Well, it was winding down. There was no doubt about it. As we entered October here in the Midwest, things were cooling off, leaves were changing, and the car shows were dwindling. And so it was that on Sunday, October sixth, I headed about thirty miles north to the Hy-Vee supermarket in Clinton, IA, to…

Even today, in 2019, there are still local retailers. But as of late last month there is one less. Paul’s Discount, a small two-store chain in Iowa, finally closed the end of July. It wasn’t a fancy place, but it was an honest place. And their customers tended to be remarkably loyal. But times change,…