Bee-otches of the Day: those who won't vote for Kamala Harris

Name: various
Ages: various
Occupations: various
Last Seen: various
Bee-otched For: not voting for Kamala

Once upon a time, if you had a problem in your house, a simple trip to the neighborhood True Value Hardware store was the perfect fix-all.

The local True Value store was owned by your neighbor, not shareholders. They had one job and one job only: to give you knowledgeable advice to fix those items around your house that needed fixing. Thanks to them, you could do everything from nailing a picture to your wall to seeding your lawn. To us Xennials, many of us remember those commercials featuring Pat Summerall and Willard Scott.

However, in recent years, True Value has been to hardware what Kmart was to retail. Some stores have switched over to either Ace or Do It Best (formerly Hardware Wholesalers, Inc. (HWI)) or have closed altogether. Some store owners had a gut feeling that True Value was finished. And they were right... for now.

Recently, True Value filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, blaming inflation and poor home sales. Apparently, many of its locations were notified months ago that the company was not doing well, and some stores even took the liberty of switching suppliers. True Value even announced that it was planning to sell itself to Do It Best, but nothing has been finalized.

The True Value name has been around since 1932, although the company traces its current roots to 1948 when John Cotter organized a co-op of 12 stores. The chain grew over the years, even acquiring other chains such as Value and Service (V&S), which they converted into a variety store chain that sold everything from arts and crafts to inexpensive toys and magazines. True Value sold V&S in 1996 to the similar Ben Franklin chain. In 1997, True Value merged with ServiStar to become the TruServ Corporation. However, by the early 2000s, True Value began suffering from mismanagement, and over the years, many longtime affiliates switched to other wholesalers.

In Grand Rapids, Kingsland Hardware was a True Value member but switched to Ace about 20 years ago. Currently, Ivanrest Hardware in Grandville is the only True Value store in the immediate Grand Rapids area.

In 2018, True Value was sold to private equity firm ACON Investments, whose assets include Igloo coolers, Goody hair care products, New Era caps, Borden Dairy, Spencer's gift shops, Spirit Halloween, and Funko, known for its pop culture bobbleheads. Recently, True Value launched a series of television ads that I've only seen online so far. In these ads, they have reverted to their old oval logo with the tagline "Hardware Hero" with a matching jingle set to Foreigner's 1981 butt-rock anthem "Juke Box Hero."

However, like any private equity firm, ACON seems to want to blame everyone but itself for the failure of its business. Ditto with Red Lobster, which claimed that its "Endless Shrimp" promotions threw the restaurant chain into bankruptcy. The truth was that when Darden Restaurants, the company that founded Red Lobster, sold the chain off in 2014, it decided to sell 500 of its buildings to a firm called American Realty Capital Partners, which leased them out to whoever owned Red Lobster at the time. At the time of its bankruptcy, Red Lobster's parent company, Thai Union, which also owned Chicken of the Sea and King Oscar sardines, was paying $200 million annually in rent, which was a bigger factor in its failure than a bunch of fat guys sucking down a few hundred shrimp in one sitting.

Granted, I have very little against True Value's actual stores. One of my best hardware experiences was at Mattson's True Value in Howard City, 30 miles north of Grand Rapids. Many years ago, the plug to my Sirius receiver broke off in my car's cigarette lighter. I tried to have a guy at a local Radio Shack here in Grand Rapids fix it, but he wanted me to buy a whole new system. I was stuck with bland Grand Rapids radio to Howard City. Thankfully, I went to Mattson's, a Radio Shack retailer, and they rigged together a plug that ultimately fixed my radio problems for less than $10. Sadly, my receiver didn't last much longer, but Sirius equipment is pure junk as it is.

Today, Mattson's is still there, but all references to True Value have been removed from their building. But, they are still listed as a True Value location. I wonder if the family knew that trouble was ahead for True Value. Usually, when a family-owned store removes all references to their suppliers from their building, it means that they might be not in good standing with them. 

It's funny that earlier, I mentioned Funko and Spirit Halloween, which is a chain of stores known for leasing out abandoned storefronts. Funko products are sold not just at the previously mentioned Spencer's, but another shopping mall staple, Hot Topic. Years ago, Hot Topic was the place where those who hated boy bands and slutty pop singers could buy shirts that read "NSuck" and "Spear Britney". Plus, they sold clothes that promoted cool rock bands of the day and other awesome goodies.

However, Hot Topic went public in 1996 and, in 2013, was bought out by private equity firm Sycamore Partners, which also owns department store Belk, plus-size women’s retailer Torrid, and Staples, the office supply chain whose name once christened the arena where the Los Angeles Lakers play. Over the years, Hot Topic went from counterculture to proudly selling Justin Bieber CDs and being an epicenter for anything Japanese manga. 

