Whenever I move to a new community, one of the first things I look for is whether there is a good hardware store nearby. Now, I’m not talking about one of those big, warehouse-sized national chain stores–though I have nothing against them and certainly shop there on occasion. What I am on the lookout for is a place that has been there for decades and has employees that have, shall we say, the patina of experience upon them. You might be led to believe that because a good hardware store is high on my list of hometown necessities, I am some kind of do-it-yourself, remodeling whiz, but nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, I re-grouted a shower stall once, and I can replace a washer, broken sprinkler head or leaky toilet valve when necessary, but that’s about the extent of my fix-it skills. Nevertheless, I have come to appreciate a store that stocks all kinds of interesting gadgets and gizmos even if I don’t know what most of them are, and I appreciate even more a knowledgable staffer who can tell me how to deal with whatever domestic disaster I am currently facing. Perhaps my fascination with such emporiums began when, as a little girl, I accompanied my dad on his early spring trips to Holland’s Feed Store in downtown Beaverton, Oregon. While he picked up seeds for our enormous vegetable garden, chicken wire, stakes and twine, oil for the rototiller and a new hoe, my sister and I would be draped over a stock tank set on the floor holding the season’s batch of fluffy little chicks and bunnies. I must admit that I was just as thrilled some forty years later when I walked into our hardware store in East Wenatchee one March day and followed the sound of chirping to cages holding ducklings, chicks and even baby turkeys (What is the proper nomenclature for a baby turkey? turkling? goblette?). My younger daughter, true child of mine, though 15 at the time, seemed equally entranced and annually made it a point to find an excuse to visit that store at that time of year. Cute balls of fluff aside, I honestly enjoy just strolling the aisles from plumbing to electrical to garden, taking in all the thing-a-ma-bobs and doo-hickeys and nearly always finding something that I didn’t realize I urgently needed until I saw it there. The clerks are always helpful and pleasant and seem to be able to tell when I need some serious assistance as opposed to when I’m just doing some serious browsing. And believe me, when I have a technical question, I want to be talking to a grizzled veteran who has clearly worked a lifetime as an electrician or plumber. I imagine this man (they’re almost always guys) retired one day, spent a few weeks around the house driving his poor wife crazy trying to find something that needed fixing, and then was kindly nudged by her into applying for that opening down at the hardware store. Now everybody’s happy! Yes, I don’t want to live too far from a decent mall, a well-stocked specialty food store and options for cultural entertainment. But believe me, when the toilet handle breaks an hour before dinner guests are expected, it’s far more important to be 10 minutes from your helpful hardware place than 10 minutes from Nordstrom’s!  Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader