A Real Hardware Store

I wouldn't want to live anywhere that wasn't near a real hardware store (RHS). Some of you will no doubt be nodding your heads in agreement, while the rest of you are wondering what I'm talking about.

An RHS is usually a family-run business -- not part of a national chain of big-box stores. The best ones are in old buildings that have narrow labyrinthine aisles. When you get lost, you'll discover things you didn't know existed that will make you wonder how you ever got along without them. My RHS has green footprints on the floor to show the way to the stairs to the upper level.

An RHS has lots of helpful people who can tell you what you need and where to find it -- or direct you to somebody who can. I try not to discriminate on the basis of age, but I must admit to a bias in favor of geezers, particularly the ones wearing bib overalls.

An RHS doesn't sell nuts, bolts, screws, washers, etc., in sealed plastic packages, so that you have to buy a dozen when you only want two. In an RHS, you take as many as you need from a bin, put them in a paper bag, and write the bin number and quantity on the bag. There should be a lot of bins. While shooting my blip photo at my RHS today, I was told that they have 15,000 items in just two aisles.

There are other characteristics of an RHS, but these should be enough for you to recognize one when you find it.