A Canadian Family

“… To Scan A Poem From A Shopping List” pt.1

“The gift of the family novelist is to turn the cleaning of a closet into an inventory of love and loss – to scan a poem from a shopping list.” Marilyn Gardner

A few days ago I posted a childhood photograph that triggered some childhood memories about shopping trips and that post  (Smile For The Camera 11th Edition – Brothers & Sisters) brought me into contact with Claude Leduc who hosts several Flickr photostreams around the topic of Quebec vintage supermarkets, grocery and convenience stores. 

Claude Leduc and I have been corresponding and this has made me think about how much our shopping habits can reveal about our lives and the society we live in. When I reflect on my shopping habits I certainly see different “shopping periods” in my life (i.e. double-income/no kids in Milan, Italy to single-income several kids in Canada to present-day “empty-nesters”). The changes in what I bought and where I shopped were always influenced by budget 

Corso Vittorio Emanuele - Upscale shopping district, Milano, Italy

and personal tastes but also by the shopping and cultural landscape that surrounded me.

Nowadays, even though I’ve lived in the same Quebec community for several decades, the shopping and cultural landscape continues to change around me.  I’ve witnessed the rise of  Dollar Stores, the influx of American megastore outlets, and the disappearance or rebranding of many traditional Canadian chains - some of which had been around for over 100 years. But it’s not only the physical landscape that has changed. More recently my shopping habits have been influenced by broader social  issues such as fair trade, environmentalism and genetically modified foods.

In 2009 –  with a Canadian recession looming – I’ll have new financial and ethical dilemnas to unravel.

Do I buy from a certain department store chain which has great prices but has been union busting in Quebec?  

Do I try to Buy Canadian even though this will hurt developing economies? 

Marilyn Gardner talks about turning “the cleaning of a closet into an inventory of love and loss” perhaps a cleaning of my closet would give me insight into who I’ve been, who I am today and who I might be tomorrow.

I think I’ll have to add a new chapter to my private family memoirs: “Shopping – an inventory of my life”.

Related Posts:

“To Scan A Poem From A Shopping List …” pt.2

Smile For The Camera 11th Edition – Brothers & Sisters

Link:

“What to keep– what to lose” by Marilyn Gardner (Christian Science Monitor)

http://www.csmonitor.com/1985/1004/btyler.html

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March 4, 2009 - Posted by Evelyn Yvonne Theriault | . | Montreal, Quebec