Dollar General, Grand Rapids (the ride), and the economy

I don't know about you, but it seems like Wal-Mart's little brother is everywhere these days ... Dollar Generals seem to be cropping up all over the place. Even the little town of Vestaburg has one -- and this town does not open itself up to new companies very often! It doesn't matter where I go, there are Dollar Generals! We joke about it ... but it's an interesting phenomenon.

A visit to Michigan's Adventure yesterday led to trying out the new "ride." Grand Rapids, a white-water raft ride, does not live up to expectations. It has only two waterfalls and a couple of rough patches. It was disappointing ... but Shivering Timbers is still a solid ride.

Had to get a few projects done before heading up to Elk Rapids for the rest of the week. A couple of old bikes needed repair, and there is a shop in Alma that I have considered visiting several times to get an opinion on whether or not to repair the bikes. Dennis Bicycle is a solid business, with Dennis being the owner and operator. He fixed the two bikes quickly and said they would be okay. He sells Diamondback and Raleigh bikes, and said he has fixed over 2,000 tires in the last year (that's five a day -- if he worked every day!)

The day also included a trip to Stacey's Men's Shop in Alma to get a suit taylored. I purchased the suit in January during Martin's Jeanery's "going out of business" sale. Finally, I visited my old friends at Switzer's Barbershop to get my hair trimmed.

Thanks for being patient and waiting for a new post.

Great night for Carlos Guillen (the cycle) and rookie Brent Clevelen (two homers). Way to go Tigers. Read more about it at Jimmy Leyland's Boys.