Because arbeit macht frei, I did a little 
 side job in Shoreline today. Too much 
 freeway in my life lately, I opted for 
 the slower roll home down Roosevelt 
 and was pleasantly surprised to see a 
 glowing OPEN sign in the window at 
 Hardwick's. I'd heard a rumor they 
 were already permanently closed, so 
 it was good to hear from the helpful 
 cashier they've still got about nine 
 months till they pull up stakes and 
 relocate to Idaho, where the owners 
 have family. It will suck to see them 
 go. Within days of moving to Seattle 
 20 years ago, I bought an orange rotary 
 dial telephone here for Sarah's birthday. 
 Yesterday, a bush ate my Dogyu whaletail, 
 tool purchased here in 2004 when I started 
 work at the RE Store. They didn't have 
 the exact same size so I bought two: one 
 bigger, one smaller--a reverse Goldilocks. 
 Since you can't visit without buying more 
 than intended, I also picked up a stick-on 
 tape measure note pad and suspenders 
 for my saggy ass tool belt. Who wants to 
 join me for a proper shopping spree soon?