Recently, Hot Topic received some unwanted controversy when most of their workers at their location at the Apache Mall in Rochester, Minnesota walked off the job. A sign on the store's entrance gate read, "Almost all of our staff walked out due to the inability of the Hot Topic Company to support and give a living wage. We cannot support ourselves and our families. We have worked so hard and cannot do this any longer. You cannot pay your workers in passion. Sorry for the inconvenience."

It's worth noting that Sycamore is a $10 billion company, yet judging by that sign, they don't want to pay their employees a living wage. The same goes for other private equity firms like Roark Capital, who own dozens of restaurant chains such as Arby's, Subway, Carl's Jr./Hardee's, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Dunkin' Donuts, to name a few. Several years ago, the company lobbied Congress to stop talking about raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour. And yet, that firm's assets are about $37 billion, while many of their fast food workers only make $10 per hour!

What's nauseating is that when Red Lobster and True Value filed for bankruptcy, people on social media were quick on the trigger to blame one person: President Biden. They blame him because the price of everyday items is going up due to inflation. In reality, the owners of both companies were private equities that blamed their failures on leftist politics and not greed. 

Look at groceries. When I was a little boy in rural Antrim County in northern Michigan in the 80s, our family had to drive for several miles for food. If we went south to Elk Rapids, there was a mid-sized Spartan Store (Village Market) and a small IGA (Ed and Son's). If we went north to Eastport on US-31, there was a Viking Food store, Eastport Foods, that was in between the sizes of the Elk Rapids stores. Since my family worked and went to school in Elk Rapids, going to Eastport was a rarity. 

Today, Ed and Son's is long gone and the main IGA distributor for Michigan, Alpena's Great North Foods has gone out of business. Eastport Foods is now Eastport Market and has long been expanded and remodeled. Viking Foods was bought out by Wisconsin-based Roundy's in 1989. Roundy's also bought out Illinois-based Scot-Lad in 1984 and merged their operations. However, Roundy's got out of the distribution business in the early 2000s. Apparently, most of their stores were now affiliated with a company that had a distribution hub in Bridgeport, by Saginaw. That company was Nash Finch. And as many in the grocery business know, Spartan and Nash merged in 2013. 

However, Eastport Market is not with SpartanNash, but with Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG), which supply the Best Choice and Always Save brands. Meanwhile, Village Market is still a SpartanNash store, and unlike Ed and Son's and Eastport Market is still owned by the same man who purchased the store 50 years ago this year, Rick Young. 

Now, instead of four major grocery suppliers in Michigan, there are just two: SpartanNash and AWG. Plus, the mom-and-pop stores that they supply have to compete with big box giants like Meijer and Walmart and even those elephants in the room known as Dollar General and Family Dollar. Of course, grocery stores have come and gone over the decades. Most baby boomers and older will fondly remember getting their groceries from the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (A&P), which had stores in towns big and small over 50 years ago. 

And by the way, Biden was not our President back then. 

The same goes for gas and oil. Over the years, oil companies have merged to the point that there are only a few companies that control gas prices. People cry that it's Biden's fault that gas prices are too damn high and that under Drumpf, it was affordable. But let's remember that part of the reason why prices were low then was due to the pandemic, which Drumpf obviously did not handle well at all. 

Earlier this year, it was announced that Marathon Oil was being sold to ConocoPhillips for $22.5 billion in stock. Here in Michigan, there are a ton of Marathon stations, most of them are independently owned. Coincidentally enough, Marathon was once part of the monopoly known as Standard Oil. When the government forced Standard to break up in 1911, the company ran on its own, even being owned by US Steel from 1982 until 2001. Meanwhile, ConocoPhillips is one of the largest oil companies in the world and helps determine what gas prices are, not the President of the United States. The company is worth nearly $100 billion, Shell is worth over $400 billion, BP is worth $280 billion, and ExxonMobil is worth $380 billion. Recently, it was announced that Japanese-owned convenience store giant 7-Eleven was closing over 400 locations. No word on if any of them are their Speedway gas stations, which have a heavy presence in the Grand Rapids area. Within a two-mile radius from where I live, there are three of them!

Also here in Grand Rapids, there are a ton of pharmacies that have closed. Close to me at 52nd and Eastern, the CVS closed last Halloween. As of now, construction crews are working on the building; what they are turning it into is anyone's guess. I remembered talking to an employee at that CVS and they claimed that the company was focusing more on their relationship with Target and less on their individual stores. Rite Aid, on the other hand, filed for bankruptcy and has closed most of its locations here in the state. Walgreens also announced that they would be closing some 1,200 locations recently. Years ago in Elk Rapids, Walgreens proposed building a location there, but the residents all cried NIMBY since they are not fans of chain stores. Today, the village has two drug stores, including Village Drugs, which has been filling scripts since 1901. 

