Okay, my plan to post yesterday got completely away from me with a series of errands and having three articles again for the paper this week.
A longtime business (market and cafe) has closed in Kendall which is up the road a bit. People are posting about their memories and sad to see it go. We were only there a couple of times and did enjoy it. Like so many family owned businesses though, sustaining through the generations can be difficult; especially for the third and fourth. One of my “beats” for the community paper is multi-generational businesses and I’ve written about many of them. Two generations is not uncommon as the child/children often literally “grow up in the business”. This is a usually combination of struggling to make it as a “mom and pop” whatever it might be and therefore needing to use the business for day care/after school, then finding tasks for the child/children to do which segues into part time work. At that point, there is generally a growing appreciation for the business, a thirst to learn and do more or the other side of the coin, “I’ll put up with this until I can go my own way.” If there is more than one child, it can be split as to who wants to keep with the family business and who wants to follow another path.
I’ve mentioned in previous posts my career intentions had been to go into the Army to get the G.I. Bill to pay for law school and enter the small family law firm. In staying in the Army for a career instead, the cousin closest to me in age and his younger sister did both go to law school and took over the practice. Male cousin stayed with it and female cousin went the judicial route. So, that’s the third generation. Male cousin’s sons were not remotely interested, but female cousin’s oldest daughter is not only a relatively new lawyer, but also married to a lawyer. They’re in Mississippi and the daughter acknowledged the small – and I do mean small – Louisiana town may not be quite what they are looking for. On the other hand, they do have a toddler now and it is a good place to raise children. Who knows, there could be that fourth generation to step into the office after all.
