You Can't Go Home Again (Without Some Heartache)

If ever you get it into your head to re-visit your old hometown, the place where you grew up and remember with fondness, be prepared — you might not like what you find.

Mount Kisco, about 40 miles north of New York City, was a sleepy self-titled “village by the brook” when I was raised there in the 1950s and ‘60s. But by now almost all of my childhood pals have left, driven out by ever-escalating tax rates and house prices.

My parents died years ago and my brothers and sister moved away. My eldest brother lives in Bedford, an adjacent town but I have no family nor close friends left in Kisco.

A couple of weeks ago I decided to go back there and do an overnight hotel stay with my wife. “The Mount” is only an hour and 15 minutes away from our home in New Haven, so why not?

Our first destination, for Saturday afternoon lunch, was a cozy joint we had eaten at several times during visits years ago: Jimmy’s Bar and Grill. It’s on the main drag in Katonah, another town that’s adjacent to Kisco. We like Jimmy’s because it’s a throwback, a blue collar place in an area that has become too affluent for such unpretentious spots. The owner — Jimmy, of course — had always warmly greeted us and then set about to cook us our burgers with beer.

But when we pulled up into Jimmy’s, we got a shock: Jimmy’s was gone. It was a construction site. I inquired at a business next door and was told Jimmy’s closed in March and is to be replaced by a three-story building containing 15 apartments. (I hope they’re affordable. But I doubt it.)

Then I received a second shock. When I googled Jimmy’s, up came this news item: last November Jimmy was arrested on a charge of engaging in sexual activity with a minor under the age of 17.

Reeling from this, we proceeded into the heart of Katonah. We went into the Blue Dolphin Diner, which I remembered from my younger days as a basic downtown eatery. But when I asked for a menu, I realized the Blue Dolphin had gone upscale, with gourmet prices. So we split.

Our next stop: The Bedford Diner, which in my youth was The Green Lane Diner. My buds and I used to enjoy the little jukeboxes at the counter and booths. Of course they’re long gone and this diner too has upscaled itself. But at least we could get some scrambled eggs without emptying our wallets.

I was beginning to sing to myself “My City Was Gone,” the Pretenders song with the line “all my favorite places had been pulled down.” And we hadn’t even made it to Mount Kisco yet.

When we crossed the town line, I quickly sighted an old friend — “Chief Kisco”! A statue of a proud Native American has stood atop a water fountain at the intersection of Main Street and Moger Avenue since 1907. There never really was a Chief Kisco; the townspeople gave him that affectionate name and it has endured, as has the statue, through the years.

Further down Main Street, a second welcome sight: the former Mount Kisco Theater is still a place where locals can see movies. It’s now called AB Cinemas, but what the hell.

A few blocks down Main, where we once enjoyed ice cream at The Goody Shop, there are no more goodies. A half-mile further down, the one-time Friendly’s has been replaced by some fancy burger joint. The burgers at Friendly’s were fine by us.

Coffee shops? When we got up the next morning after our Saturday night at the hotel, all we could find that was open at 6:30 was Starbucks, across from the Kisco train station. When we walked into Starbucks I noticed a box on the sidewalk with a free newspaper, something called The Examiner. The Reporter Dispatch, which I delivered as a “paperboy,” is dead, as is the weekly Patent Trader. The Examiner (“Small news is big news”) is a thin regional “newspaper” attempting to cover a half-dozen towns.

Headline: “Mt. Kisco Seeks to Catch Offenders Who Damaged Baseball, Softball Fields.” Some bozos drove their SUV onto the baseball field at Leonard Park, where I played Little League ball (thus a historic site) and created “donuts” while spinning out. They are still at large.

The police blotter was quite informative. Item: “Officers assisted a man suffering a severe nose bleed on Lexington Avenue at 1:33 a.m. The Mount Kisco Volunteer Ambulance Corps responded to provide medical care. The man was taken to Northern Westchester Hospital.”

Item: “A Carmel man was charged with stealing two 12-packs of alcohol at Rite Aid Pharmacy in Carmel.”

Item: “A Croton Point Avenue resident arrived at police headquarters at 10:37 a.m. to report a suspicious person. The complainant stated that a disheveled man was walking back and forth talking to himself. Police responded to the area and reported the man was leaving the area.”

This one really caught my eye: “County Police, Mount Kisco —Report of a fight in front of Starbucks on South Moger Avenue at 2:41 p.m. Upon officers’ arrival, they were told by three teenagers that they were walking on South Moger and one of them had a dog on a leash. The dog’s leash became entangled in the legs of a man who was walking by. An argument ensued and the man became physical. One of the three teens had visible scratches to his face and neck. He was treated at the scene by Westchester EMS and taken to Northern Westchester Hospital. He told officers he wanted to press charges. The suspect, a 43-year-old man, was located in the shop, taken into custody and charged with third-degree assault.”

Holy cow! That happened right where we were sitting with our coffee!

Apparently a lot of criminal activity in Westchester County involves dogs. Item: “Report of a dispute between two suspects on Radio Circle at 9:33 a.m. The argument occurred between a woman who was walking her dog and another pedestrian who said the dog was allowed to get too close to her. The parties were sent on their way.”

Item (non-canine): “A complainant arrived at North Castle police headquarters at noon to report receiving text messages from a telephone number she is not familiar with.”

Having caught up on all the important local news, I decided I wanted to drive by my former family home. I hadn’t done this since the day the Beaches left it about 20 years ago.

It’s still there! But I haven’t a clue who lives in that old house, and I wasn’t about to ask. I slowed down for a couple of seconds and kept on driving.