Post #4768 by Atomic Cocktail on Wed, Jul 31, 2002 10:06 AM

I like to call this the "Worldwide Mall Phenomenon". It really hit me many years ago while in small town the wilds of Turkey. The beautiful 800 year old caravanserai was in the process of being converted into a mall-complete with a Macdonalds! Yikes! At least I got to see the structure before it before completely raped.

Closer to home, Home Despot forced two small hardware stores out of business in my Brooklyn, NY neighborhood. But to top it off, when I moved back to the small upstate town where I grew up, they did the same to the only small hardware store there!

What really kills me is the LACK of many evreyday items the giant chains do not carry. I had the worst time when I ran out of Barge brand cement. Do you think I could find it in Walmart, Kmart, Home Despot, etc? Hell no! I had to travel 75 miles to a shoe repair supply house to get it. Old McKee's used to carry it. And they had been in business for at least 75 years. BASTARDS!