Good afternoon from Butler & Bailey Market. I hope everyone is having a good day. The weather has been beautiful for the last few days, which seems to put everyone in a better mood.
Up until a week ago, I feel like it’s been really hot. I kind of like hot weather, the problem is all the equipment it takes to run this store does not like hot weather or really cold weather for that matter. I have probably spent more money in repair and maintenance in the last two months than the previous six months combined. If you have been in the store during the heat wave, you have probably seen us unloading cases and reloading cases over and over again due to equipment failures. Hopefully we have turned the corner with the weather and, more importantly, the equipment. I do have some new equipment on order. That’s become an ordeal. Before COVID, you could get about any equipment you wanted in six weeks or less, for a reasonable price. Now, I am having to wait six months to almost a year for anything I order, and it is at least double in price if not triple. Maybe this time next year we will have it installed?
One of the leading drivers of the big price increases is the price of copper. Most people probably don’t think much about copper. I didn’t until I started complaining about the cost of things, and they always blame copper. Apparently, my world runs on copper and I didn’t even know it. Maybe that’s why they are getting rid of pennies, they may cost a nickel now. Anyway, me being me, I thought I would outsmart this copper problem. I decided I could buy stock in copper companies so I could make money on copper while I was spending money on copper. Made sense to my simple mind… tricked again. Oddly, my copper stocks keep going down and yet what I pay for copper keeps going up. Shows you how smart I am. I’m losing money coming and going.
Speaking of smart, my daughter graduated from college this past May. My does time fly. She went to the College of Charleston and got a degree in public health. It only took her four years. It took me somewhere in the neighborhood of six years. I guess degrees to work in a grocery store take longer? Anyway, we went down to her graduation in May. Me, to move her out of her apartment, clean out her storage unit, take loads of stuff to Goodwill, and load the rest in my truck to bring back home (for what seemed like the 20th time in four years). The rest of the family, to enjoy the celebration of graduating from college.
So, when we went to the ceremony to see her walk across the stage, they announced her name followed by Summa cum laude. Full disclosure, I wasn’t sure what that meant. Those words had never been used after my name during college. I was going to ask my wife during the ceremony, but I’m still trying to hide the fact that I’m not real smart from her. I decided I would just Google it, which is how people like me survive in the world. Anyway, it basically means she did as good as you can academically in school. After all the festivities, we got everything loaded up, including my college graduate daughter, and came back home.
Not long after we were home, I went out to visit my mother. She is in a nursing home now. At 91 years of age, her body and mind are wearing down. Both my mom and mother-in-law are in nursing homes now. I just thought copper was expensive. Anyway, when I visit my mother, I just try to make conversation and hope she can process it. Some days are better than others for her mentally. I was telling her about Lauren graduating from college and that she was awarded Summa cum laude. My mom said, “Wow, that’s the highest honor.” I was surprised she knew immediately what I was talking about. I then went on to tell her that I thought Lauren got her smarts from me. She then quickly responded, ”I don’t think that’s the case”. She then went on to say, “I’m surprised you even know what Summa cum laude means.” My mom doesn’t remember much, but I guess moms never forget their son’s academic careers.
Well, I tell you all that to tell you this. Lauren has been home all summer with us after being gone for four years. Today she turned 23 years old, and it is also her first day of classes at South College to get her physician’s assistant degree. What a way to spend a birthday. We are super proud of her and how hard she has worked to reach her goals! Education is a big financial commitment and will continue to be for the next two and a half years, but she is a much better investment than say, copper. I actually have been doing some calculations, and I think her graduate degree is going to be “free”. You see, the Souths of South College have been shopping in the store as long as I can remember. Probably at least 30 years. So, I have been getting their money day after day, and year after year, for a long time, and they are a family of five, which really adds up. So, the way I look at it, I am just going to give all the money they gave me over the years back to them over the next couple of years, and we will both end up even. So, it turns out, they have been eating for free for the last thirty years, and Lauren gets to go to graduate school for free for the next two years. How’s that for wise investing from a not so smart grocery man? Actually, I think that is the beauty of doing business locally. We all do business with each other, and the money stays in the Rocky Hill community. So, thanks for doing business with us, and we will keep doing business with you, and I believe our community will keep thriving. It’s worked for the 36 years I’ve been here.
Thanks for letting us be a part of your community!
Tom Butler