Who knew? Believe it or not, there are still locally-owned, family-run stores where you are greeted as you enter and helped (assuming you ask for help) by knowledgeable, courteous, friendly employees. I’m not going to name names, lest the person or persons for whom Mom and I went shopping today unravel the mystery and spoil the surprise. But apparently someone knew there were still such stores, even in a burgeoning metropolis like Santa Rosa. Mom knew, because that’s where she wanted to shop today.

I had told the Boss yesterday that I wanted to take some time to take Mom shopping. As always he was agreeable. I think I could ask to take a week off and he would agree, as long as I mentioned my mom. To be honest, Friday isn’t a day I get a lot done anyway. I plan things that way, in fact. I write a weekly to-do list that gets everything important done by Thursday, leaving Friday for anything extra that might come up. It’s not that there wasn’t something I could have been doing today, but it wasn’t anything that couldn’t wait. I like to take advantage of the scheduling flexibility whenever I can.

Anyway, with the help of the clerk we got what she was looking for. We made one other stop without incident. We made judicious use of her handicap placard, so that she didn’t have to walk very far at one time. She pushed her walker and I pushed the shopping cart through the store. Everyone, even at the national variety store chain, went out of their way to be helpful. Maybe that’s the secret of getting good service. I just have to be sure to have Mom with me the next time I go shopping (some time in 2009).

We also went to lunch, at a place that used to be one of our favorites. It, too, was locally owned, until it was bought out by a restaurant chain. It still looks the same, but looks can deceive. I have a go-to dish that I order when I don’t know what I want for lunch. There aren’t many ways a French dip sandwich can be ruined. I’ve had them at many different places, but this was one of the worst. And there wasn’t really anything wrong, except that the meat was rubbery and the bread was too soft, and the flavor was bland to nonexistent. It wasn’t bad enough to complain about or leave uneaten on the plate, but it wasn’t much fun, either. Mom was smarter. She had breakfast instead of lunch.