fatvegan

Mum got me to go up to the shops and get milk this morning. I debated with myself on the drive there as to whether I should go to the corner shop which was closer and had quick parking, or the supermarket which was further but cheaper. I only have a little money for the next 10 days (because I forgot to tell my jobs that I've closed my ANZ account), so I was drawn to the cheapness of the supermarket. But then I thought about the socially sturdy man at the corner shop, whose been there since I started primary school. I imagined him sitting there by himself, while everyone went to the fancy new supermarket, which has only been there since I was in year 2. Then I thought about the social effects of me spending money at the corner shop. Maybe the sturdy man would be more likely to spend his money at the local hairdresser and the local hardware shop (being a local boy and all). And that sort of thing invigorates local communities and strengthens the social bonds between us that have become so weakened in recent decades. But I know that milk costs at least 37% more in Newtown at a local shop than it does at Foodworks, and Foodworks isn't even the giant, overhead-cost-sharing-and-saving behemoth that is Asquith Coles. So I stood to save a lot of money by going a little further and abandoning my community. I decided it was about not supporting shareholders. I didn't want my milk money going to shareholders overseas in some Asian country, or to James Packer or Bill Gates. Shareholders were what was really wrong with the whole Coles Asquith world. They took money from the poor milk-buying masses and gave it to the wealthy, who already had more milk than they could ever need. But as I parked next to the cornershop, my mind made up, I reminded myself that overhead-cutting behemoths are also an important part of the community and make cheap food accessible to poor families and employ lots of young locals who'd otherwise be breaking and entering. But I'd already stopped the car, so I walked into the corner shop. I got the Perfection Dairy Milk out of the fridge, and asked the sturdy man if he had soy milk, assuming it would be in a dingy little corner somewhere like it is in most corner shops. He said he didn't have any soy milk. So I paid for my dairy, drove to Coles Asquith and bought three cartons of soy milk for $1.89 each. Yes that's right. $1.89. Anyone who's bought soy milk knows that $1.89 is a once in the lifetime sort of bargain. Just brilliant.