“Oh, they put a Barnes And Nobles’s Here?” Asks Suburban Consumer
Above: A new strip of big box stores adds unique character to a suburb.
“Oh, and they put a Chili’s up too,” she added. “That must’ve just gone up there. Do you want some Chili’s?”
Local suburban officials confirmed the woman’s allegation, additionally citing fourteen other new “big box” stores that “they just put up over there.”
Other passers-by also took note of the new Barnes & Noble. “This will really add distinction to our suburb,” one said. “We used to have a few independent booksellers in town, which made us really weird. Now that we’ll be indistinguishable from every other suburb in the U.S., I’ll feel much more like part of the ‘in crowd.’
“And now the people in our community can use these big box stores as a means to funnel their money to a few executives who live nowhere near us,” he concluded. “It’s so clever, you’ve got to love it!”
That just reminded me, I need to do some shopping at BarnesAndNoble.com! Thanks, Organ! Maybe they’ll deliver some Starbucks to me while they’re at it.
Comment by Craig — February 25, 2006 @ 11:53 am
thats what i love about england. no big box bookstores, and $25/paperback whenever i want to pick up some reading material. seriously though, i think you should read “walk in the woods” by bill bryson if you already haven’t. he’s a real tree-hugger when it comes to these things as well.
Comment by evan — February 28, 2006 @ 10:16 am
Thanks for the suggestion, Evan — I’ll pick up a copy at the new Barnes & Noble over there.
Comment by organelle — March 3, 2006 @ 7:25 pm