I was amused by Mayor Roxann Wedegartner’s comments in the Recorder’s Nov. 30 edition. She invites all of us to come to Greenfield to shop now that parking is free in all municipal parking lots.

Wow! Now that’s a dream come true. “There is so much to do in downtown Greenfield,” the mayor was quoted as saying.

So much to do? Are you kidding me? I guess I could buy a slice of pizza, then wander over to Wilsons where the lights are off and no one’s home. Or I could visit a bookstore where masking is mandatory. No thanks! Or I could hang out at the skate park, but I’m not 15. As for that parking garage, I still have no idea what that’s doing there.

If I want to feel really depressed, I just drive down Main Street. I remember Ann August, Peggy Parker and JCPenney, and they’ve been gone with the wind for years, probably decades. Remember Woolworths and McClellan’s? Yet the mayor says to “come downtown to see all we have to offer.”

Thanks anyway, but I’ll be shopping in Keene, New Hampshire this Christmas season where there are department stores and where the parking is always free. Bonus: Free bags! I have been thinking about spending a Saturday morning on the Greenfield Town Common. But will the protesters approve of my pro-Israel sign?

Julia Duncan

Northfield