It's worth noting that ER once had an A&P for 30 years at the corner of River and Dexter. It closed in 1968 because their bigger stores were far more profitable. A former manager at that store bought it and converted it into an IGA, which finally closed in 1974. Coincidentally, the A&P/IGA was in the same building as the town's hardware store, which closed in the early 2000s after being in business for over 100 years. There's an interesting story as to why its fate was sealed: over 30 years ago, Elk Rapids had three hardware stores. They were Elk Rapids Pro Hardware (the century-old store), Alden Lumber (affiliated with Golden Rule Lumber, which is now part of Do It Best), and HWI-affiliated Morrison Lumber. In the mid-90s, Morrison's was sold to a local builder named Ron Shaw who almost immediately decided that the old downtown lumberyard needed to be replaced. So, he built a new, state-of-the-art hardware and lumber and a plaza next door that housed several businesses, such as B.C. Pizza, Horizon Video, and the biggest fast food chain to ever come to Elk Rapids, Subway. The old lumberyard was demolished for what is now a Huntington Bank branch. The hardware and lumber was now known as Hometown Hardware and they had other locations in Traverse City, Gaylord, and Petoskey to name a few. 

As it turned out, Hometown's owner was a Jebus freak. In the late 1990s, he was a member of New Hope Community Church, located several miles south of Elk Rapids off US-31. The church's pastor, David Standfest begged his followers to give him $1.7 million on just one Sunday. Two members donated the most: Shaw and Nick Ascione, who owned Nick's Restaurant in Kalkaska. Nick's was demolished... for a Rite Aid that's now closed. 

Shaw ended up selling Hometown to Gill-Roy's Hardware, a chain based in Flushing, a suburb of Flint. Today, Gill-Roy's has 40 locations, all in Michigan except for one in Georgia. Gill-Roy's is known for buying up small hardware stores and slapping its name on them. Despite all this, many rave about the good service at the Elk Rapids Gill-Roy's. Their closest location to Grand Rapids is in Hamilton, over by Holland.

Stores have been coming and going since the beginning of time. Take a look at this list of Spartan Stores in northern Michigan from 1960: 

(Note: you might need to right-click on the image and click on "Open image in new tab".)

Now, some of those stores are still in business. Dingman's Food Market in Central Lake is now Merrie's Market (whose owner ironically also owns a chain of True Value stores). Don's Super Market in Elk Rapids is now the aforementioned Village Market. Ebel's Grocery in Falmouth is not only thriving, but they also bought out the old Vic's Super Market in Reed City, demolished it, and built a newer and nicer store in its spot. N.J.'s in Lake Leelanau is still strong after 114 years. Leland Mercantile has been around longer with 118 years. Shelby's Cherry Hill Super Market is still proudly supplying that town's citizens, though it's no longer with Spartan, but with Associated Wholesale Grocers and their Best Choice brand. 

As expected, not all the stores listed are still in business. For example, Angell's Super Market in Alden (and yes, Alden had other stores than Higgin's, which started out as a drug store, believe it or not). It started in the early 20th century in the Carter's Candles building, which also housed Mr. Angell's brother's hardware store. In 1948, Angell moved his grocery to the building across the street, which now houses Harvey's Trading Company, a clothing store. In the 60s, Angell retired and sold his store to a young couple, who flipped it to IGA. In the 70s, they sold it again to another couple who flipped it again to Viking. By the late 70s, they wanted a bigger store and one that didn't just serve Alden, but two towns that didn't have regular grocers: Torch River (Dan Way's Market, which was a Spartan Store, is AWOL from this list; that store sold in the 70s and became a party store called "The Marketplace" and again to Village Market's Rick Young in 1981. However by then, Spartan refused to supply that store due to its small size; it is now Fabiano's Torch River Party Store) and Rapid City, which never had a full-service supermarket. They ended up opening a newer and bigger grocery store in 1980, which became Alden Foods. Rick Young bought that store in 1990 and converted it into a Village Market. 

Granted, many of these grocers were indeed a small minnow in a huge pond of bigger stores and have since ringed up their last sale. Thrift Super Market in East Jordan was bought out by Glen's, who later built a newer store in town. It later became (surprise) a True Value and is now (bigger surprise) a Gill-Roy's. Shooks Economy Market in Ellsworth was in at least two buildings that I knew about, and both have been demolished (the store's founder was rumored to be a founder of Associated Grocers, which Spartan bought out in the 50s). Today, Ellsworth has no grocer and relies on a Dollar General to get its people by until a bigger shopping is needed (I'm not sure what the deal was with Vander Ark's and Atwood Thrift Market was actually in Atwood, which has no postal code; it's now an antique store). Pleva's in Cedar is now a Polish Museum, Ely's in Beulah is now a party store, Hank's in Fountain is now a gas station/convenience store, C&O in Mesick was demolished in the 60s for a more-modern supermarket (which later became Ken's IGA and then flipped back to Spartan as Mesick Market), and sadly, Maxbauer's in Traverse City - which dropped Spartan some years back - closed their doors earlier this year.

