Bicker, Bicker...

After 41 years of owning 13 businesses, I have become fed up with associations. Now, you must understand that I have seen it all, from strip plaza associations to mall associations. They are a perfect microcosm of big Government politics. What a giant waste of time!

When leasing space in the sterile confines of a retail development, it is compulsory for each store owner to attend association meetings. I could go on and on with horror stories of (mostly women) bickering throughout the meetings (the men that willingly jump in to the squabble, may as well wear dresses, for they too can gossip and moan with the best of them).

Once, just before I walked out of an association meeting, they had gone from a 30 minute argument regarding what type of danish to serve (at these meetings), to (believe it or not), a 45 minute argument on whether or not to hire Barney (the purple dinosaur) to stand out on the street and wave to the passing cars. That dubious distinction went to the Merchants Association of Village West Plaza.

So, for those women (and women-like men) who each season insist on cajoling me into their petty groups, please understand this... I am (by your eruditic standards) a free spirit, even a tad bohemian. I will never again take part in a chamber meeting, a town meeting, or merchant association meeting. I leave those important resolutions of baked goods and barney's in your most capable hands.