Best of Times?

Not the best of times? No, Maybe IT IS.

Working here, at the Mission Marketplace, I frequently find myself speaking with customers about the current economic situation this country is facing. With sincerity and concern, they will lean across the counter and ask, “Are you doing OK?” Maybe that’s learned behavior; we frequently look for tragic stories in the newspaper and in television news reports. Perhaps we need to focus on things that are positive. Anyway, I digress, after the first few times of being asked that question I’ve developed some standard responses. Normally, I will respond that we are, in fact, doing OK. We have been very warmly welcomed and supported by the Chelsea community. Lately, after witnessing some other local businesses close their doors, I’ve taken to responding that we are doing OK, and although it may not be the best time to be selling items (discretionary purchases) that people don’t really need (although, some coffee and chocolate loving folks have told me they do, in fact, need that), we are tempering our optimism with a dose of realism.

Having said all that, and taking some time for reflection, I’m gonna change my view. Gail McCulloch, our current Board Chairperson has said,”I love the concept of being a world citizen by participating in a local effort. Customers who buy from the Mission Marketplace are actually helping drive economic parity around the world by helping artisans in other countries make a living wage”.

This country, having gone though a fairly hotly debated struggle to achieve affordable health care for all our citizens, can be perceived as a divided and partisan community. We certainly are not without faults, but the concept of Fair Trade and the Mission Marketplace show just how caring and remarkable this nation (and Michigan, in particular) is. America shows its true spirit in how it responds to need both here and abroad. No, I don’t think we are the world’s police, nor are we responsible to bail out everyone around the globe, yet when someone in the world is reaching out, asking for a hand up, we, as a nation, are often the first to offer ours.

We are all connected, and it is that sense of connection that the Mission Marketplace affords to the local and global community. Economically, it may not be the best of times, but in these trying times, we are demonstrating what is BEST in all of us, I truly believe that in showing our kind and generous character, this may be the BEST of times for us all.

Kevin Frahm
Executive Director
The Mission Marketplace