When you read the words "Shop Local", what do you really hear? Is it a slogan propped up by the local chamber of commerce as some sort of obligatory business notion. Is it the plaintive and hopeful request of a small business that you patronize them so that they can keep the doors open? Or is it simply a good idea that could save you time and money?

It might be all of those things.

Because everything costs more these days and over our heads is the threat of harder times to come, there is good sense in making shorter car trips to get what you need and want. But there is a deeper reason for this often repeated appeal. It is woven into the nubby texture of the fabric of our community.

Locally owned and operated businesses are often the life dream of the proprietor. You know this feeling. You know the powerful feeling of wanting to be on your own, to make you own rules and to do something well that brings a value to others. Maybe it is you.

Pick a shop or business, any one, that is locally owned and for a moment put yourself behind the counter at the point in time when the lights go on and you are brimming with expectation and hope that people will embrace you and your idea and patronize your store. The first reason many people choose to start a business is that they have an idea that is so compelling they just have to embark on the journey that makes it come alive. Of course, some will survive, some will founder and perish. But they are all driven by the same notion.

Here are some rough facts that may or may not surprise you: 85 percent of all business is 'small business'. Those shops that sell yarn, or wine, or that offer shoe repair, or which sell records are the dreams of people who want to do something well and are willing to risk their time and a bag of money to make it happen. If we picture them gone, shuttered, we are left with the homogenized version of business that are the big box stores where nobody knows your name (or where anything is).

We need these small businesses. They are the aggregate that creates community. They are us.