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For Love, Not Money
Sue Smalls and her husband, Bill, have owned a little grocery on Rte. 35 in Delaware County for 40 years. In the coming months, however, it may be the only grocery on the road that connects Muncie to Richmond, as many others are being forced to close down due to lack of business and competition from larger corporations. The two have never taken a paycheck from the store, always using any income to pay the bills. Despite this, Bill refuses to close the store down. "I'd just die if I knew I had to close it down. I really would." Diagnosed with chronic multiple myeloma, Bill spends most of his time in his recliner in their next-door home, so the store duties are left to Sue, who has her own medical set-back: sleep apnea. A retired grocer, stock woman, and snack cook, Sue, who turns 70 next week, is now tied down to both the responsbility of running the grocery, which she opens at 7 a.m. and closes at 6 p.m., and taking care of her dying husband.
Here, a bored Sue rests her chin on her hand as she sits and waits for customers to come into the store on a particularly slow afternoon.
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