Original Casino Royale Soundtrack Album Found Circa 1967 Vintage

 Just got back from the Post Office sending out a find of mine. Yes , another Garage Sale special. The original Casino Royale  soundtrack album. Let me try and explain. There are people who one could call audiophiles. They love sound from their audio equipment. Exotic tube amps , turntables  , thousand dollar plus speakers adorn their homes. My Bose system on my computer they might well label as simply adequate.. I know a couple. Putting better speakers in my current Chevy for when I listen to jazz doesn't make it for these people. They can sometimes be obsessed purists. The unopened record I discovered in a pile of old 60's and 70's records was for some a true find. Again let me try and explain. The original Casino Royale movie was a comedy. It starred Woody Allen , Orson Wells , David Niven and of course Peter Sellers. If you ever see it one can  quickly notice that it is a movie made to try and fit the 60's era. The attempt by older artists attempting to be relevant to the younger crowd was a bomb. Some critics  found a deeper meaning to it all but not to a larger audience. The film score was by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. It produced a low level hit by Herb Alpert  with the Casino Royale theme. But buried in it was a soulful tune called The Look Of love. It was sung by Dusty Springfield then at the height of her career. At her death a few years ago Elton John said he felt she was the best white soul singer of the  latter half of the 20th century. Now the secret of this album.....she re-recorded this song a couple of months later and that version is the one most have heard.  According to some the superior version is on vinyl on this album. It has been described as more breathy etc etc. So a treasured oddity this recording has become for a few  obsessed audiophiles. I sold it sight unseen , as is. Though unopened one can never be sure what conditions this album has endured. After all it has to be over 40 yrs old. But it seemed flat as a pancake and the cover was well preserved , a psychodelic artist drawing of a Bond girl. You can Google it. I will let  John open it himself , examine the grooves  and receive his full exotic pleasure from it all. He plans to play it for his long suffering wife on Christmas Eve. Merry Christmas.

Hudson Hawk's Sangria

OK ,  by request my sangria receipt. The first concept  to remember  is there are tons of receipts for sangria most quite good. don't shy away from an experiment or two. Secondly sangria has been used for centuries to make cheap wine tolerable. So , my advice is to not get hung up on an expensive vintage.I often use The Naked Grape variety or  a red from Gallo....that's right Gallo. I don't buy a $ 25.00 bottle to throw in , I leave that for wine snobs.  Third is to remember that aging helps taste. 3  hrs of aging   your pitcher full in the fridge makes a real difference.

1. 2 bottles of red wine

2.  half cup of brandy

3. One quarter cup triple sec

4. One  cup orange juice

5. One and a half cups ginger ale

6. Half cup of sugar {optional}

7. Couple of pineapple slices cut up

8. One orange cut up peels and all

9. One apple cut up skins and all

10. Six to eight marachino cheery and pour a little juice from the bottle in as well

11. I drop a cinnamon stick in and let it set in the mixture for a couple of minutes , then remove.

12. Let sit for a few minutes  then stir slightly and refrigerate. Stir again before serving.

 Of course you can add other fruits like seedless grapes but don't go overboard , the wine is the most important part. If you try it I hope you enjoy. 

New Simon Templar TV Movie On Long Delay

Last April I blogged that James Purefoy had signed on to be the next Simon Templar known in fictional detective history as The Saint.  Shooting in New Orleans was delayed from July untill October. Then delayed for an undetermined time. Trust me I have good sources on this one. Arguements over script and Purefoy as the main actor and what various groups wanted for an updated character. Money halted and that was the final straw that broke this latest attempt at a comeback for the once well known character. So as of this writing this project is at best months away from production. I write this considering that my last blog on this subject received a fairly large number of hits. So Saint fans as was stated in the back of many a Saint story......Beware The Sign Of The Saint .....He Will Be Back. At least we can only hope so...... Be Seeing You

