The other day, a longtime friend and fellow Staples grad joked — at least, I think she was joking — that Westport natives like us should be “grandfathered in” for certain privileges.
For example, she said, we should be exempt from the 1-way prohibition on Wright Street — near that gross office building — because it was 2-way all the way, back in the day.
She also said we should still be allowed to call Earthplace “The Nature Center” — because that’s what it always was, and really still is. Plus, whenever we walk into Elvira’s, we should not be surprised by the full shelves and lack of grubbiness.
Before it was Elvira’s, it was The Old Mill Deli. Also known as Kenny’s. Or Grub’s.
I came up with my own grandfather clause: driving both ways down Main Street — like from the pizzeria toward Thompson’s Pharmacy. I mean, Ships. Sorry: Tiffany.
Sure, that would cause a bit more chaos than turning onto Post Road West from Wright Street.
But it is a grandfather-driver-type thing to do.
Yep, there was 2-way traffic on Main Street. Plus a traffic light, Klein’s (now Banana Republic), the Townly Restaurant, and a Mobil station.
If you’re a long-time Westporter, click “Comments” to add your own ways of being grandfathered in.
And if you’re a newcomer, click “Comments” to share ways you might be grandfathered in to Westport, years from now.