To the Editor:

“Contemptuous” and “condescending” are very strong words; one means disrespectful, the other snobbish.

Jon McClelland’s letter to the editor on March 9  concerning the future of Smitty’s was none of the above by definition. Inversely, Michael Nardacci’s letter to the editor concerning Jon McClelland’s letter could be described by a two word definition: self-serving.

I remember when I was in Albany High School, around 1968, how after a game I would love to travel to Smitty’s with my date. The ride was some meaningful together time headed to our favorite pizza place. Once there, the atmosphere was so friendly and comfortable, and the food delicious and responsible.

Fast forward to 1982 when my lovely wife and I became permanent residents of the town of New Scotland: Smitty’s became one of our favorite places to visit.

Entrepreneurship is a very difficult thing to understand unless you experience it firsthand. My family has run its own business for more than 80 years and I may be somewhat of an expert on it, having spent most of my life there.

Your actions concerning your own business don’t end when you turn the key in the door and close for the night. Your business is in your head whether you’re in the shower, buying groceries, or sleeping (dreams).

Taking a vacation becomes a monumental task. Just trying to get coverage to take care of the obligations to your customers so they are treated to the exceptional service you want for them, is difficult and getting moreso every year.

Your whole life is the business and for being successful you are rewarded with an ability to put your children through good colleges, have loyal customers, and hopefully able to pay the taxman and have some left over for retirement (no pension plan here).

Then there comes a time that you feel that life is closing in on you, not everyone has a son or daughter who wants to run their business. It is time to sell your hard-worked-for business and relax into senior citizenship. Live a little get to know your wife again and maybe think about something else in the shower.

It is the American way to be able to sell your own private establishment; it is your personal right and people should respect that right, not belittle it just because they have to find a new place “to sit at a bar for a brew.”

We will all miss Smitty’s; that is obvious. But to harbor ill will and indulge in name-calling on a principle of that business just because he took the time to try to explain his feelings to his customers is disrespectful. And disrespectful is something that I have never experienced from anyone in charge at Smitty’s — ever.

If Mr. Nardacci is so passionate about the direction of the future Smitty’s property, why not make them a better offer and run it any way you would like? After all, that, too, is the American way.

Marty Finkle

New Scotland