Blaupunkt AM_FM_SW Radio Discovered

 In early November I spent a couple of days exploring a couple of potential sites for further archeology  exploration in the Schodack NY area this spring. I also spent time in Columbia County in the Niverville area where I came across a garage sales three neighbors were putting on. I did a quick look , bought a small Ikea alarm clock still in it's wrapping . Then I spotted an automotive item. A relic from cars past I was familiar with. Selling for $ 2.00 a Blaupunkt VW car radio. Came out of a 1967 or 68 VW Karmen Ghia In remarkably good shape . I bought it. Later on in the week sold it to a repair and restoration shop in Oceanside area of Long Island. Made a $15.00 dollar profit. That's not this blog's point , however , I bought a memory.  My early work years after my Vega died a rather painful death of meltdown on Interstate 90. I needed a car fast and obtained a Karmen Ghia  at a reasonable price. Something to get me through till I could save up some real money. In those days I drove about 80 miles round trip to work and back. An unusual aspect of the car was the fact that the car radio had short wave reception capabilities. No one really pays attention to this part of the spectrum  anymore but it was once quite active with various overseas and USA stations. Now just so you know I have a thing about the news. I  have a mild addiction to the news. Growing up in a political family the news at dinner time was a big deal. One day I discovered the BBC on short wave. So part of my long morning commute became the news from London on the BBC world service. Most early mornings it came in quite well. This habit continues as I sometimes listen to BBC on my computer. Anyway , it is a minor memory but one that has a  certain independence to it. A rusted semi sports car , yellow , air cooled engine , little in the way of heat driving off in the early morning with a British voice saying this is London.

Andy Rooney : Goodby From Albany New York

Well.......Andy Rooney died last night. As I sip my morning coffee at my daughters home near Albany I do feel a sense of loss. Rooney came from Albany born January 14 , 1919. A few short months from the end of World War One. That is a long life. The thing is he seemed a man I knew though I didn't.  The fact that he grew up and was nurtured near from where I grew up probably makes me feel the kinship. I hope they lower the flags to half staff for atleast a day in the city.  But as I age and have gone in the last few years to more funerals that I care to count I feel older this morning because that World War Two generation that nurtured my generation has all most departed in total. There is a voice missing at the table this morning. A man I admired , read a couple of his books , listened to his commentaries. Now he is gone.

John Lennon's Tooth

 Yes......on 11/05/11 a tooth purported to be a former tooth of  John Lennon is going up for auction. It is up for auction at an auction house in Sweden. Speculation is it could fetch upwards of 15,000 dollars. This discolored tooth with cavities and all was the property of his former 60's era housekeeper. Being a potfinder archeologist of sorts I must say this fascinates me. I have sold a couple of finds over the years such as a ring found on AtlanticBeach on Long Island's south shore. But a tooth .....WHY ? Well .....various churches and religions have icons and purported body parts of saints. All sorts of claims are made for these items....being cured of a disease and the like by praying near them etc. To some ,  people of that era and other hangers on perhaps Lennon has taken on role of a modern type saint. I think that is atleast partially the answer. Something that brings back the vigor of youth and what it represented. Of course for some it might be a speculative investment. Lennon as a Rock & Roll saint appeals to me the most as an explanation. So it goes as society roles on.

Curse of The Mummy and ME

Well I have had to curtail some of my searching and digging this fall despite the excellent weather. I have developed an unusual health problem. I have a wart on my vocal cord which they originally thought was cancer. It comes from an unusual virus. My specialist at the Eye & Ear Infirmary in Manhattan has a theory as to why I have come down with this. My archeology hobby. It is a fact that if archeologists open a new tomb in The Roman Empire arena or Egypt Mummy Tombs they let it air out for atleast 24hrs because of latent bacteria {germs}that may line the walls. Many have heard of the Curse of the Mummy from the opening of King Tuts tomb circa 1923. One of the heads of the expedition died soon after , some diggers may have become ill. It may have come from germs inside the tomb or maybe not. It has become a legend anyway. So my various digs in the Moordener Kill George or into an old farmers landfill in my hometown of Schodack NY may have taken a toll. Or perhaps opening up old boxes stored away for years and all that dust that comes when one opens them to see the contents. Last summer I opened an old moldy looking suitcase discovered in the 06037 area of Connecticut. I am quite certain it had not been opened since circa 1948 or 1949. After breaking open the locks and using a screw driver to pry open the long closed case I received  a rush of old dust and musty odor in my face. For my trouble the contents inside were a balled up paper bag and an old  grocery list with such items as 2 packs of Philip Morris Commander cigarettes and something called a Bermuda Onion.written on it. Oh well. So , I will  not retire from being a  "potfinder" archeologist as the professionals call us amateurs. But perhaps an ounce of prevention next time. I have some more places to explore . Indiana Jones never had these problems but I never had to fight Nazis either. Be Seeing You.

Searching for Stone Tools Along The Moordener Kill Schodack N. Y.

