Cars

If you don’t have young kids who are currently in love with Hoffman’s Playland, you don’t quite understand the heartbreak of the news that this might be the local amusement park’s last summer.

Young Master Fussy can’t remember much from before moving to the Capital Region, so some of his earliest memories find him clutching a ticket in his little hand to ride the caterpillar train and riding around in circles to his heart’s delight. And since those earliest of days he’s never quite achieved the impossible height required to get on the antique bumper cars. Maybe now he never will.

The amazing thing is that such a place as Hoffman’s Playland even existed when we moved here in 2007. Similar parks had closed all around the country decades earlier. They were doomed by the rising value of real estate and the rising cost of insurance. But few people actually wanted to live up here in the Capital Region, so land was relatively cheap.

Without a doubt, a region that has resisted change for so long is changing. And it’s not just the bumper cars.

When we first moved here from the Bay Area one of the first things I noticed was the cars. They were different in Albany. There were effectively two difference, but only one is significant. Out west there were a lot more really really old cars: 1970s BMWs, 1960s VWs, 1980s Volvos and the like that could exist virtually forever on highways free of corrosive salt.

Those restored classics aside, there were just a lot more luxury cars on the road.

Seriously, almost every other car on the daily commute into San Francisco seemed to be a current model BMW. There were a handful of Mercedes, Audis and such. And Berkeley was overrun by the Prius.

Albany had very few of these vehicles on the road. Pretty much, my unscientific survey revealed a world populated with Kias and Hyundais with a smattering of other decidedly non-luxury sedans. It was a notable difference.

I’m going to get around to food in just a minute, please bear with me.

Here’s the thing. I’m not the only one who has noticed that the cars being driven around Albany have been changing. The topic came up at lunch recently, and others confirmed my observations. They too have seen a much greater density of luxury cars and SUVs. In fact, just the other day there were two such cars in the parking lot of Taiwan Noodle.

The cars might be the canary in the coal mine.

Change is here. And oh my God is it welcome. Instead of being a two grocery store town, we finally have some much needed competition. There’s a Trader Joe’s, and a Whole Foods is coming. We’ve got a bona fide wine bar, a cheese store with a world class selection, and a farm-to-table bakery cafe. There is real Chinese food, real Mexican food, and real South Indian street food. Plus, while it may be unnoticed to most, there is even a coffee culture starting to emerge.

But change is a double edged sword. Some of the greatest places in the area continue to exist in part because the region has resisted change for so long. I’m talking about our taverns, our fish fry joints, the ramshackle mini hot dog purveyors, and old school Italian bakeries.

The potential loss of Hoffman’s Playland has me nervous. Should it close, it won’t be closing because it’s unprofitable. No, it apparently still makes good money. It will be closing because the proprietors are getting old, the younger generation isn’t interested in carrying it on, and the land that the business sits on is worth more than the business itself.

Thankfully, I’ve personally met the younger generation that is involved with local institutions like Rolf’s and The Orchard Tavern. But there are many other beloved local businesses that could be vulnerable as change comes to the region.

Change just is. It’s the order of all things. We can’t stay fixed in time. I understand all of that. But take this father’s advice. Don’t take the things that you love for granted. Enjoy the hell out of them today, because nothing is here forever.