To the Editor,
I freely confess that I am a member of the Downtown Improvement Project (DIP) committee. But I write as a simple(!) voter and taxpayer. We should be truly thankful for the community we have: the beach is fine, the harbor is good, and the schools are tops. But I write about our extraordinary mercantile environment. Within a five-minute walk of the Town Hall (the center of town) you can get just about everything you need: groceries, snacks, drinks and dinner, hardware, hooch, trinkets, art, books, a bicycle, good used stuff, jewelry, a stamp and a birthday card to put it on, dry cleaning, a house for six, seven or eight figures and a bank to mortgage it, and more. Sounds like the song, “Come to the Supermarket in old Peking.”
You know this wonderful panoply of choices didn’t happen because of a “Master Plan” or a committee effort. It happened through the genius of free enterprise (see: Adam Smith – 1776) and a hospitable (and spending) population. We should do what we can (within reason) to support our local merchants, including patronizing their shops, making sure there’s adequate and convenient parking, and providing an atmosphere that encourages their business (see: public restrooms and tourists).
So when you’re moaning about everything (we all like to do it), remember you’ve got a few things to be thankful for.
Cheers.
Gar Morse
Manchester