And there are the stores that have been demolished: Davies in Bellaire, Deering's in Empire, Neff's in Charlevoix, Dickerson's in Indian River (which was bought out by young employee Ken Swadling in 1968 and became Ken's Village Market, which moved to its current location some years later), Super A.G. in Lake City (which became an A&P and lastly an IGA), Harrison's in Manton, and the Oleson's on State Street in Traverse City, which was knocked down for a parking lot. And there were a few that burned down: Smallegan Smith in Central Lake became an IGA in the 60s and flipped to Viking in the 70s. It burned down in the 80s and a bank was built there. Bishop's in Elberta burned down in the 80s (though they're literally down the street from the Family Fare in Frankfort, whose Fairchild's burned in 1973; that Family Fare was an old A&P and has maintained some of its 1960s design). Also in 1973, the Glen's in Kalkaska burned to the ground; it was the chain's second location (founder Glen Catt grew up there). Thankfully, a new store - currently the town's Family Fare - opened a year later. Jabara's in Mancelona closed in 1971, unable to compete with Johnson's IGA (now where Family Dollar stands). Glen's came to town right around that time, first operating in the old A&P store (now the Ellsworth Farmers' Exchange, which also maintained the old school A&P design) and then building their current location in 1974, which is now - you guessed it - Family Fare. After it closed, the Jabara's building became a few other different businesses, including a pizzeria. Sadly, about 30 years ago, that building and the whole triangular block at US-131 and State and Maple Streets were destroyed in a fire caused by a natural gas leak. At the time, most of that block was occupied by Johnson's Furniture. Dame's in Northport was also destroyed by fire in 1988 but was rebuilt. Store founder Eldon Dame sold the store shortly afterward and died soon after. It became a Tom's in 1993. Kenny's in Onekama had been in that village since 1887 but was sold in 1978 to Ray Franz, who flipped it to IGA. Sadly, in 1990, the store burned down, but Franz rebuilt. He sold it when he became a Michigan House member in 2010. After two failed owners, it is back to being a SpartanNash affiliate as EZMarket, owned by Blarney Castle Oil, which also owns the EZ Marts and Louie's Markets up north. Last but not least, the original Jack's in Traverse City burned in 1978 and became a popular party store that recently closed.

Some of the stores I'm unable to truly identify, or have little info on the internet, except that they are indeed closed, like Boyne City Superette, Bill's Superette in Filer City, Brastrom's in Harrietta (I did see a picture of a Clover Farm Store there, so I wonder if it was them), and Snow's in Walkerville, though I know that they were a general store. From the 1960s until the early 2000s, that tiny town had M&M Spartan Store, owned by Max and Mary Knowles. They had a hardware department, which made me wonder if it was Snow's. Eventually, the Knowles family sold the store which would become Kar's Market, and closed some time after, leaving Walkerville without a suitable grocer. 

The truth is that NONE of these stores closed because of Biden. They closed because of various factors, such as some mega store opening down the road that sold milk for 99 cents as opposed to $2.99. When Foster's Super Market in Lake City closed a few years ago, the owner blamed a roof he had to replace and locals going to Walmart or Meijer. According to the comments on social media, Mr. Foster was simply a jerk. And no, Biden had nothing to do with their closure. Today, Foster's is now Roger's, which is based in the tiny Alpena-area town of Glennie. That chain, which started in the owner's father's tiny IGA store, has experienced major growth in the past several years. 

There are reasons for grocers that fail. Competition from big box stores, store size, and ownership matters are all reasons. Not Biden. Here in my neck of the woods in Grand Rapids, I live between two Meijers, two Targets, a Walmart, and two Aldis. In terms of a traditional grocery store, there's a Family Fare, but I rarely go there. The Big Lots by me was an old Duthler's, but that closed. There's also a Planet Fitness in my neck of the woods that was once a Family Fare that closed ten years ago. Family Fare also closed a store on Breton Road a few years ago. I shopped there in the past and bought an expired item. Usually, expired items are a barometer of things to come at any grocery store. 

