Buy local. Buy American.

Another opinionated day (apologies to Larry Felser. May he rest in peace.)

On Thanksgiving, give thanks for small business and this beautiful city we get the privilege to call home.

This began as an editor’s note intro to Bob Confer’s RetroRacer but it turned into a rant/soliloquy. Confer's RetroRace gets its own posting on the Express.

Buy American made and buy local. As the incoming presidential administration promises to deport 60% of the construction workers in Texas and make Walmart shoppers pay a 10% sales tax called a “tariff” on goods from China, it is worth celebrating local business as we prepare for unbridled inflation.

I’ve been working on a sort of quirky tour guide and chronicle of Niagara Falls anecdotes. It will include sections like “Friends don’t let Friends eat at Hard Rock or Drink Starbucks” as “Where to find great art in Niagara Falls” and multiple entries on things like which are the best wineries, chicken wings, pizza and more.

There are even chapters on Italian characters and a Jewish gangster and daredevills.

I could write a whole chapter on The Marketside Cafe, Mister B’s, Mister M’s, Mister Ventry’s or Viola’s steak and cheese. Don’t get me started on Mister. Oh and the best wings are Judi’s. The best chicken parm is Mister M’s on Thursdays (try the meatball bomb Tuesdays).

When we travel, we try to always stay AirBnb or VRBO because that’s how you meet the local people who tell you where the cool things are.

I could go for days but here are a few that stand out: We were in the Upper Peninsula, in Michigan, staying in Munising, driving our Dodge Caravan.

The person who rented our cottage to us told us about a place called Paradise on Lake Superior.

“Leave town head west to Froggy’s Steakhouse. Turn right. At the end, where it turns left after a couple miles just keep going."

At the end, we were standing on basalt, facing a brisk, cold wind watching an angry Gitche Gumee rage. If that is July I could only imagine November.