Forgive me for going off topic, and I'm new on this forum, so forgive me. But I just have to vent. Like everywhere else in America, well almost, the big box stores are becoming almost the only choice (even in my somewhat rural community), unless you shop out of a catalog or the internet. The other day I heard that a local, family owned hardware store was closing. Why this matter to me was, that this store had been open for 140 years, run by the same family, a fixture, a virtual rock in our throw-away world. I remember the first time I step in there, I was amazed at the breath of products that were contained. I remembered thinking then, how does this place exist today, how does it keep such an inventory of so many diverse products, I mean some of the inventory is from generations gone by. What was amazing to me was I never had any problems finding anything in this large, somewhat cluttered store. Along with their diverse inventory, you also received immediate attention when you walked in the store. Not a peskey, salesy, know nothing type, but a subtle, quite, guide you along, by someone who knew the inventory and quickly grasped what was needed, and all along keeping a tally of your bill among others like you. No calculators here. Because this store is not in the most conveinent place, I found myself patronizing the store only when the big box stores didn't have what I needed, which did happen often, especially considering the wacky projects I sometimes get myself involved with. My lack of "loyalty" to this store was not purposeful, it wasn't even consciously known until now, until its almost gone. Today, I found myself there, there for some needed items for my listeroid project. Even though they were trying to clear the inventory at 30 to 50% off, the store clerks were just as attentive as always, going about their business as if almost nothing had change, still no calculator except at the checkout counter. My own thoughts were, in addition what I needed for my project, was "why didn't I shop here more often".