Two of the giant elephants in the room have long been Dollar General and Family Dollar. Several of the towns on the 1960 Spartan list—i.e., Ellsworth, Empire, Manton, McBain, and Vanderbilt—no longer have a full-service grocery store. But all except Empire have a dollar store or two. In Empire’s case, the small town of 362 once had a few versions of Deering’s Food Market. The one on the list was in business from 1947 until 2018. According to the family, competition from Traverse City and other area towns played a major role in its closure. They ended up selling the 7,000-square-foot store to Joe’s Friendly Tavern next door (which was also founded by store founder Mark Deering, who died in 2016 at the tender age of 100), who demolished the store for outdoor seating.

However, DG felt that they had a license to build a store in Empire because of the lack of a proper grocer. But the community came out in droves to tell them NIMBY. Today, the closest thing to a grocery store Empire has is the EZ Mart convenience store.

Central Lake nearly lost its grocery store due to DG. In 2011, Rick Young's children, son Kevin and daughter Kelly, purchased the old Dingman's Market, which became Central Food Center in 1968 when it was sold to two partners. At the time, they had a store in Bellaire (now Bellaire True Value) and wanted to focus on that store. One of the partners sold his share to another, and his son took over the store in 1990. That man, Gene Plaggemars, retired and sold the store to the Youngs in 2011. Kevin and Kelly wanted to expand the 8,000-square-foot store, but the village rejected that idea. The store lost money, and Kelly sold her share to Kevin. The store was finally starting to break even when DG came to town and took its business. When they announced their "Going Out of Business" sale, Chris and Merrie Corbett, who own the chain of True Values, bought the store and renamed it Merrie's Market. And if you did the math already, yes, the former Dingman's Markets are not co-owned again (the Bellaire location moved farther out on M-88 in 1986 and is now Family Fare).

However, in fairness, DG does have its advantages regarding small towns. Up the road from Central Lake is Ellsworth. In the early ’90s, that town of 367 had two grocery stores and a Pro Hardware store. Eventually, the hardware store closed, as did Shooks Market. In 1994, Ellsworth Viking Foods, the town’s largest grocer, downsized to a convenience store because of poor sales. After years of being bought and sold many times, it became Needmore Storage a few years ago, putting the possibility of any type of grocer in town in doubt. The town’s gas station is also the local farmers’ co-op, which carries little or no food. Not long afterward, DG came to town, so at least the locals don’t have to drive all the way to East Jordan, Charlevoix, Central Lake, or elsewhere for essentials.

Dollar General stores are definitely hit or miss. Some are newer and clean, while others were converted from other stores. Here in Grand Rapids, the DG on Division by 44th Street used to be the old Gordy's Supermarket. Over in Saranac, the old Adgate Supermarket is now a DG. In Martin, their DG is a new building, although it's on the site of the old Boysen's Supermarket. In Kentwood, the DG on Eastern by 52nd is in a strip mall and looks like a hurricane went through it. I went in there recently, and they still had Easter decorations up! I even told someone there, and they told me they didn’t have a ladder to reach the ceiling. The store is cramped, and there are always boxes all over the place. Right next to this DG is an abandoned Family Video, and next to that at the intersection is a former CVS that's being renovated. I wonder if DG will move into one of those buildings.

The biggest problem with DG is that they are always understaffed and, allegedly, the pay is terrible. Plus, workers—like most retailers—cannot work a millisecond over 40 hours. I heard that the minimum wage at many DGs is $11 per hour. I bet you the reason for the poor pay is because they have some 20,000 locations and are still growing. I also see that they are opening more DG Markets, which are full-service grocers, complete with meats and produce, plus the usual cheap items DG sells.

I'm from the Traverse City area and yes, I was saddened by the news that Macy's is closing their store at Grand Traverse Mall. Back in the 90s, the mall was one of the few places up north where one could spend a full Saturday and still be entertained hours later. It had a massive Pocket Change Arcade, plus, a nine-screen cinema and 100 stores that sold a little bit of everything. However, the mall's owner, General Growth Properties, went bankrupt in 2009. Two years later, GGP spun Grand Traverse Mall to Rouse Properties. In 2018, Brookfield Properties bought out both GGP and Rouse. Eventually, they sold many of their properties to other firms, including Kohan Retail Investment Group, which is known for mismanaging their malls. Recently, Brookfield sold their mall in the Grand Rapids area, Rivertown Crossings to POAG Development after years of mismanagement. Today in the state of Michigan, they only own two malls: Grand Traverse Mall and Southland Center in Taylor, a downriver suburb of Detroit, which they announced is for sale.

When Grand Traverse Mall opened in 1992, Traverse City did have Cherryland Mall down the road, which had Sears, KMart, Younkers, Tom's Food Market, plus some 40 stores. But, it was built in 1976 and was somewhat outdated for the times. General Growth felt that the area needed a good-sized mall that didn't just attract locals, but had a downstate feel as well. So, they bought out Oleson's buffalo farm and built Grand Traverse Mall, which had more than twice the stores than Cherryland and twice the size. It was the biggest mall within a 100-mile radius and people would drive from all points north to do good shopping.

