Holes in the Lichen

The weather has been quite hot at times this summer, but the lichen continues to grow and thrive on the rocks. The brown patch looked different from the other spots on the rock* and had these tiny holes in it. I stood and looked at it for awhile but didn't see what sort of life form might have caused it. The whole rock was only about the size of a toaster, and this was just a tiny spot on it.

There was a picture in the paper of a music store in Sebastopol which is closing. There were shots of a man showing a guitar to a young customer (they give music lessons there too), rows of accordions, and shelves of vinyl records. The owners said they could no longer compete with online businesses.

I found it all quite sad. I remember taking the boys to guitar lessons in a similar music store in Berkeley. I can't imagine how an online business can compete with a traditional brick and mortar store with so much history. Surely it can't offer music lessons, or have they so automated instruments that they can now play themselves?  and where's the satisfaction in that anyway?

The demise of retail businesses is sad, although I admit that I myself was extolling the virtues of an online clothing shopping service just last week. Perhaps the reason I don't really enjoy the shopping experience as I once did because the only businesses that seem to be managing to survive are the big box stores that I never liked. In fact, the places I enjoyed shopping the most were the very small businesses that are struggling to survive.

Covid restrictions and a two year hiatus certainly didn't help, but it is still amazing to me how quickly the internet has changed just about every aspect of our lives, starting with Amazon. As a friend and I were remarking, Covid has changed our lives completely, but it has simply accelerated the inevitable. 

I never thought I would read books on a device, communicate, not with pen and paper, but on a computer, or visit a doctor on a screen, yet all these things have become commonplace. 

This is one reason why access to the outdoors and beautiful places is more important than ever. 'Forest bathing' no longer sounds like such a far out idea!