More kindling

What is the best way to rescue a dying fire? Throw some kindling on its hot coals. That’s what happened this past Saturday. Part of my dreams to own my own gaming store roared back to life!!

It all started when my family and I went to an Open House at a place called Mom’s Morning Out (MMO) which is owned and operated by one of my wife’s friends. Her friend had previously been operating out of her home but decided to rent a space on the main street in the center of our downtown area because of her success thus far. It is a great spot within walking distance to schools, the police station and the fire department.

After we left MMO, I drove my son and I down the street to pick up my wife and daughter who went to check out a walk-in art studio. I parked right in front of a store that looked nearly abandoned except for a few collectibles in a plastic display case in the window. It was honestly quite pitiful looking. This made me wonder exactly how much rent was for these properties because I could not imagine that this particular store brought in that much revenue.My wife then said that she would love to see me do something that a friend of her family did in Turkey (yes, the country). He opened a successful internet and game café. Here in the US, his business model simply would not work. In Turkey, the percentage of families that own a computer and have internet access is still substantially lower when compared to US statistics. Regardless, it shows me that my wife knows where my desires lie.

Finally, that night while out at one of my wife's best friend's birthday party, a friend of ours told me that the gaming store he used to run games and competitions at closed down. He had dozens of people looking for a new ‘home’ and the closest place to play was significantly further away in comparison to their past locations. Apparently they would be willing to travel to our town which happens to be a very short drive two towns over.

Each of the above described events acted like kindling, bringing back the sleeping embers of desire. This isn't the first time I've gone down this path but that's a story for another day.