On Friday morning, we tried Family Dollar, Dollar General and ShopKo but none of them had a string of red lights. They had clear lights, mixed lights, blue lights, and pink lights, but that wasn't what we needed. Gary thought we would have to brave the Black Friday crowds in Appleton. I told him he would have to go on his own. I hate those crowds. He first checked on line and found that Walmart had the string of light we needed for $4.99.
But first we had our lunch at the China Garden, newly opened. It took a while, because the owner had never figured that the first day would be so busy and didn't have a big staff ready. She was wrong. All of us Seymourites who had been drooling ever since the rumor about the restaurant began circulating jumped at the lit up "open" sign. Most of their customers were construction and mill workers. Some women came in for big take out orders. We were happy to wait while we looked at the extensive menu. The food was delicious so we will be regular customers.
After Gary and I finished our lunch, he drove home to get ready for his trip to Appleton, but I decided to take a walk and look for those lights in a few other places. I checked the grocery store and spent some time gossiping with a friend. (I always meet someone I know there.) Next I went to the Ace Hardware store. It's one of the city treasures, an historical building which has been a hardware store for almost 150 years. The wood floors are still the same as they were when I was a child.
"Any lights?" I asked. The clerk pointed to a display a few feet away and there they were, the exact lights we needed and for only $1.99 a string.
I bought the lights and called Gary, catching him before he left for the big city.
By shopping locally, we saved $3.00 on the string and over $10.00 in gas. It's always best to see what our town has to offer.
Now I can finish decorating that Christmas tree.
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