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That old general store in my hometown still looks the same on the outside
I drove back to my hometown last weekend for the first time in maybe 6 years. Stopped at the old general store on Main Street that's been there since like the 1920s. From the street it looks exactly the same, same faded sign, same wooden porch, even the same old gas pump out front that hasn't worked in decades. But I walked inside and it's totally different now. It's a boutique coffee shop that sells $6 lattes and fancy soaps, not the place I remember where you could buy a loose cigarette and a can of beans. The old guy who owned it for 40 years retired and his daughter turned it into something hip. I guess I get why she did it, downtown is all trendy now. But it felt weird standing there, like I was in a museum of my own memories. Anyone else have a local spot that just didn't feel the same when you went back?
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leor861d ago
Wait, you're actually upset that a failing old store turned into something that keeps the building alive? That old gas pump was probably leaking rust into the ground for 50 years, and you could buy a loose cigarette? The health department must have had a file on that place. I'd rather my hometown get a clean coffee shop with $6 lattes than another dusty corner where nothing changes except the cobwebs get thicker. Nostalgia is fine, but it doesn't pay the property taxes, and it definitely doesn't keep a business open for another generation.
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wren_mitchell19h ago
Not even kidding, my buddy Dave went back to his old town and found out the comic book shop he lived in as a kid turned into a vape store. He walked in hoping to at least smell the old paper smell and the guy behind the counter tried to sell him a THC vape pen. He said the saddest part was seeing the old glass display case they used for back issues was now full of flavored nicotine juice. The whole time he was in there he just felt like he was mourning a place that only existed in his head now. He sent me a picture and honestly it looked like a totally different building even though the address was the same.
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