Mom and pop store tradition

On my recent first time trip to London, England, I was introduced to many sights. One venue that still exists in jolly old London is the "Mom and Pop" store. The nostalgia and variety of those tiny shops, reminded me of a time that we have lost here in Nevada.

My Kansas City Chiefs were given a regular season game, to be played in London, when the NFL schedules were released early last spring. Since we were listed as the home team, we actually lost one of our regular eight home games, normally on the schedule.

The Chief's offered season ticket holders, an opportunity to buy a similar value ticket for the game. Having never traveled to Europe, I wrestled with the prospect of making the trip.

In recent years, when confronted with such a decision, I have opted to be daring and adventurous. Ever since I watched the movie, "The Bucket List," I have refused to play it safe and secure. I figure my time in the "care facility" will come all too soon, so my motto has become, try to complete every fantasy you can, while you can!

I saw many interesting places. Wimbley Stadium is a tremendous sports site. It was made even more attractive for the many Chief's fans who traveled there, because they treated our Chiefs as the "home team." Everywhere they had Chief's signs and even our Chief's Cheerleaders.

Another interesting location was a visit to London's legendary "Borough Food Market." Located in southwest central London, this is a must see for tourists. There is some question as to just how old the market really is. Some claim it began around 1276 A.D. The market itself claims to have been in existence since 1014 A.D.

That is one thing you notice about London. While there are new structures like Wimbley Stadium, much of the city is very, very old. We Americans from the New World are unaccustomed to this type of antiquity.

While it is aged, this market is very similar to a couple I have visited in the United States. Kansas City's "City Market," is a wonderful place to shop. You can purchase just about any type of domestic or foreign food products there. They have an added attraction, for those of you who have never been there. "The Steamship Arabia" museum is a must see during a visit.

I have also visited the noted "Pikes Market" in Seattle. This one was famously highlighted in the movie, "Sleepless in Seattle." The fish market section is a favorite for tourists. Watching the men toss huge ocean fish is a tradition.

London's streets have three common threads that are strange to Americans. First, they are very narrow. This probably dates back to the time before cars and trucks, when horse drawn vehicles were prominent.

The second thing you notice right away is the lack of straightness in their streets and roads. You rarely go even an eighth of a mile without either making a curve or coming to a "T."

The final street item is of course the "wrong side of the road" topic. After traveling in and around London for a week in numerous taxicabs, I never was able to be comfortable with this very foreign system. At least a hundred times during my week there, I just knew the cab was headed for an immediate unavoidable head on collision.

In a conversation with one of London's legendary "black cab" drivers, I was told of just how much training they go through. He said there is about a 5-year apprenticeship, before you are fully licensed. He also said that the training enabled him to take you to just about any place you wanted. It was as if he had a built-in Internet map.

As you travel around these curvy narrow streets you see small businesses on every block. When I say small, they are quite tiny in comparison to our small business stores on our local Square. I would say that most of them are probably only about 1/4 the size of a normal small store here.

None of these were "chain stores." They all appeared to be individually owned proprietorship's. My favorites were the numerous tiny grocery stores. They had narrow isles with packed shelves that held stacks of every type of food item imaginable. I never saw more than two people working at a time in any of these venues.

These businesses reminded me of a time from my youth, when Nevada had over a dozen small "mom and pop" groceries. Many years ago, I wrote about some of those famous local neighborhood grocery stores. In all my years of writing these columns, none got more responses.

Each section of Nevada, had it's own special affinity with one of those mostly family owned groceries. Besides the ones in various locations around town, the area around the Square offered several small grocery stores.

In our town today, we have only three choices when it comes to grocery shopping. Woods Grocery is on the west end of town. It is the only one remaining of what we used to refer to as "supermarkets." On the east end of town we have Wal-Mart. They have a full grocery, but it is as far from a "mom and pop" as one can get.

Our final option is to shop at one of the numerous "convenience stores." Most of these began as small one-owner stores, but they are gradually being gobbled up by "chain" franchises.

It is probably just wishful thinking on my part, but I do long for the days when there were small family owned stores in Nevada. "Mom and Pop" stores that have a familiar warm feeling about them.

London is the capital of our "Mother Country." There is much that is strange and different, but the small "mom and pop" stores were once a tradition that was transplanted here.