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Never heard of Jared. The other two were at the local mall but I’m not sure if they are still in operation. Many small Portuguese-owned jewelry stores have closed and they specialized in Portuguese gold. A few remain but I remember driving on the Avenue in the north end and every block for about five or six miles had a jewelry store. At times there’d be three or four and each block is about 50-100 feet long.
Now they have ethnic blocks with African, Guatemalan, Ethiopian, Indian, Chilean, Honduras and other country restaurants and jewelry stores, money transfer, clothing and home decorations stores. Ugly home things like lime green and purple couches, Jesus clocks and six foot statues, lime green curtains, and orange carpeting. I understand each religion and each ethnic background has colors representing their upbringing, but lime green couches with purple stripes are garish. I had bright purple carpeting but white walls with light purple leather sofas and chairs. One bedroom was my office with hot pink carpeting and walls. Looked like Pepto-Bismol covered the room!
If you visit the south end in New Bedford, furniture stores feature gold wood and purple couches, gold and orange and green wallpaper, and gray stoves. I used to drive by just to look and take pictures. Barrooms on every block, tiny restaurants and, of course, jewelry stores . I’d take friends on tours of the area and they were in disbelief that Christmas decorations were up in June.
It’s funny to look back at your childhood memories. My dad’s friend owned a jewelry store for forty years and it’s the size of one of my bathrooms . Six feet wide and about fifteen feet long, three glass cases, tiny office in back. He carried basic stuff in front and expensive in back in his locking desk drawers. Back then you didn’t need to sell via big posters and sample items. People went there to buy specific things and not browse.
Today jewelry stores are half the size of Walmart. Case after display after wall rack of cosmetic crap jewelry. One locked mirrored case of real stuff that looks the same as imitation gold over metal.
A few weeks ago I went to a jewelry store for a watch battery. The conversation was just about this since such garbage was in the cases. She wanted $15 for a $3 watch battery but I said it was too expensive and she charged me $5. It’s like business is so bad they’ll break even just for a sale. She’s not keeping up with the current state of business and the money customers don’t have.
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Anti-Semites have Small Penis Syndrome. The only known treatment is electroshock therapy combined with cerebellum removal. Fortunately, it’s a tiny procedure.
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