The corporate destruction of Austria...

Turning it into 'Murka.

Once upon a time, Preciousses, there used to be a country that was gentle.... nice. And they had strict rules about shop hours... not because they were mean, just the opposite. People needed their breaks, and the public's general health was considered a top priority. So there were strict opening hours for all the shops. And if you were a 'responsible' person, you would get what you needed while they were open. The last link fell today. And I find it in no way 'funny'. Or odd. It bothers me to death.

It was the Swiss who invented boullion cubes to reduce cooking time and give nourishment, just so people could work more time and add to production, the inbred yodlers... Anyone who thinks that they were doing people a favour hasn't done their homework. And anyone who has had fresh-cooked soup and one with cubes as base has to know how wrong the idea was. I used to be the soup king of this neighborhood, thanks to my mother, and believe me, you can't differentiate... the cubes suck it big time. My childhood home? Soup was a must, always there, in so many variations it would make your head spin.

Way back in the day.... stores were open from eight in the morning till twelve. If you needed anything, you were obligated to get it then. Because they closed from twelve or twelve-thirty and wouldn't re-open till two-thirty pm.

There was a REASON for that. People went home, and made the big meal of the day, the family came together, and ate, issues were discussed, and they were amazing. It was nutritionally sound. Good breakfast, your big meal at noon, and just a snack in the evening, because the shops re-opened at two-thirty p.m. and remained open till six p.m. Saturdays, the country shut down at twelve noon. And there was NOTHING till Monday. So you had to plan and try not to forget anything on your list.

They were iron-clad rules, and made you responsible to THINK.

Well, it became an encroachment. The creeping destruction of working people's rights, step by step. Suddenly, you had shops open all day, and people got an hour's break for lunch. No more family gatherings around the table, and their interactions, oh no. You worked. Encroachment, I calls it... and subverting family structure.

Then they loosened the laws and let a small group of stores open Sunday mornings from 8-12 a.m. If you were forgetful, like I was, you might have found you forgot to get a container of sour cream or something banal but was what you needed for dinner. And those stores upped the prices so it was a penalty fee for being absent-minded. Was ok by me.... Served me right, hey.

Then they went and loosened the Saturday laws, and supermarkets suddenly remained open till six p.m. No more 'weekends', you guys... and people loved it. So it stuck.

On Sundays, there is a supermarket at the train station, stays open from six a.m. till ten in the evening. That place is a scene of HORROR... so crammed with junk food, you would NEVER get a handicapped person in a wheelchair through any of the aisles. And for some strange reason, people think it is 'fun' to do their weekly shopping there, and it is a nightmare. Six registers, and if you can get out in less than half an hour for some small thing you forgot, oh boy, I want to know the trick. And can't imagine why most of them are so dumb. It's one thing for someone about to travel to get some munchies for the trip, but most of them are seriously buying a week's worth of groceries. The cashiers are just kids, and I don't want to KNOW how stressful their job is. But it must be terrible.

So what's set me off? I took a nap and overslept, woke up hungry, and it was 19:27 on my clock. Closed, I thought, everything closed. Shrugged, wasn't upset, can happen. The weather is so bad, it didn't really bother me.

And I thought, 'Hokay, will get a Döner at the Turk place over the way.' Imagine my astonishment to find that the square was hopping with people and activity! Because... the supermarket next door is suddenly now open till nine in the evening until further notice and you can get empty calories if you need them. How wonderful, if not for the people who work there.

No service on the meat or cheese counters, but hey, you can get wrapped plastic... if you wish.

And one poor girl was there who checked out the customers, what a thrill for her...

The 'geniuses' who thought this one up have to be corporate sharks, I tells ya. To my shame, I went in and bought something just to satisfy my curiosity about what was happeining in there. Everyone else was buying small items as well.

It was beyond 'disturbing', and the last staw for me. 'Murka wins, hey. Corporations win. Upsetting? You better believe it.

My last job in 'Murka, my lunch break on a twelve hour shift was TWENTY MINUTES. Believe me, you do NOT eat anything nutritional in that amount of time. You just eat some junk that keeps you going.

If the areseholes who thought this up think that they will increase profits... they are so wrong. You can't spend money you do not have. My purchase was EUR 1,38 for a can of tuna fish. Whoop-de-do, hey. I wanted a piece of cheese, but the Russians are buying it all up, and the prices skyrocketed. It was cheaper than a Döner. Go figure.

You don't always get what you want, as someone once sang.

Over the past couple or three years, I've noticed a disturbing trend. People feeding their faces walking down the street, mostly young ones. Thirty years ago, that would have been unthinkable.

People went home, had a very good lunch with soup, a main course, and everything that goes with that, and TALKED. And Austrians love nothing more than good food.

I could so relate to that. In my house, Austrian lunch was dinner at six p.m. and gawwd help you if you weren't there. It was respect for all the work that went into that meal, and Austrians are no different. It was 'fambly' time, questions were asked, discussions were held, it was sacrosanct. With lots of caring as subtext. And it was like that here.... once upon a time. It was information, fun, and if you had a person who could cook like my Mom, well, you wouldn't want to miss it.

Some assholes run on about 'family values'. Usually the clueless ones.

Corporate interests seemingly have decided to rip apart the very fabric of our society. Family is important. You lose that, you get mindless drones who will never see the queen bee in the hive.

I know that some people will think that is exaggerated, or I'm being a drama queen. But I know what used to be, and I know what it became. And feel sorry for the young people here who will never know that.

These measures sound so banal... believe me, they are not.