Looking back over my previous post I realize I was probably too hard on the people of Albany for getting excited about Whole Foods. Having lived in other places it’s hard to avoid making comparisons but there are lots of ways in which Albany and Chicago simply aren’t comparable. I try to avoid falling into the “person from a big city goes to a smaller city and points out all the ways in which the small city is not as good as the big one” trap but in this case I’ve done exactly that. It is nice to get new dining and grocery options, especially ones that make Albany feel more sophisticated and urbane, and as my wife pointed out last night, maybe the people waiting outside for the Whole Foods to open are also from other cities, cities where they shopped at Whole Foods regularly, and they’re just thrilled to be free from the clutches of Price Chopper and Walmart. As I said before, the location of our Trader Joe’s store makes it impractical for regular shopping but since I was a regular TJ’s shopper in Illinois it is nice to stop in every once in awhile to pick up things I can’t get anywhere else around here.
I don’t know why people lined up hours before Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods opened for the first time - I still think it’s absurd but I was wrong to pass them off as “bumblefuck hayseeds.” I referred to the locals disparagingly and yet after almost three years of living here I think I should accept that I am quickly becoming a local. I’ll never fit in with those born and raise here but I moved to the Albany area by choice and constantly pointing out ways in which Chicago is superior won’t do me any good. Please accept my most sincere apologies.
We now return to our regularly scheduled tomfoolery.
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