On Mon, 17 Sep 2007 09:00:02 -0400, Dave Smith
<adavidsmith@sympatico.ca> wrote:

>Terry wrote:
>
>> Dee Dee, your town sounds pretty much like mine. About fifteen years
>> ago the referendum came up to allow alcoholic beverages in the town
>> (soundly defeated that time). In a letter to the editor of the local
>> paper, a resident opined that we didn't need alcohol to bring nice
>> restaurants. After all, McDonalds had come to town...
>
>Ouch. That is sad.

Which brings back a memory. When McDonald's was still in its infancy
(remember the burger count?) and people actually anticipated one
opening up near them, I lived in Palo Alto. A new Mc Donald's opened
up on El Camino a mile or so from where I lived at the southern end of
Stanford. They put votive candles on the tables at night and dimmed
the lights. We laughed every time we drove past, but at least they
were trying to give it some ambiance. That practice didn't last very
long, but at least someone was thinking out of the box (so to speak).
--

History is a vast early warning system
Norman Cousins