Dear Customers, I started working as a box-boy about this time of the year in the spring of 1970.  I had just finished basketball season as a sophomore and had exhausted my list of excuses why I couldn’t begin work!  My older brother was my “supervisor” and he delighted in bedeviling me with the worst…

Dear Customers, As the second truly bad month of winter comes to an end, we find ourselves uncharacteristically optimistic! The daylight hours are obviously more plentiful at the end of February than they were at its beginning. A couple of days of unseasonably warm weather has long dormant flower bulbs poking their tentative heads up…

Dear Customers, As we near the 2/3’rds milestone of Winter, the landscape becomes even bleaker.  And I’m not just speaking of the gray skies and dirty snow, but the entertainment landscape as well.   This time of year, I find myself reduced to thumbing through the stack of seed and seedling catalogs that daily end up…

Dear Customers, Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day!!!  February 14th is a day when men all over the world suddenly realize they’ve forgotten something important and scramble madly spending enough money to sufficiently illustrate their love.  Do Not Despair!  We’ll have bouquets of roses and assorted flowers that should get you off the hook for another year.…

Dear Customers, In August of 1966 I started the 7th grade at Smethport Area Jr. Sr. High School.  Being the lowest of the low, seventh graders kept to themselves and tried to remain invisible.  Especially when it was time for lunch.  As the bell rang, there was a literal stampede to get near the front…

Dear Customers, The wintriest month of the year is behind us!  Sure, we’ll have lots more snow and ice in the remaining months of winter and even into spring, but interspersed with the cold throughout February, March and even April will be some periods of thaw, sunshine and even some unseasonably warm temperatures.  You don’t…

Dear Customers, The month of January is generally slower in the grocery industry than, say November and/or December.  It’s probably due to several things, not the least of which is people cutting back after spending more than usual the previous couple of months.  January is also the month when those that are going to attempt…

Dear Customers, This morning, while driving down Water Street to work, I had one of those unbeckoned flashbacks from about 60 years ago.  The lot where Costa’s Supermarket sits was once the community ice skating rink.  It was surrounded by forest which is now occupied by the Emerald Isle trailer court.  From the first freeze…

Dear Customers, Perhaps you haven’t seen them yet due to the holidays.  But you will, inevitably become closer and more familiar with them in the near future.  I’m not referring to long lost friends or visiting relatives from afar, but rather the deluge of credit card bills which result from spending the month of December…

Dear Customers, Starting a new year is stressful, at least for me.  Instead of looking at it as a “clean slate” with endless possibilities, I seem to dwell on the negative aspects:  Writing “2022” has become automatic and now I’m pretty sure at some point I’m going to slip up and forget the ‘3’ at…