from cobblers to carpenters

while driving north on an interstate to my brother's graduation, i saw the truck of a furniture store on its way somewhere. this simple sight got me thinking- in the United States local crafts folk- from cobblers to carpenters- have all but disappeared. of all the goods in my home i wonder what percentage of them were manufactured in the USA or within 500 miles from my home?

without gasoline all these goods from everywhere but here, wouldn't be able to arrive at the prices they do. as the influx of goods arrived years back, the local cobblers and carpenters were overwhelmed and today, there aren't many.

but would a neighbor fixing soles on the corner, warm the soul?

all i know is that without petrol/gasoline/black gold, we would be living in a very different America. our supermarket shelves would be foreign to us yet so much more local.

gas is only getting more expensive, ice is melting, whether a cycle revisited or not, right now it is melting.

ask a polar bear.

if not at the end of my lifetime, surely when my greatgrandkids are my current age, life will be different.

perhaps we'll all have to eat healthy and prepare pulses...

love and health to all...