By Si Dunn
None of us can stop the current worldwide economic disaster. But just by repeatedly spending a few dollars each, we can at least help keep our local businesses afloat, save a few jobs, and maybe keep a few friends and neighbors in their homes.
Go out this weekend and buy a meal at a family-owned restaurant. Or, get a haircut at a locally owned barbershop or hair salon. Or, hire a lawn service to trim the scraggly hedges that have been on your to-do list for weeks. Or, buy something from a neighborhood bookstore or thrift shop or plant nursery. Pick one or two things to do and make a deliberate effort to follow through with some focused spending.
Next week, take a pair of shoes to be fixed at a local shoe-repair shop. Or have a garage attendant change out your car's overdue air filter. Or, get a few donuts or a couple of ice-cream cones. Or get a suit cleaned and pressed.
Don't sit on all of your money. Protect most of it, yes. But part with a little bit of it, too, in a steady and controlled manner.
Encourage friends and neighbors and fellow church parishioners to do the same. Don't panic; just spend a few spare bucks each week in considered ways that benefit your own neighborhood and community.
We all have friends and acquaintences who manage or own small businesses that provide their family income. They need our help now.
So do churches, especially small ones, and the local agencies that help the poor and the afflicted in our communities.
A dollar here, ten dollars there. It won't break us, but it can all add up in this crisis, especially if a lot of us truly will remember to "Help thy neighbor."
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