Good Neighbors

Most people are good people. If a neighbor needs a hand — with a heavy package, or up from the sidewalk after a minor fall — rare is the person who wouldn’t happily be there to help. It’s only neighborly.

This is a time of year when we regularly remind readers to shop locally for holiday purchases — but the message has a much greater urgency than ever. Mom-and-pop and brick-and-mortar shops have been swimming against the current for years, since the internet became the biggest marketplace and big-box stores proliferated. But in 2020, the holiday season will mean life or death, literally, for many businesses.

The pandemic gives people an obvious reason to shop online this holiday season, for safety as well as comfort and convenience. But please remember to include local stores on your holiday list. Many will sell via the web, too, and nearly all have COVID-19 precautions in place to assure a safe visit and purchase. Most will ship or deliver their wares; some offer curbside pickup, allowing you to shop online and simply trading the delivery for a short trip into town.

The charm of our South Fork hamlets and villages is rooted in our local merchants, vendors we know by face and name, and whose profits recirculate in the local economy and support so many local organizations and charities. They are essential in so many ways, and they are hurting.

Please make a point to shop locally this year, as much as possible, to help them out. It’s just the neighborly thing to do.