Another Gas Station Is What We Need Here (Not)

This little flea market is nothing to get excited about, but it used to be a sort of run down shop called "Dan's". I went into Dan's once years ago just to see what he had, & it was dark & dank & mostly junk. I think Dan "refinished" stuff. I put it in quotes because it seemed to me he & his dog just mostly lolled around instead of refinishing, but maybe I'm wrong.

Then several women took it over & transformed it into The Spare Room, giving it an exterior paint job that needs doing again, but what's the point, as I'll explain. There are actually 2 stores--the other is to the left of this building but not in the photo. They cleaned it up & have antiques on consignment--nothing slick, but just the sort of thing that fits a place like this. I like to go in there every once in awhile just to check on what they got in, & so do most of the people on the island. Some of the consignment pieces are handmade furniture--nothing fancy, but things you could use on an outdoor porch or patio--chairs, tables, chests.

Sadly, The Spare Room will be torn down soon to make way for progress: another gas station & convenience store. We've been lucky enough so far to avoid such wonderful modern conveniences, but our favorite developer (wink, wink!) bought the property & that's what he plans to do. It's across the street from a strip mall that he wants to build & that we've kept him from building for several years since he's violated several county statutes before he even broke ground. And then the economy dumped, so for us, the good news is it's delayed both projects.

There are 3 gas stations on the island already, all of which have convenience stores of a sort. It's kind of like stepping back in time to go in the 2 oldest, because they're old & creaky & stuff is crammed in like you'd expect from a little 40's store. We like it that way.

One of the problems we have on the island is that people see how beautiful it is, they love it, they decide to move here. And then they want to change it. There ought to be some places that stay pretty much the same, if that's what the natives want!