And then came the internet. 

As the years passed by, Grand Traverse Mall saw stores leave, including current mall staples like Journey's, Foot Locker, Hollister, and H&M. The movie theater closed when owner Carmike Cinemas decided to build the new Cherry Blossom Cinema at Buffalo Ridge. Recently, that development took the mall's TJ Maxx store, which is now in the old Bed Bath and Beyond. Pocket Change left the mall and was replaced with several failed restaurants such as Garfield's, Bagger Dave's, and Agave Mexican Grill. Today, they are Frida's Mexican Grill, the sole sit-down restaurant at the mall, especially since longtime staple Jonathan B. Pub closed after the owner retired. 

Today, Grand Traverse Mall has 48 stores, though they list 62, which include vending machines, ATMs, and offices. Granted, they still have decent stores, such as Hot Topic, Spencer's, Old Navy, FYE, and Victoria's Secret, but only time will tell how long those stores will even want to stay in the mall, especially since both TJ Maxx and Macy's are on one side of the mall while Target and JCPenney are on another.

For years, most of the Target wing was vacant. As it turned out, GGP was going to remodel that section of the mall in the late '00s. The story was that they were trying to lure Dunham's to the mall, probably from the old Giantway Plaza on Munson Avenue. So, they told those stores to vacate; as a matter of fact, Spencer's moved to their current location across from Hot Topic and Auntie Anne's moved to a kiosk. Well, somewhere along the way, the deal fell through and the cinema moved out. The mall tried to attract Dick's Sporting Goods, but (bad joke alert) Dick's pulled out. So, Dunham's was back in and they built their new store where the cinema and several smaller shops used to be. As for the abandoned shops by Target, they all were replaced with Shoe Dept., a successful shoe store chain that sadly supports so-called "pro-life" causes. 

Granted, when Rouse purchased the mall for $66 million in 2012, they tried their damnedest to revitalize it. They lured H&M, a new local bookstore called Bookbrokers (the mall previously had a B. Dalton where Carter's is now), and Victoria's Secret was remodeled. But yes, they also lost several stores due to bankruptcy, such as Express, Vitamin World, Justice, Christopher and Banks, and a few others. 

And yes, some in the Grand Traverse region are crying that it's Biden's fault that the once-prosperous mall is now failing. In fact, after the 2008 economic collapse that was caused by the idiotic policies of Dubya, the area itself started seeing itself as just another Florida where the only people who could afford to live there were the elderly.

Perhaps that's why when it was announced that Drumpf was running a little late for his rally in Traverse City recently, many in the crowd at Cherry Capital Airport stood up and left. The rally was supposed to start at 7:30 p.m., but he was still in Austin, Texas, because of an interview conducted by Joe Rogan. He finally arrived in TC at 10:30 p.m.

Of course, many, such as Jill Biden, Bernie Sanders, and Harris's VP pick, Tim Walz, have all visited northern Michigan to stump for Kamala. As a matter of fact, Sanders's audience at Northwestern Michigan College was standing room only. It's unknown if the Vice President will actually visit Traverse City, but she did lambaste Drumpf for being three hours late to his rally there.

With a population of 16,000, Traverse City used to be the last town in America that any president would ever want to visit. But the last three sitting presidents have. Dubya visited in 2004, Drumpf visited twice, and Biden came to town in 2021 to enjoy some Moomer's Ice Cream and then traveled up to King Orchards in Central Lake to buy some cherry pies. The last time a sitting president came to northern Michigan was Michigan native Gerald Ford in 1975 when he appeared at the Cherry Festival. Before that was way back in 1930 when Herbert Hoover came to town. 

Undoubtedly, Michigan is a swing state, and Drumpf knows that northern Michigan, an area notoriously famous for being loaded with former big-city folk who left Detroit and other towns to get away from the "n"s, is his people. But northern Michigan tends not to be a top priority for high-ranking people, celebrities included. After all, northern Michigan has had a long history of concert cancellations due to poor ticket sales, or in rapper T.I.'s case, watching his daughter perform at the BET Awards.

