People who have never lived in a small town don't know what it's like to lose a business that has been part of the community for generations. The Northern California town where I grew up, for example, has an Ace Hardware that's been there since 1957. My late father, who never trusted ATMs or money cards of any sort, was such a frequent customer at Ace that the owner even let him use the store like a bank: My dad would swing by every Friday or Saturday to cash a check so he'd have cash for the weekend. T ...