May. 21, 2007 - 23:06 MDT

FOR THE BETTER ?

Recently we have been milling around on errands and took the time to go to some of the old neighborhood shopping places around town.

It is a sorry mix in some places. Some of the buildings are the old ones that we knew while growing up, like boils though modern excresences puff up between.

In the neighborhood where I grew up the buildings are pretty much the same as ever, only there is no resemblance as to the businesses that were there when I was young.

Some neighborhood centers are now upscale places where the goods are fancy and the prices high. You know when some one has been there by the posh shopping bags they carry.

And there, downtown is Larimer Square, a block that has been lovingly restored as to buildings, but fancied up and trendy as all get out. One whole block, both sides of the street. Looks pretty much the same, but Heiser Saddlery is long gone, Jake Hayutin's bicycle shop where I got my first bike is history, the used office equipment place, just a memory. Then there were a ghostly building or two that were vacant and led to musings as to what they once were.

In the next block on Larimer was Joe Alpert's store, Mom used to get my clothes there, quality was good and they wore like iron. Later in life I bought uniform gear there. Two doors from there was "Doug's Cafe," the name was nice, the fare dubious. In that block was a furniture store that in later years moved out south and got high falutin' and costly.

Larimer Street, the main drag in the old days but skid row when I was young. The pawn shops have moved out to the suburbs from there and seem to be doing well. Guess we'll always have pawn shops nearby.

One thing I miss nostalgically is the overhead wires for the trolley cars. Down town was a web of wires where the spiders of commerce did their thing. Oh, yeah, I miss the clang of the trolley bells too. Motormen could show their mood by the way they clanged the bell.

Any more seems like downtown is mostly business offices, there is a store or two, but not like the old days where everything was down town. Now one criss-crosses the metro area shopping. And the invention of the century as far as I am concerned The Mall is being phased out. What a marvel they were, where one could reach any store from the inside and had a vast acreage of parking spaces. Seems like down town choked itself by not clearing real estate for free parking. Now the centers around the suburbs are single buildings, set apart from each other, but they do have plenty of parking space.

Time moves on, as do we, times change rapidly, but us olds don't it seems. But sometimes I wonder, if all these things being done, are they a change FOR THE BETTER ? . . . . . . . . . . .

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