It seemed like the town center was boarded up. There were maybe two store selling something. A couple of miles away was the highway with WallyWorld and a couple of other box stores.
This brings me to two observations. One is about the town I live in, Maplewood, N.J. The downtown is thriving as is the case with most northern N.J. towns. Not so much with southern N.J. (Pine Barrens), south of US. 287. Jesus? Well he don't do much business in our town. One of the two Catholic Churches closed down 10 years ago for lack of interested population. The other main stream denominations are probably just getting by. No storefront Jesus shops in our towns.
and the entire region is relatively high income. Maplewood, in particular is a bedroom community for TV and Broadway performers because the express commuter train makes it to Manhattan in about 1/2 hour. Nearest Walmart is 5 miles and 30 minutes from here.
The second thought brings me to the annual marathon of Gene Shepherd's "A Christmas Story," with the Ohio town decked out in Christmas lights. I wonder how many small towns and mid sized cities still have that type of festivity. Has Walmart killed that off? Maplewood and surrounding towns still have holiday stuff going on and it feels good.
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