Buy Local

It all comes down to making decisions. We decide where we live, who we sleep with, what goes in our coffee and where said caffeine is purchased. Gas is expensive and food is expensive and while that's tough for "Joe-Schmoe You and Me" it can have a nice side effect. People are thinking about these things and I have to take that as a good. Economy and crisis and however it affects you I would lay dollars-to-donuts you're thinking more than normal about where your food, gas, and stuff comes from. So are the grocery stores and oil distributors. Gas is expensive for them, too. I shop at Winco in Boise, Idaho and it is a true-blue employee-owned grocery store that has a smaller net than, say, Albertsons or Costco. I mean that with a diminished operation the food, on average, has a shorter distance to travel and that translates to higher quality cost-effective choices on the rack. I like healthy food and organic food and free range, no preservatives "wow, I won't wake up with a tumor growing from the side of my neck in the morning" food but most times that food's cost is marked up to where I have a hard time affording it on a weekly basis. Winco is perfect for filling my fridge for a week with $35 and I think we'd agree that's a feat.

That leaves my gas. For those of you who don't know, we've been at war in Iraq for five years to (I know I'm not supposed to say this) at least partially secure our oil interests in the area and I imagine I'm not telling you anything you don't know regardless of political party and, yes, there's been a Surge and even Obama is now saying that's been a success and things are looking up in the region but it can all come down to money and much like it does with my food, money and human interest gets me thinking about where my gas comes from. In Boise, we have Stinker Stations and I imagine these fine establishments or stations like them are in other states but Stinker is proud of two things when it comes to gasoline: they're not reliant on foreign oil in their distribution and they use the ever-trendier-by-the-day Ethanol in their gasoline that helps the sludge burn a little cleaner. I know that we're all waiting for the real next idea with cars (anyone still up for the flying variety?) and that more of us are jumping to the Hybrid side of the pond but companies like Stinker help us a hell of a lot in the meantime.

I guess "Buying Local," to me, means helping your neighbor's businesses if possible and thinking about where your stuff comes from. I'm encouraged that this idea is becoming one to which a teenager might roll her eyes and say "duh!"