutting back sharply on staff and brands. It would be very interesting to see if the few surviving small hardware stores outlive that mighty orange giant...



Circuit city has gone down in flames, and many other massive chains are sputtering. Things are looking pretty ugly, and probably getting uglier. But I wonder if there'll be a bit of a silver lining in that maybe a little corporate melt down is just what the local yokel businesses ordered...?



Probably not. A sinking tide will probably lower all ships...But maybe, just maybe...



We finished our short loop and were back at Miss Florence, where this staff member who was sweeping the sidewalk out front stopped what he was doing to help a customer out of her car and over a snow bank.



When was the last time that happened, in a vast Home Depot parking lot...?