This past summer some of my attention turned to the Moordener Kill stream in the Town of Schodack NY. I traveled along several parts of this ancient stream searching for the left overs  from the past. I found two stone pieces that may have been ancient stone tools. One was a piece of stone appx 16 inches wide by 12 inches long. One end appears to have been chipped away to somewhat of a point. This  might be used to hack away at a  carcass of a larger animal like a dear or even going back further a mammoth. I brought the piece to an avid collector of such items and James agreed that  it did appear to be a functional chipping  for use. i also found a stone about 7 inches wide by seven long. An all most perfect wedge shape. No sign of  chipping work the shape designed by nature. could have been used for a variety of  purposes.  The stone fits easily in the hand . These items were all found above the upper falls area near the Peters farm area. As has been shown in multiple histories this area was populated  by Native American tribes. I believe streams like The Moordener Kill were often used as hunting trails or used for an access route to nearby springs and branch tribes. It no doubt was also fishing territory especially in the more shallow areas.

In Praise of Brooklyn Atleast The DeKalb Area Anyway

 I was 20 yrs of age when I first stepped onto the streets of Brooklyn New York coming up the subway steps. I was visiting a friend while I was in the Christmas break from college. He was a Pratt Institute student engaged in the study of architecture. Both coming from small towns he was  a young man rapidly falling for the city he would make his home. I must say my first impression was not good. Still too much the country kid I was  somewhat stunned by the activity around be. From Grand Central Station to mid-town Manhattan to the crush of rush hour in the subways. It was early January 1971 probably in the later stages of   the { MAD MEN} era of the city. Brooklyn seemed  dark and run down in that first impression. The better days seemed behind this area....Dodgers gone west years earlier , perhaps a certain post 60's weariness had set in. Whatever. I spent the next four days getting to know Pratt and the surrounding area. To me it felt somewhat angry and depressive  and dark , a downward trend seemed apparent. This prelude now brings us to the same area only the year is 2011 on a warm early October Sunday not long ago. I was visiting the same said friend who made his home on DeKalb Avenue. Had dinner there with his family in his Brownstone. Afterwards , we took a drive in his new Prius , his 40 miles to the gallon new car. We drove around the area , there was activity galore all around the neighborhood. There was an outdoor October fest going on with long lines to get in , people in outdoor cafe's having dinner. People biking and walking and a young lady taking pictures with an old style box camera we engaged in conversation with. Some new buildings have been built in these past number of years since I first visited. A variety of people enjoying a beautiful fall evening. We also went past the new colosseum  being built to house the now New Jersey Nets. Pro sports to return to the area. I was and am impressed.  After our car ride over a glass of Applejack  I complimented Ron on having faith to buy here so many yrs ago.  It is a vibrant , comfortable , attractive place to hang your hat , to use an old phrase. Much different from my youthful first impression. Later on during my drive home that night I had a verse from the Bible come into my head. From Corinthians : Old things shall pass away. Behold all things are new.

Passing Through Kurt Vonnegut : Schenectady N. Y.

I grew up living in the shadow of three small cities. Albany , Schenectady and Troy ,New York. Three well know writers , atleast to some  spent time in these areas. Herman Melville author of Moby Dick lived for a couple of years near South Pearl Street in Albany. Andy Rooney of CBS Television grew up in Albany. For a short time Kurt Vonnegut , a prime author of my generation spent time in Schenectady. He worked for General Electric in the early 1950's during America's post war industrial empire years. A couple of Friday's ago I spent an over night in Schenectady. I was attending my nephews wedding. A highly staged affair that so many weddings now a days have become. It started at a large church across from Union college and ended up at the Glen Sanders Mansion  across the Mohawk River from Schenectady and near the old GE complex. As the evening wore on  and frankly perhaps one to many drinks and a noisy crowd I went out to sneak a cigarette. I am not supposed to smoke.  Anyway as I set out on their large patio area with the outdoor fire place burning and the people around me openly speculating about the cost , my mind went back to Vonnegut. Schenectady and the Tri - Cities area figured often in his novels. Though he sometimes changed the names. Player Piano being the book he used Schenectady and GE in metaphor form the most. For a moment I guess I became unstuck in time. I went from my present moment back to the boom yrs. The years when the USA was the major manufacturing country in the world. We had won a major war....our cities were not bombed out shells of themselves. Once everything General Electric made they made in Schenectady. From refrigerators to light bulbs. Those were the yrs that Vonnegut worked here. These yrs here and during World War Two were some of the foundations of what he was and taught through his writing. I admit he was a major influence on my thought processes. I believe from Vonnegut I learned about the danger of consolidated power.......Of arrogance whether from an educated elite , or people who inherent their wealth and think they were the ones that earned it. From political pols who live multiple lives to religious fanatics who do the same to the engineer who wants humans to behave more like math equations. I explored many of these concepts in my high school and early college yrs from this author. Schenectady is no longer the city it was. As a matter of fact I would say it is a shell of it's former self. GE is still here but only the turbine generator area is active along with some R&D and administrative functions. Most of the people he knew are long dead. Many pine away for those yrs. I remember fondly my early married life living in the stockade section of Schenectady. But I was just passing through , like Vonnegut. I was aroused from my daydream in the late evening by a bird across the nearby canal calling out as the last of the sun set. It was not a sweet tune like ....Poo Too Weet....it was a crow. CAW CAW CAW...........

