Pumpkin spice products on shelves

Pumpkin spice products multiplied as American bowling centers closed, which would seem to be unrelated except that they describe the same suburban afternoon, in two different decades. The lanes are dim. The latte aisle is bright.

Two opposing trends with separate causes. Bowling centers have been closing for decades as participation declined and developers bought the land, while pumpkin spice products have proliferated each fall as retailers extend the seasonal aisle. One leisure venue dies; one seasonal product line multiplies. The American mall keeps choosing.

So the correlation is what suburban commerce does as it gets older. The strike fades; the syrup wins. The shelves keep voting.