The Wild just couldn't weather 'perfect storm'

I have mentioned the bookstore on the square, The Wild, in this space several times. It is a place I feel a deep connection with, as I was there at the beginning. My husband Rob and I helped to start the store together with Jane and Ernie Mills. In the planning stages, I was the leader of the so called ‘Board Meetings’, keeping those goofballs on task with my running ‘to do’ lists as they threw back Barley Island Dirty Helens and went off on irrelevant tangents. Though we parted ways with the Mills later on, we are friends and have seen the good it has done in this community since 2005.


The Wild is for sale. If no buyer is found by February’s end, the store will close. I recently sat down with Jane to discuss her decision to make The Wild available for sale. She referred to the Perfect Storm of circumstances that lead to the decision. She cited price wars over books among big chain stores like Wal-Mart and Target, increased competition with Hamilton Town Center and Amazon, lack of support for the Square from city government, a slow economy, corporate pay cuts for Ernie, and staggering out-of-pocket heath care costs.

The store (www.gotothewild.com) has always been profitable and could have taken on half of these circumstances, but not all, thus leading to the decision to sell or close. This would be an amazing opportunity for someone looking to have a meaningful, creative store with loyal customers. Thank you, Jane, Ernie and Fritz Mills, for your many contributions to this community. We love you.

3/50 project easy way to save the independents

I found this website recently and was completely intrigued by the oh so simple concept that is doable and makes so much sense. Ready? Here it is:
What three independently owned businesses would you miss if they disappeared? Stop in. Say hello. Pick up something that makes you smile. Your purchases are what keeps those businesses around.
If half of the employed population spent $50 each month in locally owned independent businesses, it would generate more than $42.6 billion in revenue. Imagine the positive impact if ¾ of the employed population did that.

That's the 3/50 plan.
When I started thinking about this, I realized that this project encompasses so many businesses, not just retail. Businesses such as: movie theaters, restaurants, coffee shops, hair salons, barbers, grocery (though there aren’t any independents around here, sadly) and health food stores, car washes, and more. Basically, as long as they’re independent (ie, not a chain) and brick and mortar, they count. When you look at it that way, a conscious decision to funnel $50 a month away from chains and into your local businesses and how many ways you can do this, it’s easy to see how it can make a huge impact for them.

I am going to commit to doing this project, will you? If you can’t do $50, how about $25? There would be large holes in our downtown and throughout Noblesville if these businesses closed up shop. They work hard and need our support. I want to say a great big thank you to each and every one of them for their dedication and commitment. And a plug for myself—if you’d like a ‘shop indie’ magnet, see my shop at http://www.cachet.etsy.com/.

Recycling bins are a godsend to mother earth

Do you recycle? Please say yes, and if not, make a commitment to start this year. It could not be easier with the gray recycling bins provided to Noblesville residents by Republic. I admit that I’m an avid (some might say rabid) recycler, so much so that I will save disposable cups and pieces of paper in my purse/diaper bag/van/pockets until I can throw them in the recycling bin. I twitch when I see something that could be recycled head to the landfill.
I did some checking at Republic’s website (www.indywaste.com) to see what they will recycle, so here we go:
• Plastic bags (Yes! Just throw them in. And bring your reusable bags when you go shopping)
• Newspaper delivery bags
• Newspaper and inserts
• Magazines and Phone books
• Soft cover books
• Office and School Papers
• Cardboard
• Boxboard (food boxes)
• Brown paper bags
• Aluminum Cans and Foil
• Tin and Steel Cans (rinse and put lids in cans )
• Glass Jars and Bottles (rinse – labels are ok )
• All plastic marked 1 through 7 ( Must be empty )

I checked on the plastics 1-7, since many communities only recycle 1-2, if they recycle at all, and Republic recycles all (with the exception of #6 styrofoam).
The recycling schedule is every other week on the same day as trash pickup. This can get confusing, as we have trouble remembering if it’s an on or off week, but we gauge the fullness of the bin and/or whether our neighbors have theirs out, figuring that they are probably more on top of things than we are. Hopefully you will consistently fill up the recycling bin and have a trash bin so empty it echoes. Say yes to working toward treading more lightly on Mother Earth.

Creating the life I want

(In this article I referenced a book in a sentence that was cut in the paper, I guess due to being over my word count, oops.  The book is Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes and it's one of my favorites.  That's where the term 'wild woman' comes from.)

I will be authentic. I will be true to my feelings and unique perspective on the world. I will make my voice heard, mostly by whispering, shouting when necessary. I will break through taboos of mainstream thought and collective consciousness. I will question. I will wait for answers. I will take time, unapologetically, for me. To light incense and candles and whisper prayers to the Creator. To move to music that moves me deeply.

I will listen to my intuition. I will spend time dreaming, then set to work to manifest those dreams into reality.
I will take long walks and think. I will be still and just be. I will paint a picture and not judge the end result, just enjoy the process and the joy of creating. I will check out more books by intriguing authors (and collect more fines on my library card). I will write in my own books, underlining passages and scribbling in margins. Through books, I will continue to discover my own unique voice.

I will be a wild woman, a woman who has her own passions and who is creating her own personal revolution. I will feel and love deeply. I will connect with other wild women and we will laugh and learn and lift each other up. I will constantly do my life over—if I’m not happy with something in my life, I will work to find solutions and create the life I want.

I will reflect on the past year—triumphs, risks taken, and unfinished business (to see a New Year Questionnaire, see my blog). I will create my new year on paper and on purpose, and I will become more of who I really am this year and this new decade. I will be authentic. May you be, too.

Krista Bocko lives in ‘Old Town’ Noblesville and loves to read in the middle of the night when all is quiet. Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes is a favorite book. She can be reached via her blog at http://www.cachetwrites.blogspot.com/.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
New Year Questionnaire
(I got this from a friend, I don't know who to credit)
Completing and Remembering the Past Year:


What was your biggest triumph this year?

What was the smartest decision you made this year?

What one word sums up and best describes your 2009 experience?

What was the greatest lesson you learned in 2009?

What was the most loving service you performed in 2009?

What is your biggest piece of unfinished business in 2009?

What are you most happy about completing in 2009?

Who were the three people that had the greatest impact on your life in 2009?

What was the biggest risk you took in 2009?

What was the biggest surprise in 2009?

What important relationship improved the most in 2009?

What compliment would you liked to have received in 2009?

What compliment would you most liked to have given in 2009?

What else do you need to do or say to be complete with 2009?



Creating 2010:

What would you like to be your biggest triumph in 2010?

What advice would you like to give yourself in 2010?

What is the major effort you are planning to improve your financial results in 2010?

What would you be most happy about completing in 2010?

What major indulgence are you willing to experience in 2010?

What would you most like to change about yourself in 2010?

What are you looking forward to learning in 2010?

What do you think your biggest risk will be in 2010?

What about your work are you most committed to changing and improving in 2010?

What is one undeveloped talent you are willing to explore in 2010?

What brings you the most joy and how are you going to do or have more of that in 2010?

Who or what, other than yourself, are you most committed to loving and serving in 2010?