Think globally, shop locally

Happy Thanksgiving! As the holiday season officially opens I love to give thanks for the wonderful privilege of living here in Cook County amid the woods overlooking Superior, Queen of Lakes. Lucky, lucky me.
But. This isn't a fuzzy, feel-good post. The choices I made to come and live here include not having the big bucks. I have traded them for the wealth of beauty that surrounds me and don't regret it even though it means I don't have a lot to spend on gifts.
Nonetheless, the dollars I do spend will be recycled back into our local economy. I was shocked last year to read in a News Herald straw poll that most people don't buy their gifts locally.
Well, ya, doncha know, we don't have all the stuff they sell at Toys R Us, Wal Mart, Target and all the other big box stores. For the excellent reason that we don't WANT these stores here. So why the hell would we want to go down to Duluth and Minneapolis, paying huge sums for gas to get there and at the same time squandering oil resources, adding more greenhouse gas emissions to global warming, supporting companies that don't pay a living wage to their workers and rack up profits by exploiting the international poor for cheap labor, while we are basically just buying more junk we don't need?
On the other hand, look at the benefits of shopping here. You might pay a few extra bucks but you have a huge choice of locally crafted gifts, original artwork, books and calendars by local authors, handcrafted chocolates, candies, candles and syrups, as well as unique opportunities to create your own cards and gifts that you won't find anywhere else. Take a class at North House, the Quilt Shop or the Art Colony or Community Education and learn to bake delicious breads or scones, potting, rosemaling, knitting, basket weaving, fabric arts to name only a few.
No time for that? Well, the awesome rounds of holiday arts and crafts shows will kick off this week at the Community Center on Saturday. There are items for every budget by many local artists and artisans.
If for some amazing reason you can't find anything you like, try Johnson Heritage Post, the Art Colony, North House's gift shop, the Hovland crafts sale, or Betsy Bowen's Art Underground sale and many others. The local papers and WTIP 'Community Calendar have all the information about when and where.
This doesn't even mention our wonderful bookstores, art galleries, Joynes Ben Franklin and even our eclectic hardware stores that offer fabulous stuff at reasonable if not big-box prices. When I was a kid about half a century ago there were lots of Ben Franklins but nowadays there is no other place like Joynes for "all your needs and necessities." Hey, if you can't get it in Cook County you and the people on your shopping list just don't need it.
Not to mention, you are supporting your friends and neighbors who like you have chosen to live here and need to earn a living.
May all of your holidays be filled with joy and local products. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Joyous Solstice and all the best for a New Year (Hogmanay) which surely has to be better than this one.