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Not only are stores closing, shelves are emptying. We’ve noticed more and more things “no longer being carried.”

Just today we were in the area’s largest drugstore, shopping after church, and overheard a discussion between the manager and a customer. She was asking where the matches were, and the manager replied that they no longer carried matches because with the increase in prices and the decrease in people smoking, they couldn’t make a profit selling them any more.

Lots of other things disappearing from the drug store. No more flowers, watchbands, camera supplies, small electronics, pet supplies, gardening supplies and tools, no automotive; last week my wife couldn’t find disposable drinking straws of the type she liked. They used to carry 4 or 5 different varieties, now they are down to one basic straw. Basically we are starting to look like the old Soviet Union.

I’m running into more and more of the parts houses running short on common fasteners and the like.

To get enough of say 1/4 20 1-in. around here, it takes a visit to advance, autozone, and sometimes pep boys for. Bolts will be at one of them but one pack, more bolts and some nuts at the other, and if I need washers, visit the third. Tractor Supply is hit and miss. I could buy the huge assortment packs but kind of pointless when I need one or two elements.

I found an outfit called Bolt Depot and ordered from them. No complaints.

Basically we are starting to look like the old Soviet Union.

In some ways yes but not this one. What you are experiencing is the blurring of boundaries between "drug stores" and "grocery stores" and "dollar stores" and who knows what else. We are well into an era where everybody carries most of everything, but nobody carries absolutely everything. A friend of mine bought some very nice china recently, at a lawn and garden store. They had nice clothes too, although she wasn't there for clothes. You can still buy matches and watchbands, just at a different store.

Lots of other things disappearing from the drug store. No more flowers, watchbands, camera supplies, small electronics, pet supplies, gardening supplies and tools, no automotive; last week my wife couldn’t find disposable drinking straws of the type she liked. They used to carry 4 or 5 different varieties, now they are down to one basic straw. Basically we are starting to look like the old Soviet Union.

Yeah, I've noticed things like that too. BTW, I talked to an online friend in France and he told me that back in the 1990's when he came over here on business, his friends over there were ask him to bring over various items from here to there because they were cheaper here or not available over there. Also, he noticed that a lot of cars here at the time were newer and people bought newer cars at shorter intervals. Today, he says, his American friends ask him to bring things from France they can't geth ere and he told me too where he noticed a lot of people here are keeping their cars much longer and compared to France, our infrastructure is crumbling. I often feel like we are living, in some ways, like they did in the Soviet Union of the Bhreznev Era.

...now they are down to one basic straw. Basically we are starting to look like the old Soviet Union.

The Soviet Union didn't have 239 different types of toothpaste and 151 different types of toothbrushes. The biggest problem I have is finding plain old toothpaste and a plain old toothbrush to slather it on. It takes me 35 minutes to explore the endless varieties to find the basics now. And they'll all be different next month, so don't get too attached to one brand or model.