ma and pa stores

In the seventies, when I was in high school, a huge mall was built in Omaha, Nebraska. That became "the place" with all its shops and it even had three levels. That was the first mall I ever experienced and I still don't mind walking through a mall and looking at the clearance racks. But I have always had an appreciation for the little ma and pa stores.
The picture with this post is of the inside of an amazing store in Indianapolis, in the Broad Ripple section of town. It is a two story home and every inch, floor to ceiling, including two attics has been turned into an extension of...Bob... or Bob and his family. I've only been there twice but he has shown me all around the place including the ladder that he climbs to get into the attic where he stores Birkenstock and Earth shoes.
Last time we were at the "Good Earth Natural Food Store" there Bob was, out in the street with a bag of asphalt patch making a repair, because, as he said, "His standards are higher than the city's."
Inside he has organic food, bulk dry goods and herbs, medicines of all kinds, natural remedies and medicines galore and cosmetics that are, I assume good for you. There is too much to take in even after two visits. Neither of the guys in the picture are Bob, he was still making road repairs and wasn't available for the picture. He did find us in the parking lot as we were about to leave and inspected what we had bought.

Another recent discovery is Laughlin's Menswear in Brownsburg. The owner will find you a shirt, a suit, blue jeans, cologne, or hat. You name it, he either has it or can get it for you. He recently sold me a long sleeve shirt for half price that I liked, but it was too big. He told me to take it home, wash it in hot water, dry it on the highest dryer setting and if it's still too big, bring it back and he'll shorten the sleeves for me or give me my money back.
Nobody will give you the service that a ma and pa store will give you. No one has ever offered to shorten the sleeves on my shirt before. He said they do it all the time. These ma and pa stores are a dying breed. We need to preserve them if we can.