Eras End

The word 'era' is defined as #1 -- (a) a fixed point in time from which a series of years is reckoned (b) a memorable or important date or event ; especially : one that begins a new period in the history of a person or thing. #2 -- a system of chronological notation computed from a given date as basis. #3 -- (a) a period identified by some prominent figure or characteristic feature era of the horse and buggy (b) a stage in development (as of a person or thing) (c) a large division of geologic time usually shorter than an eon era.

Regardless of the precise definition, eras end.

So it is with Virgil's Hardware Home & Garden store. After a century of private, family ownership, the off beat little we have just about anything you could want and a lot of what you don't want store was sold to something called Do It Center and its parent company, Neiman Reed Lumber Company out of Chatsworth.

Virgil's is no Lowes. It's not OSH nor is it Home Depot. Virgil's is quirky in the extreme. Shelves are stocked in an order surely inspired by the chaos theory. Mail boxes are stacked next to flash lights. That makes a certain amount of sense. Coming home after dark, I suppose you might wish you had picked up that flash light when you bought the new mail box. Sponge Bob Square Pants humidifiers can be found near the Weber grills. Tupperware containers stacked precariously invite shoppers to look beyond their clutter to the hand drills. And of course, there's always the eggs. Only at Virgil's can you buy a crescent wrench and a dozen cage free eggs.

Virgil's reminds me of a store owned by the brothers Ray and Glenn Hoagland. Ray had never left the little Arizona town of his birth nor had he even ventured past the bend in the road. My mother once asked the price of an item. Ray's answer was, "It probably costs too much and you don't need it anyway."

Ray took care of his customers. So did the folks at Virgil's.

Eras end. Eras begin.