Lung Health in my Hometown of Castleton NY 12033

 In last weeks Science Digest there was a report from researchers in England. It essentially was looking at health problems associated with living deep within river valley's.. Especially lung function.  It found in a nut shell that yes there were more lung and sinus problems with people living within river valleys , especially in the deeper parts of valleys. Well......that was no surprise to me. Doctor Austin was our local country doc. He graduated Med School in 1916 and soon came to Castleton to start his practice. He practiced actively untill circa 1970.  His office was located on upper Main Street in Castleton. Very near the Hudson River. One diagnosis he would often make was what he called Hudson River Gutar. In other words ,  a heavier amount of gunk in his patience's lungs , even when showing no other obvious symptoms. He told me at one point it appeared to worsen after World War One. He speculated it was the post WWI usage of cigarettes , a habit picked up while our troops were in Europe. Before that point it was mainly pipes and cigars. As a matter of fact Austin smoked cigars even while examining patients. Those days are long gone. Other factors were easy to determine as well. Up untill the late fifties people burned coal in there homes for heat. The Niagra Mohawk power plant across the river burned coal untill their conversion to natural gas in the early 60's. We still were industrial with paper mills , concrete plants , and detergent factories and Breweries within a 10 mile radius of the Castleton / Schodack NY area. I have heard older residents report that the foggy days are not as thick as they once were. Fewer pea soupers as they say in New England. Obviously with all the particulate matter in the air back then it makes sense. But despite a cleaner environment I suspect that this study has merit. Whether a river valley in England or the Hudson Valley in New York all places have their risks.

Dreams while in the hospital recovery room

Well , there I was last week being kept over night in the hospital after minor throat surgery. I woke up in a bad mood and was not doing well so I was being kept overnight. Around midnight I looked around the recovery room in a daze , addled from pain meds and other things. I fell back asleep. It was around then that I had an odd dream , not of some nightmare quality but of  a moment during the summer of 1970.  I am studied enough in biochem and know enough about such things as to know what this moment was now about. I had taken my English bike out of the back of the garage. Pumped up the tires , lubed the chain etc. I needed some exercise. I rode around my home town  , past my recently graduated high school. , past the houses of school mates ,  past farms and fields. The evening was closing in , I headed for home. I was tired but actually glad to be out. Then something began to happen........something quiet and deep. As I rolled up Scott Avenue I felt an odd feeling for a young guy who  too often played the angry young man role. I felt at a very total peace  I know brain chemistry but we didn't know that at the time. I stopped and leaned against a light pole. We had not yet modernized our streets lights yet so the light was a bare bulb with a plate over the top of it. I stood there leaning against the pole ,  The rapidly setting sun was red in color , off in the distance someone was finishing up mowing their lawn. The light pole had an ivy like plant growing up towards the light. The field next to me buzzed with insects. All seemed beautiful ,  peaceful and the years of teenage angst melted away. Wow this seemed better than even shooting my mouth off for some political cause. Time had seemed to stop so like a jerk I lit a cigarette to move this along. A car passed ,a Dodge Dart convertible. Rare. The song playing on the car radio was Joanne by Mike Nesmith.. You can Google it. So I finished my smoke and biked back home. The stillness lingered for a while. I slept well that night. Unlike this night as the nurse aroused me from my  memory dream to ask me if I could tell her my name and date of birth. By the way her name was Joanne.

