Force Majeure

OUR BEAUTIFUL NEIGHBOURHOOD has officially (and sadly) become gentrified. It began with a mom & pop card shop that shut down about two years ago, run by literally a mom & pop, she who squeezed my shoulder affectionally while telling me that "card" is "tarjeta" in Spanish once. Soon after, an upscale French cookware boutique opened, followed by a well-known British home décor shop. But, the most telling event occurred when a quirky mom & pop home store that had been operating for 75 years moved out of the neighbourhood, and in its place ...