first, it was dino's. i thought it was the best pizza in the world. when i graduated college, we went to dino's afterward. me and pinko would walk for hours, and then tackle a large cheese, dino's being the best possible destination. my dad used to take me there when i was a little kid. i went there on my mom's b-day, with tixon, on mother's day, on father's day, you name it. carmen, the owner, recently sold it. at least he wasn't forced to move by a landlord, or bankrupt, but it still sucked, because when a great place is lost, it is not replaced. man, what a pizza joint. once, i ate in little italy in new york. it was the place where sinatra and the mob used to hang. to me, it wasn't even close. dino's by a mile. the same for the north end in boston. dino's of brookline village; that was it for pizza.
and now, they are closing goodtime of somerville. the landlord wants them out by the end of the month. they are going to put up an IKEA, a furniture joint, in its place. goodtime was a one of a kind place. it featured dozens of movie screens, which showed every ball game under the sun. there were arcade games, food, batting cages, a basketball court, pool tables, cheap booze, no cover charge, no dress code, and a diversity that i have never seen anywhere else. people of all ages, races, and classes would come together and hang. many a night, me and my dad would come in and request that they put on a net game. they always did. for the next two and a half hours, we screamed and cheered alone, unmolested by the nagging waiters that normally ruin your day. we saw many a kidd triple double at goodtime. during the summer months, it was a great place to go for the ac and a sox game. i cut high school to go there. i went there with friends. i went there with tixon. in fact, it was the first place we went after we started going out again. and now, it will be gone, replaced by another gutless example of corporate america.
as we move along, each town becomes more like the other, with the same stores. local flavor has been replaced by the generic seasoning that is corporatism. and if you recall, a certain italian dictator once said that "fascism can be better understood as corporatism." all examples of local soul, all things that have spirit, that embody creativity and uniqueness, are under attack by an uncaring thirst for profit, and an indifferent populace that accepts, and often embraces, the mutilations of our communities.
i remember about 10 years ago, there was an old jazz club called connolly's right here in boston. it was across the street from the ruggles t stop, in a predominantly black neighborhood. coleman hawkins played in boston. in fact, i have a postcard of him taken there. zoot sims played there. billie holliday sang there. my dad walked in there once and heard jackie wilson's "a woman, a lover, a friend" blasting from the juke box. and then, word came down that it would be closing. a supermarket was supposed to go up in its place. the residents wanted the market, most of them likely not hip to the hawk relaxes, or the zoot record on riverside. of course, the market was never built. in fact, nothing was built in its place. i believe the space eventually became a parking lot.
no one protests. in fact, most people tend to see these changes as positive. they think such changes show that their community is "growing" and is now an "up and coming, hot community to live in." and most of us are blind to just how profound our collective loss is. for you see, the flavor has been lost, and because of this, we have come to think of the big mac, that is corporate america, as giving nourishment.
dino's, goodtime, and connolly's. just three places from one area of the country.
just three places that no ikea, or wal-mart, or burger king, or parking lot, can ever replace.
No comments:
Post a Comment