U.S. Open Tennis : A Different Sporting Event

 Well, my wife Beth and I were comped a couple of tickets to the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows at the Tennis Center. Next door The New York Mets were playing a night game. As we waited to go through security I realized that it would not take a Sherlock Holmes to figure out this was a different sporting event. As we entered the bld a lady in an evening gown was playing a harp. We wandered a bit. One thing that venue has is great bars. I was able to get a new drink from a knowledgeable bartender. A Carte Blanche , a drink developed for the new James Bond novel by Micheal Deaver. So as I sipped my drink feeling somewhat under dressed , and feeling all  like a kid from farm country  in upstate New York in the small town of Schodack. So , as I looked at myself in the bar mirror I uttered words of  strength and  what I always considered one of the great movie lines.. I said very quietly to myself.......Bond........James Bond.  OK lets get to this event. We walked towards our seats , we passed two women , one playing a flute , the other doing  an Isadora Duncan type of dance. Nice. Anyway I have been to many a Yankees , Mets  Jets game. I have even been to a couple of professional MLS games and watch soccer from England occasionally. This crowd does not chant , do the wave , boo , yell , or generally get excited. What is allowed is a polite applause and not often. One hears the announcer request , "Quiet Please".  We watched our match , ate some good food and let the evening play out. Upon occasion , one could hear the crowd from the nearby Mets game. Ah yes baseball. So I visited the land where there is no tailgating , or raucous behavior. No beer and a hotdog crowd here. It had it's nice moments don't get me wrong. But as  we wandered back to our car , I realized that this was nice and interesting to be involved in. I am not a big tennis fan and was all ready thinking about the  upcoming Jets game  against Dallas.

Tropical Storm Irene Aftermath: A Different View Of Loss

 On my way back down to 11509 from the New York Capital Region , I traversed some of the flood damaged area. Towns like Windham NY in Columbia County essentially wiped out in flooding. People loosing so much ,loss of life being the greatest of course. But carefully let me sight a different sense of loss. History. A stretch of stone fence I have worked on near the Taconic Parkway was blown away by flood waters. An old stone foundation which I had discovered near there , washed away. Some older homes built in the early 1800's crushed by the torrent.  We can loose many things in natural disasters. Our sense of history can also be carted off to become rubble. A well constructed stone fence circa early 1800's  withstanding time , weather , the seasons , decades of gravity , mans desire to build over these areas. Washed away in a matter of a couple of hours of flash floods.  Not human life , or great material possessions in many cases but a signature of the past disappears never to be duplicated. I thought it worth a mention.

Irene....Dodged a bullet

In case any one is wondering.....dodged a bullet.......family ok.....house survived.........barely........ocean came up to door but not over. Going back home tomorrow. Stopping by home town.....some damage this far upstate.

Under Evacuation From Irene

I live about 2,000 ft from the ocean , Irene is heading up the coast. I am under an evacuation order. My little bungalow is going to ride it out alone.  Taking the grandkids to higher ground. Packed the car with essentials. Took one last look at the ocean. But you know what......my grand kids and wife etc  mean more than material stuff. So even though it feels weird to look around one last time , maybe. Love & those one loves are what counts. Good to be reminded. BE SEEING YOU.

Mohammar Gaddifi : Down with The Despot

 I have a birthday coming up.....and this birthday I have an odd pleasure. I will still be around and the Despot of the North African  desert country of Libya will not. Whatever rat hole he hides in it is a bunker without power. I first came across his name in my Government  and current events class in the second week of my senior yr at Maple Hill High School. in 69. We briefly discussed his take over of the country of Libya by the  then Col. Gaddafi. So as despots go he has hung around for a long time. Smoke now rises over his capital a good metaphor for his rule. He has been since my senior yr a  shadow over the world. Whether the Lockerbie Pan Am bombing or his threats of oil reprisal  this desert shadow stubbornly remained. But I think his worse crime has been his repression on the souls of his countryman. This kind of scar may last well  into generations. So now atleast whatever may follow his rule he is done and the smoke will rise for days ahead. When I have my birthday dinner I am going to have steak and lobster. A glass or two of wine as I celebrate with my family.  But you know one of my pleasures during dinner will be that I have in a real way out lived that son of a bitch.

