From Culture on the Brazos By Kathi Appelt

Independents' Day

Okay, I'm still in TRM (Thanksgiving Recovery Mode), but other than eating and drinking too much, I spent Friday afternoon with my older son's girlfriend, Aubrey. We decided to do a little shopping. Now Aubrey, born in the early '80's, is actually a child of the '60's, a flower girl if I ever met one. She's full of life and prefers funky fashions to Polo. Being with her is like re-living my own early adulthood.

Anyway, the two of us set out to see what we could see.

Now, if you drive through our community, it's easy to be depressed by all the chains and strip centers. At times, it's hard to discern our township with any other. All the stores are the same. All the brands are the same. A casual drive down any of our main roads would hardly say anything about our village that would be different from, say, Midland. (I was there recently, and it looked a lot like us).

But, I'm happy to report that Aubrey and I found ourselves in shopping heaven at Earth Art, the Old Bryan Marketplace, and the Bead Fountain, three independents. We found clothes, chocolate, and in the case of the Bead Fountain, one of the loveliest proprietors I've ever met. At each stop, we left feeling that our purchases were unique. But beyond that, I felt proud that our community still has people who are willing to go toe to toe with the big chains.

In a day and time of so much conformity, when that same conformity is pressed upon us in our speech, our politics, our clothing, our religion, it's just a pleasure to be able to simply find something unique, but more than that, it's encouraging to see people who are willing to declare a form of independence from corporate pressure, and to bring something fresh to the table.

Our independent businesses face enormous odds and competition, but they bring so much to our community in the way of a signature, a signature that is new, different, and somehow sweet.

Aubrey was refreshing in her exuberance. So are our independents. Let's support them so that B/CS doesn't become another long strip mall and nothing else. I want this young woman to show her friends her new duds and declare that the only place they can be found is in the Brazos Valley. How wonderful is that?

Kathi