Tomorrow is the 50th Anniversary of the ‘Other Mall’

Tomorrow, Jan. 7, is Colonie Center's 50th Anniversary and there is going to be a big party there from 1-3 p.m. There will be live music, food, and prizes.

As a representative of Latham and North Colonie, I will be boycotting the event, and I hope that it snows.

Colonie gets to keep its mall, and they even have a Hooters across the street. Meanwhile in Latham, they tore down our mall and our beloved Latham Water Tower (that most people in Latham didn't realize was gone until someone pointed it out.)

Sure, the Latham Circle Mall was a ghost mall before they tore it down, and it smelled because birds kept nesting in the empty spaces, and there was probably a lot of rodents running around inside the mall, but it was our mall!

That's not the mall I remember. I remember the good old days when you could go to K.B. Toys and the Pet Store that always had puppies or kittens in the weird corner display.

Some of us still remember Caldor and the Grand Union that was next-door for a short time. I snuck into my first R-rated movie at the Latham Cinema, and who can forget the one theater that smelt like sulfur?

Some of us still remember the arcade, Action Man Comics, and the McDonald's with the weird playroom and the ball pit next to the front window so creepy people could watch kids jumping in balls. I had 2 birthdays at that McDonald's!

So Colonie Center can have its anniversary with live music and food and prizes from 1 -3 p.m. because only people from Colonie are going to go, and they all smell like goblin cheese.