Middletown, New Jersey: Evil Food Circus Clown

We don't like the looks of this. In Middletown, NJ, reported on last month, an elaborate old-timey yet modern but not-a-mall town center will be going up soon. Maybe a good thing, maybe bad, but people sure can get emotional about a little extra traffic. The developer's soothing juggernaut of assurances has slowly but surely narcotized homeowner protests. We swear that some front yards once touting "NO Town Center" placards now read "Town Square - $3.7 million tax benefit." A man lurking behind the artist's concept display at a local Travel agency leapt out at the sound of our non-committal musings. "It's a GOOD idea," he said, staring at us as if we were troublemakers. He vanished before we could ask about The Clown.

It's ironic the Town Square folks are exploiting the hypnotic powers of The Clown to promote their development Gotterdammerung to community fence-sitters. But once the clown's usefulness is finished... he's finished. We know there is a good chance one morning we'll be making a beeline for the Dunkin' Donuts or the discount liquor store -- and the Circus will have left town. Look what happened to Seattle's Twin Teepees earlier this summer.

Throughout, the Clown handles himself well (though many say he isn't handling himself at all - it's an optical illusion).

He waits silently, shifty eyes darting between the Bulldozers of Progress and townspeople that would prefer he be replaced by a split-rail fence or historic barn. The Clown wags his red finger as if to warn: "Keep your eyes on the road dude -- don't be lookin' at me."

Time may be running out for the "Historic" Food Circus Clown, a scary metal landmark in the conflicted burg of Middletown, NJ (the same locale as Roadside America's corporate HQ). The 40+ year old defunct grocery store sign sits near the corner of a large expanse of highway property slated for development into a "Town Center."

Homeowners rail against the giant retail store project, fearing increased traffic and distortion of vanishing "horse country" flavor of the region. Developers and land owners cheerily point out beneficial tax revenue the project will generate.

It seems the only thing both parties may agree on is that the CLOWN must go.

The August 1st Independent, a local paper, includes a letter from Middletown resident Tarry Flynn laying into the clown in no uncertain terms: "There is no beauty or pride associated with a big fat, sinister-looking clown advertising a supermarket that no longer exists..."