We're open..... sort of!

Yes, our stores are open. Hearty thanks go out to our staff who have braved unseasonable and unpredictable winter weather.

Somewhere, somehow the Portland Deity of Retail has been perturbed.

If the breakdown in our national (and world!) economy hasn't been enough bad news to dampen consumers' enthusiasm, the past ten days of frigid temperatures, snow and ice in Portland have kept them home and all but dealt a death knell to most small retailers.

You've heard how important November and December are to retailers; how Black Friday signifies the first day of the year that retailers operate in the black rather than the red; how inventory has to be purchased months in advance for the holiday season. Well, it's all true, even for small retailers.

And the last ten days before Christmas are the gravy and the cream that fuel staff bonuses and allow a retailer to store a little cash for the lean months ahead. No gravy and cream this year; the city of Portland, home to our two largest stores, has been virtually shut down since December 7. Portlanders love a good snowstorm because it's an unusual event. We simply aren't prepared, however, for this kind of onslaught. Hundreds of miles of roads remain unplowed and inaccessible and a third of all city buses are out of commission.

While we won't see any more snow today on top of the 12-14 inches we already have on the ground, another storm is rolling in and will deliver a few more inches on Christmas eve day. We're definitely going to have a white Christmas.

Our hearts go out to those less fortunate than us; to those who are stranded in airports, bus stations and in cities they don't know; to those who are still without power; to those who are hungry; to those kids who won't be getting much, if anything, for Christmas; to those in the world who don't know freedom like we do.

It has been a difficult year for all of us and tough times are ahead.

Hope is like a road in the country; there was never a road, but when many people walk on it, the road comes into existence. ~Lin Yutang