A few years ago on his show, Howard Stern made it clear. Drumpf is successful because he knows that he needs to reach the people who would never be allowed to go to Mar-A-Lago. He knows his supporters have low IQs and low-paying jobs if they have them at all. Sometimes, you need to get yourself into the gutter to get on top. That's why the Mafia is so successful and so are garbage men. Northern Michigan has had a long history of being a turn-off for 20 and 30-somethings because of the lack of decent jobs and education. NMC -- mentioned earlier -- does offer a few four-year degrees, but it's no University of Michigan, Michigan State University, or even Grand Valley State University. Because of this, the area does have some leftists, but it's also loaded with old people and worse, drunks. The area is known for its amount of drunk driving arrests, thus the nickname "Tragic City". Plus, the average citizen of TC only makes around $37,000 per year, yet property up north can be prohibitively expensive. Here in Grand Rapids, it's $33,000 yearly, but housing is a lot cheaper, depending on where you want to live. 

Many who work in TC tend to live out in the country in part due to a lower cost of living. My parents were shining examples. As a matter of fact, when my father moved out of my childhood home in 2000, he sold it to an older couple from the Detroit area who had hoped to get a decent job where I grew up and where they now lived. They did not, and the house fell into foreclosure. The house next door, which was a lot bigger, also fell into bank ownership and ended up selling for a meager $102,000. Not shabby for a house with two floors, four bedrooms and I think two bathrooms. 

Just two days after the rally that almost wasn't, Drumpf held a mega rally at New York's Madison Square Garden. Every seat in the house was packed with his MAGA faithful and even some Z-list celebs. Sadly, having a good sense of humor doesn't seem to be important to Drumpf's people. No-name comic Tony Hinchcliffe angered many when he joked that Puerto Rico was "a floating island of trash in the middle of the ocean". You know, in all my years working at my job, one of the nicest ladies I've ever worked with was a Puerto Rican. Tragically, she was royally fucked over by my ex-boss and a machine operator who wanted her to fail miserably. Sadly, she quit and I haven't heard from her since, and this was almost 20 years ago. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of our nation's best Congresspeople is Puerto Rican. So is Rosario Dawson, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jose Feliciano, and yes, J-Lo. Bad Bunny even told his fans to vote for Kamala. But since Drumpf's idea of aiding PR after they got hit with a hurricane was to throw paper towels at them, having a hack poke fun at them is to be expected. 

Also at the rally was none other than washed-up wrestler Hulk Hogan, who made headlines several years ago for using the n-word multiple times in a private conversation caught on tape. He was fired from the WWE, only to be reinstated after wrestling fans pointed out that now-former boss Vince McMahon used that very word on an old episode of Monday Night Raw. After Hogan, Dr. Phil McGraw took the stage and rambled about bullying, something Drumpf is known for doing. Speaking of bullies, it turns out that Dr. Phil now owns his own TV network called Merit Street. Guess who's helping to distribute that very channel? Why, it's none other than the Trinity Broadcasting Network, who's putting MS on the subchannels of their stations. Funny how Dr. Phil often taught women how to fight abuse and rapists and now he's using the services of an organization that swept the drugging and rape of their founders' 13-year-old granddaughter by a 30-year-old male employee in a hotel room in 2006 under the rug. What's also sad is that neither Dr. Phil nor Dr. Oz would be nothing without Oprah and she's on the Kamala bandwagon.

Drumpf took the stage and it was pure vitriol from the get-go. He repeated his remarks about illegal aliens and Springfield, Ohio, plus made the bullshit claim about not taxing those who work overtime. To me, what he's doing is trying to convince Americans that OT is a good thing as opposed to the one thing that needs to happen: RAISE THE FUCKING MINIMUM WAGE TO $15 PER HOUR! To me, a lot of employers use OT as a blatant excuse to not give their employees a much-deserved raise; my ex-boss was a shining example. 

Many are comparing the rally to a Nazi rally at MSG in 1939, where 20,000 attended. A mural of George Washington with swastikas was presented at the rally, with one of its speakers yelling that if Washington was alive that day, he'd be friends with Hitler. It was presented as a "pro-American" rally, kinda like Drumpf's rallies. 

Eighty-five years later, it's scary to see that the things that Drumpf stands for are in fashion for many. They bragged about "preserving the First Amendment", yet, Republicans have had a long, horrible history of wanting to take that out of the Constitution. After all, they made it illegal to say the word "fuck" on regular broadcast TV, they tried to ban rock music in the 1980s, they increased FCC indecency fines in the 2000s because of Janet Jackson's accidental nip-slip during the Super Bowl Halftime Show, they've pulled books out of libraries and so on. Sorry, but to me, the Repukes - Drumpf included - are not friends of the First Amendment. The Second Amendment, however, is a different story. 

Folks, I've told you for years. I've never voted Republican and I never will. My father, a Drumpf diehard, has even tried to get me to vote for him. Sorry, but I've seen what Rethuglican leadership does. I fondly remember the bad 'ol days of seeing too many people in their 50s working at Walmart instead of their intended job because the Repukes shipped their jobs overseas. I don't want to be another statistic, having to make chicken-shit wages and having to dive into my retirement to get by. I've seen it happen to one of my uncles. He's now 68 and still working at Meijer because he had to use his retirement after he got fired from an auto dealership in his 50s. 

