Later hours for downtown shops

To the editor:In Cape Girardeau to see a movie Saturday, I decided to drive downtown and check out Old Town Cape afterward. It had been a number of years, and I thought, "What the heck." So I embarked on my journey. After arriving downtown, I was so excited to see all the people, the cars, the cafes with outdoor tables (and filled with diners, might I add). However, all the shops that would be of interest to me were closed. Not one antique or collectible store was open, and people were lined up like days gone by looking in the windows of all of them.

With all the effort made by city officials and business persons to revive downtown, I hope the owners of the businesses that were closed on a busy Saturday evening will take note and figure out a way to be open. Maybe they could open later on Monday, or not open at all on Monday. I don't propose to have the right answer. But it seems that with all the effort made to get people downtown, all the business owners should make a concerted effort to be involved.

Good luck, downtown Cape Girardeau. You have a lot going on. And Southeast Missourian: What a neat building. I didn't even feel like I was in Cape Girardeau.

TERRY A. PARKER, Charleston, Mo.