A lot of memories swept through my mind when I heard about the passing of Ross Zito yesterday. Ross and his family owned Cardinals Supermarket in Plaquemine for more than 70 years. Some of my earliest childhood memories involved our visits to the store and the way he always greeted customers so cheerfully, much like they were his own family. He had this knack for remembering a persons name -- even if he had seen them once or twice over a 10-year period. He always took time to talk to people, regardless of their age, race or socioeconomic status. Its a bit ironic that he died less than a month after Will Barker III, whose family had owned Barkers Pharmacy since 1880. As with the Zito family, life for the Barkers centered around the business. In the same guise as the Zitos, the Barkers never knew a stranger. They delivered goods to customers and always took a little extra time to listen to their wants and needs. They represent a breed thats rapidly becoming extinct in the days of impersonal big box stores and social media/text messaging, which is gradually phasing out the inconvenience of having to talk with people face-to-face or even voice-to-voice.
Posted on: Fri, 05 Dec 2014 14:32:51 +0000
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