Conversations : chainsaws, longevity, thieves.

So,
I asked him.
Have you seen a lot of fluctuations in your thirty years owning a chainsaw shop?

Oh yeah,
he chuckled.
I've had to adapt. Look around - I'm selling lawnmowers now too! In the old days, you and I wouldn't have been talking. You would have been up at the counter dumping a big load of chainsaws and logging stuff. If you had come in here in those days looking for a lawnmower, you woulda been tossed out! But you gotta adapt. So I'm still here. And when I'm not, my son will be.

That's pretty cool,
I said.
That you've been able to figure out ways to not only survive, but thrive after that length of time.

Yeah,
he said.
Still around. We used to carry five or six brands of chainsaws, now we just carry one. But we stand behind what we sell. People know that. A while back, we had two of 'em disappear off the shelf here. Two in the afternoon.

Stolen in broad daylight?
I asked.

Yep.
he said.
Security cables on 'em, but he cut 'em and took off. Police got him several blocks away.

Sounds like a smart one.
I said.
Well, thanks a lot for the info, and I'm hoping to pick up that Stihl 251 soon.

Alright.
he said.
Thanks for coming by.

The glass doors buzzed as I walked off into the sunshine. Despite the temptation, I managed to avoid stuffing a chainsaw under my shirt. That would not be ethical, and possibly not very smart.