Yes, I will forever miss Carol Doda, the go-go "swing joints," the disco clubs, the Mitchell brothers, the Pavarotti operas where the star never showed up, the

Yes, I will forever miss Carol Doda, the go-go "swing joints," the disco clubs, the Mitchell brothers, the Pavarotti operas where the star never showed up, the old SP trains with their smoking cars where you couldn't take a breath without choking, the no-growth mindset that caused the City to turns its collective nose up as the tech boom began and to wave to it as it passed by, the exodus of businesses that fled high taxes and silly regulations in favor of friendlier climes, and, of course, Playland, where you could ride bumper cars to your heart's content without having to consider anything more serious than how to find the sun amidst the continual fog that hung over the place. Having been afflicted already with such grievous losses, I imagine the City will survive an influx of talented young entrepreneurs who seek to build great new companies and maybe just to have a little fun to boot. Having lived through all this, I can tell you, the City is what it has always been: an amazing collection of high life, low life, and tempered life of every kind imaginable. Today, it has lots of character, just as it always has. It is vain and fruitless to try to glamorize a pickled version of the things of a bygone era, as the author here does. We just need to appreciate it on its own terms.