Monday, June 8, 2015

Wha--? McDonald's is closed??


Ethan wanted McDonald's for dinner, so he and Samuel and I trekked over to Broadway, only to be stopped cold in our tracks.

Something about the human psyche makes us believe that things are permanent, despite every indication to the contrary. How could a McDonald's that had been open since the dawn of civilization suddenly--not be?

When they removed the McDonald's sign, they exposed the remnants of the old sign underneath, which said "Teachers Too."



I looked it up online, and it was a popular neighborhood restaurant that closed in 1996. Barnes & Noble had just opened down the street, mom-and-pop stores were being pushed out by skyrocketing rents, and UWS residents considered the replacement of Teachers Too with--ugh--a McDonald's to be the final nail in the coffin. The UWS was officially dead!

And yet, we moved to the neighborhood in 1998, and like a lot of current residents, not only will I kinda miss the McDonald's, I'm also pulling for B&N to survive.

I think humans just don't like change. It reminds them subconsciously that they aren't going to live forever.

3 comments:

  1. "Change is the only constant" as my ex likes to say.

    .....I note there was a sign on the door. What did it say? There are some Micky D's here that closed, but only so they could remodel the store.... Maybe they didn't get enough business? Try BK instead.

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    1. The sign said "Try our other locations at West 72nd St and West 96th Street." They are kaput. BTW, when Samuel was about 3 I told him, "Don't go to Burger King. They pee on the burgers." I can still hear his sweet little voice repeating that to his grandparents.

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  2. This is horrible to hear and plus I live right across the street from that historic restaurant so I'll miss it very much.

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