For those of you who don't know me personally, I feel that it is important to inform you that I am not a big fan of change. I have absolutely no fondness of looking back and remember how things were. As a matter of fact, I would be much more content in this life if certain things were simply just left alone in the first place. Please understand that I am not addressing my personal being. There have been numerous changes on that front since I've crossed the half century milestone, several years back, that I have been forced to accept, but my concerns and grievances lie more with our history as well as heritage than my middle aged spread and my recent dislike of staircases.
The bee in my 19th century bonnet and thorn in my 20th century side are the recent changes I've been witnessing in our local historic businesses. In the the town that I call home I've seen numerous landmark shops and restaurants falling prey to mostly yuppie outsiders, with high tech and hedge fund money in hand and ready to burn, buying up our local fare and land in order to recreate it in their own self serving image. Exteriors, interiors, signs, designs, landscapes, colors and most importantly... the names have become victims to vain attempts to make something that has endured for generations "better" in their narcissistic minds.
Within the last paragraph lies the problem. Point in fact, these people are not acquiring places that have only been around for a few decades. They are taking over cornerstone buildings and landmark venues that our great, great grandparents would remember when they were children and then immediately instituting changes without an ounce of respect for the history of what they have purchased. Right along with entirely no regard to the people in the community who might be upset that a beloved memory is falling to the wayside of conceit.
In all my years I have never been able to comprehend the human fixation to alter something that has been a foundation of a community's history since it's inception if not before. I've lived in quite a few towns in western Connecticut, since I was a boy, and have seen it happen in almost everyone of them. And it's not always the individual that is guilty of the action. Sometimes the local legislature will climb aboard "The Times They Are A Changin' " train. In my hometown of Derby I watched as the local government had every building on the south side of Main Street torn down in an effort to "redevelop" the downtown area and promote growth. Trouble was that, for some reason, the project came to a grinding halt and now instead of storefronts on the riverside that I and generations of my family walked by and frequented we now get to view three quarters of a mile of chain link fence where those buildings used to be. Oh well.... so much for growth.... it's overrated anyway.
Although the aforementioned is a terrible disservice to a township, I believe that I hold more contempt for the individual. That seems to hit on a more personal level for me. At least the town committees are taking these actions in an attempt to better their commonality. The individual does so only to feed their own ego. Please don't misunderstand me. I have no issue at all with someone purchasing a store or a restaurant that has only had the longevity of a couple of dozen years or so and renaming it after their daughter or themselves in order to play to their vanity. Rachael's that used to be The Split Rail, that used to be The Country Kettle, that used to be Manzi's Restaurant. Woodbury Convenience that used to be Daly's Express, that used to be The Country Express, etc., etc., etc. There are dozens of these businesses for the taking and no one will ever put up a fuss about what it's now called or even care, for that matter, including yours truly. But when someone waltzes into town and purchases Phillip's Diner and renames it Dottie's, acquires C.L. Adams and changes the name to Woodbury Farm, Feed & Power, takes over The Curtis House and decides it would be better to call it The Evergreen, they steal away something from each and everyone of us that call Woodbury home. They erase a piece of our history... our heritage and if nothing else the fellowship of our community. Even more of an unkindness, if not a blatant slap in the face is when some person or family that resides in our town commits this defacement to our populace's lineage. I realize that a good portion of my fellow Observers will not recognize these names that I have been rambling off, but I am sadly confident that the same thing has happened to most of you in the place you call home.
These people may very well dismiss my vainglorious accusations by claiming that they are only changing the name of a century old business in order to climb out from under the stigma of a bad reputation that has been attributed to mismanagement resulting in poor quality and service, but I suggest that instead of paying some company to produce a sign with a brand new moniker they could save a lot of money and my criticism by displaying a smaller sign, directly under the old one, with three simple words adorning it. "Under New Ownership" That should certainly convey the message that they are trying to get across, don't you think? Would work for me.... but maybe I'm just obtuse.
Another problem is that it's not just the names and appearances that are changing. It's the service and selection as well. I know that I'm easily confused sometimes, as my wife keeps reminding me, but just exactly when did it become all the rage to have restaurants limit their menus and stores their inventories. I have a lot of trouble with this fashionable "less is more" approach naturally due to the fact that less has always been less..... not more. What ever happened to consistency and choice to speak nothing of familiarity? Am I the only one left in this country that frequents a particular restaurant because they serve a certain dish that has become a favorite of mine or a store that keeps a product I use in stock? Seriously.... even McDonald's and Walmart have that one figured out for crissakes! So again I ask, when did it become OK for these businesses to limit our selections? I wouldn't presume to speak for you, my loyal reader, but as for me, I can tell you honestly that I would rather not have Chef Daily decide what I want for dinner because that's what he felt like making that evening or Tony the stock manager/barista at that trendy, remodeled newsstand, coffee, cappuccino and espresso shop pick my nudie magazine for me this month based on his preferences. What boggles my mind even further is not only has it become the norm to offer patrons less they are charging and most of us are paying three times more for them to reduce our choices. I suppose in that light, less is more.
I submit that this is not an insignificant matter although some may disagree. Places that your parents or your grandparents took you or visited for years. Where you hung out as a teenager with your friends. Where you had your first date with your spouse. Where you went when you felt you needed comfort or a pick me up moment. A place where you felt at home.... where you belonged. A place where no matter how long it had been since you darkened it's doorstep, brought to you fond memories and found a place in your heart for new ones to be made. A place that endured in the community. These places and names are not irrelevant and deserve to be respected and remembered beyond the realm of our minds's eye. They matter more than a recollection that will only allow us to point to where something used to be and have earned the right to be preserved over one persons pretentiousness. Strictly and Observation. If you'll excuse me, I have to pick up dinner at McDonald's after a quick stop at Walmart.
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