I’m sure I angered, or at least disappointed, some amusement park enthusiasts with Sundays’ column headlined: “The Thrill Has Gone From Playland’s Aging Zombie Castle.”
Westchester County which owns the venerable Playland Amusement Park in Rye wants to ditch the 73-year-old “dark Ride’ and another vintage funhouse-type attraction and replace them with modern rides. I said that wasn’t such a bad thought, considering how dated and less than thrilling the rides are.
This would understandably upset the preservationists, who believe these rides are, in their rarity, historically important and shouldn’t be scrapped. Ordinarily, I’m on the side of the history-minded. I sympathize with most causes when they make sense. For instance, I’d hate to see the demise of Playland’s merry-go-rounds—they are truly iconic works of art.
But I don’t see the same value in Zombie Castle, which was called Laff in the Dark when it opened in 1934.
Also, I don’t think it’s altogether wise to treat Playland, which annually operates in the red, as some kind of museum of amusement rides. Frankly, except for the wooden cars that carry customers through the darkened tunnel, I doubt there’s few if any features left in the attraction that’s original to its Laff in the Dark heyday.
Here’s a suggestion—Somebody ought to collect these endangered rides and put them in one big outdoor museum and charge people to get in. The history of amusement parks could be explained and patrons could enjoy the rides in the context of the time they were new.

Ed is at it again!
I was channel surfing last night when, to my delight, Ed who lives in Croton, popped up on the TV screen. It was a commercial for Pearle Vision.
No big deal, perhaps. Except for one thing—Ed is 102 years old and still going strong.
Not only that, this is the SECOND commercial Ed has starred in. Last year, he was in a life insurance commercial, even though he admitted to me he doesn’t have insurance and, as a matter of fact, has done fine without it for many years, thank you. He does wear glasses, though.
What will he do next? He should have his own show.
More and more people are living past 100, but Ed is truly unique because he lives alone (he’s a widower) without any assistance and can still drive a car.
Ed is one of Westchester County’s true gems.

Then tune in today to my WVOX radio program, “High Noon.” We’re talking about the fake world, the world of movies, with Journal News/Lohud film critici Kevin Canfield.
Canfield’s going to give us his summer list of can’t-miss movies. Listeners are invited to call in at 914-636-0110. Tell us what your favorite all-time flicks are.
That’s “High Noon,” today at 12 noon, 1460-AM. Or, if you’re “out there” in the greater universe, log on to www.wvox.com where we’re streaming live.