Changes

I walked into a great record store in Allentown to find that they have become exactly that: a record store. The racks of CDs that once sat in the middle have been replaced with shelves of LPs. They've had plenty of LP inventory for years, and it looks like they've finally bit the bullet and got it organized. Now, I'm a supporter of vinyl and all, don't get me wrong, but isn't that a little overboard? Is this really a wise business move?! At any rate, I went in hoping to purchase a specific CD for somewhere around $12, but instead I walked out with the LP version for $18. That's the price you pay, I guess, for large artwork and 120 gram vinyl, not to mention limited playing ability and sub-par audio quality. Or maybe that's just the price you pay to a guy trying to make a living off of selling LPs.

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There's a small homey synagogue a couple of blocks away from our house that went up for sale a few months back. Erica and I walked past it today, and I noticed it has been completely stripped of all Hebrew and Jewish symbols to make it a bit more marketable. The cornerstones with the building dates were cemented over because they included Hebrew writing. The rod-iron railings were replaced with new rod-iron railings that no longer included the Star of David. The beautiful stained glass windows were taken out and replaced with bland commercial windows. The big heavy ornamental door was replaced with a regular old glass door. If this isn't antisemitism, it's at least creating a dull place void of any character, which in my little world could be considered as just as much of a travesty.