Provident Ponderings-- April 2012
Last weekend, when our little grandson was practicing pull ups on the bathroom towel rack, he ripped it right off the wall. Steve had initially attached it to last forever, but hadn’t counted on it being used for physical fitness. Anyway, a repair job ensued. Our son-in-law once commented that our downstairs bathroom is the smallest room he’s ever been in with the most variety of wall finishes! Of course, he’s right, but I loved concocting all its shades and variations of green.
Hence the problem of getting the right shade of green for the repair job. When Steve took the sample down to Redds True Value, they did a laser scan to read the DNA of our swatch, got a color reading and dropped in a variety of unexpected colors into a quart can. I don’t know how it all happened, but they got a perfect match on the first try. The miracle of technology—is alive and well in Blanding, and the service can’t be beat. Kudos to Jonathan Raisor and Redds paint department!
That experience reminded me of two other long ago occasions when we had shopped all over Provo and Salt Lake, wasting time, patience, and money trying to find a cherry pitter. We returned home only to discover it right here at Redds. Since inception they have been willing to stock tools, appliances, and equipment uniquely used by San Juan County citizens.
Not one to easily learn from past experiences, I repeated the futile effort again when we wanted to smoke a turkey and needed Norton’s Sugar cure salt. Again we wasted time quizzing a half dozen clerks in the big city, only to discover it was here all the time at Clark’s.
Clark’s, San Juan Pharmacy, Edge of the Cedars, and the Blanding Visitors Center have also been very generous in promoting and selling Blue Mountain Shadows over the past 25+ years. Without their help we would have been hard pressed to distribute this local magazine effectively. There are many things local businesses do to support our community that critics don’t realize.
Sometimes when I hear people criticizing local businesses, I don’t think they realize how regularly owners are asked to donate and support the 101 worthwhile projects that local people organize. It’s especially hard when there are so few businesses. These are not once-in-a-while requests, but have been ongoing since Blanding has had students. I’ve often wondered how they keep in business, especially when locals begrudge price markups that pay for transportation and jobs in this isolated community.
Next time you read a SJHS sports schedule, Kigalia program, or you or your neighbor wins a prize, consider who made that event or donation possible. If we want better services, commodities, and choices, we need to utilize, appreciate and support our local businesses. After all, you never know when you might need a particular color of fabric, a great Dutch oven, a piece of wood cut, or Fels-Naptha soap.
