"There's nothing to buy in Pocahontas County."

It's what we say when we want an excuse to go out of town to shop. We're all guilty of it. But we need to change the way we think about shopping here. Because, in fact, Pocahontas County has a lot to offer in the way of gifts, particularly at this time of year.

We may not be able to buy certain things here, but when our staff put our heads together for our Holiday Gift Guide, we were amazed at the number and the quality of the gift shops from Durbin to Hillsboro. And we've featured them for two weeks running so that everyone could get a look at what the county has to offer.

There might be many reasons to go outside our borders to shop. But there are some very good ones to stay here and do your Christmas shopping.

• You'll have friendly service and helpful people. And that's not just in gift shops, but in most of our stores. People who do business here are glad for yours.

• You'll find unique gifts that don't come off the shelf at some big box store. Some of them are even made here by our own crafters.

• Those gifts will mean more to the folks on your Christmas list because they came from "home."

• Much of every dollar we spend in Pocahontas County is spent here, as well, creating a community of consumers who rely on each other, just like in the old days for which everyone seems to be pining.

• Shopping here makes us stronger and more reliant on ourselves, not some distant business. I highly recommend the book "Jayber Crow" by Wendell Berry for a look at how local economies can thrive or wither depending on how local consumers treat those in business. I'm sure it's available in the libraries or in our local book stores.

The more we buy here, the more we'll be able to buy here. My theory has long been we can't buy certain things in Pocahontas County because we stopped buying them a long time ago. The more we want to purchase in local stores, the more we'll be able to purchase here. And yes, sometimes items are more expensive here than they are in other places. That's because local merchants can't buy in huge amounts to get big discounts and because shipping something here costs a lot more because of our mountain roads. Local merchants aren't greedy; they have to stay in business to employ you, your family and friends so that we can all make a living here.

I've spent a couple of Saturdays this year in Highland County to do genealogy research. I'm amazed by the number of people on the streets and in the restaurants.The town fairly bustles.

Sometimes in Marlinton on Saturdays, I could shoot a cannon down Main Street and not hit a soul. What does that say about how we care for our community businesses? Spending Saturday mornings in Marlinton may not be the most exciting thing you'll do all day. But you may meet up with a neighbor you haven't seen for awhile, strike up a conversation, make plans to visit each other later. In the old days, Saturday was "come to town" day for some groceries, tractor parts, feed and other essentials.

Longing for the old days?

Come to town in the summer for the Farmers' Market. Come now for groceries and car parts, gifts, lunch and more.

Remember that it costs us more to travel to other places to shop. Factor in travel, food and beverages, and spur of the moment purchases and the amount you've saved on gifts or groceries has dwindled considerably.

The thing we save might be more important than a percentage off a gift item, more important than a few dollars or cents off an everyday grocery item, more important than even a few hundred dollars off a vehicle.

We might just save each other.