The people who believe in Drumpf's bullshit all believe that lies are truth. It's sad that I came from the county where all the conspiracy theories about Drumpf winning the 2020 election started. The county clerk, Sheryl Guy only noticed the errors made after she accidentally revealed that Biden had won Antrim County, a place that's long been a Republican stronghold. She recently told NBC that it broke her heart, considering that she herself is a Republican who voted for Drumpf twice. She wanted to retire but decided to put herself back into the race only because the woman who wants her job, Victoria Bishop is an election denier. Bishop, 78, is the wife of a convicted felon, talk radio host, and former Antrim County Republican Party chairman "Trucker Randy" Bishop. Mrs. Bishop owns radio station WCHY 97.7 in Cheboygan, which airs Randy's show, Your Defending Fathers. Randy cannot own WCHY since the FCC has banned felons from holding radio licenses. He's also pro-gun, though he cannot own one. 

Because of Guy's error, it led to a wave of denial from her fellow Republicans. Everything from January 6th to another felon, Dinesh D'Souza, producing the lie-filled flick "2000 Mules" where he claimed that Biden's voters were all part of a group of people who used fake people and even the dead to elect him. D'Souza and a group of hosts from the ultra-right-wing Salem Radio Network watched footage of people inserting multiple ballots in a box, some with gloves. Ummmm... ever heard of COVID-19, Dinesh? Honestly, if I lived in Antrim County, I would be pissed if I had to choose between a Repuke or an even worse Repuke.

However, the Dems are on Guy's side because she's now running as an independent write-in. I visited the Antrim County Democratic Party headquarters in Elk Rapids recently and they were handing out signs for Guy. I even asked the lady there and we talked about how evil the Bishops are. Hell, I hate seeing Vicki's photo, which looks like it was taken by Glamour Shots, the long-defunct store at shopping malls that made one look, well, glamorous. 

Folks, I love women. That's another reason why I voted for Kamala. I was disgusted when Drumpf stacked the Supreme Court with far-rightists who ended up telling millions of women that they're fucked. The infant mortality rate has risen tremendously because of the revocation of Roe V. Wade. Women and their doctors have been thrown in jail all because if the woman didn't have her abortion, her life would be in danger. And yes, too many women have died because they live in a state where abortion was made illegal, even if the woman's life was endangered. 

As I mentioned in another BOTD, Drumpf is a fan of the monstrosity known as Project 2025. It was written by the far-right Heritage Foundation, which wants the next President of the United States to do everything from force schools to stop teaching slavery to force public schools to teach religion to outlaw abortion outright and outlaw pornography. Sad, considering that Drumpf banged a porn star and paid her hush money, plus the fact that he went into the dressing room of his beauty pageants while the girls were naked, and the fact that he groped women.

I watched some of Drumpf's shitshow at MSG and cringed at his speakers talking about him "protecting the First Amendment". Yet, I heard about him wanting to go after Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert for mocking him on their shows. Hell, he wants to severely fine NBC, ABC, and CBS for only reporting the bad things he's done.

When I hear about what Drumpf wants for us Americans, the more I think about this country being run by the Russians, or worse, like Hitler. And whom else does he unleash his hatred onto, but the gullible. People who think that giving their paycheck to some preacher worth hundreds of millions of dollars will help the world's problems, who think that people of color are the problem, who think billionaires like Elon Musk are our friends, and so on is the problem! We can't have anything nice because of stupid people! 

I'm not very religious, but, sadly, the Jebus freaks look up to Drumpf as their savior. Kinda odd that they worship a man who told a rich man that it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to go to Heaven. The right cries about the left's wealthy, such as Taylor Swift and Oprah, but both are in the poor house compared to Elon Musk, the Waltons, and the Kochs. Wealthy people control this country, and many of them like Musk got it from inheritance. This is why I'm particular when it comes to what I buy and support. I prefer Costco over Walmart or even Meijer because they treat their workers well. Same with Aldi. We need to stop supporting companies that screw over American workers and support those that give them a quality of life.

In closing, tomorrow - if you still need to vote - you have a choice. Move forward or backward. If you want good-paying jobs, women’s rights, better healthcare, and an overall strong economy vote for Kamala. But if you want this nation to end in disaster while the wealthy get a nice, fat tax cut, you know the drill. Ditto if you don't want to vote or if you want to vote for a third-party candidate like Jill Stein or Kamau Bell. A vote for them is a vote for Drumpf. 

I've said enough. Vote. And tell 'em King Chuck sent ya.

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