My Hometown Main Street and it's Decline Part 2

This past week talking with a few people I was told that I made my last blog a bit to sentimental. They are probably correct. One of the reason for the decline was behavioral and social  as well so here are a few stories about  my hometown area that may shed some light on what the times were like in that sixties that I remember....After the sun went down the area could have a slight "wild west feel". Bars operating in an era when drinking was not considered such a vice. Local Pols would buy a round or two during election time. But things could and did get out of hand. Fights on the main drag happened with some frequency , the local ambulance was called on numerable occasions to help repair the aftermath. Afterall , there was only a part time Castleton Police Force and  at that time no Schodack Police  Dept. One memory I have is circa 1967 , the Village Inn  decided to have what was known then as Go Go dancers. They would dance on the tables etc. Bring in the crowd that might go to Kapps in the Hollow Rennselear. Anyway , this attracted the attention of a local motor cycle gang I believe called The Iron Horseman. For about a month that hot summer they made it a frequent hangout. Lots of fights , drugs , property damage. Our local cops were overwhelmed and frankly scared somewhat shitless. After the bar closed upwards of fifty to seventy bikes would travel up through town on their way to the encampment they had in nearby Nassau. Lots of Harley noise , babies awakened  , along with houses full of people. People got rapidly angry. The then town Supervisor Dr. Richard Drumn's phone began to ring off the hook , calls to State Senators and Assemblymen. Mayhem in our streets, pressure mounted rapidly. So quiet meetings were held in the town hall with police and political officials. The then State Senator Douglas Hudson was there , frankly tired of being awakened at 2:30m am at his Green Avenue home by the roar of cycles. A coordinated strategy was agreed to. Forces gather , State Troopers with County Sheriffs hit the Village on a Wednesday night. A long caravan with lights on drove from the Trooper Barracks through town towards the village. Atleast 10 police cars in total lined the Main Street. A long line of bikes and police cars on essentially a midnight raid. Tickets handed out , searches made a couple of busts. The message sent. Soon the dancers gone , so were the gang.....peace semi restored.  As the sixties rolled on  a more angry attitude was taking over America. Castleton was no different. Drugs entered the lexicon of things to do......speed being the most destructive. In 1969 our local hoodlum Walter Cooper turned a warm mid October evening into a near riot. People were flying small American on their cars to show support for our troops. Walter , after being thrown out of a local bar decided to burn a car flag on Main Street. Tempers erupted. Fights broke out , people went after Walter in a booze filled rage. I will tell you this , I convinced  a young man just back from Vietnam in August to keep the shot gun in his truck of his car. It was one of the truly most frightening moments of my life. Things were that bad in  America back then , divided and angry. From rumors I heard the local cops picked up Walter a  couple of streets away and drove him to his parents home where he hid out for a few days. But soon enough he and his small gang were back out selling drugs and the like untill his next bust.  Have not seen Walter Cooper in many years , what became of him remains atleast to me a mystery. Anyway these examples of my hometown main drag  may demonstrate some reasons for decline. People were all ready turning to other places for entertainment and drinking was beginning to loose it's charm with organizations like MADD soon to begin formation. After my friends and I left for Collage we soon found our hometown less inviting and like so many left for what we hoped were greener pastures.

My Home Town Main Street and it's Decline : Castleton NY

Spent part of this weekend in Syracuse NY area  , you hear alot of discussion up there of decline of the Central NY area. When in Troy later in the weekend one hears of attempts at revival of the downtown. I have seen my share of economic and social decline over say the last forty yr in the Northeast especially. But I have seen spots where cities and towns have revived. My hometown of Castleton NY has seen it's share of decline as well. Castleton and the Town of Schodack has many street names , Chestnut , Green Ave , Boltwood Maple Hill Road , Hudson Street. We also have a Main Street. It sits where Castleton began , next to The Hudson River and the railroad tracks. The town built up from this once central business district. Most villages had a small central business hub , some still do. Ours still exists but in a greatly declined way. The following is some of my memories of that area from when I was growing up. I'm sure I will miss some items but  this should show what was , most every place I describe  is now long gone. Standing as I did  recently on the north end of Main Street  I attempted in my mind to recreate this area some 40 to 45 yrs ago. There were 2 service station where one could get there cars fixed or get gas. Olsen's was there largest owned by Dennis Olsen and his father. They also owned the ABC bus service which ran a commuter run from Albany to Castleton twice a day. ABC stood for Albany Brookview Castleton. I believe it ran  untill the early 1970's. Further down was Garafalo's bar and restarant. They had a pretty good pizza. One story I remember is the engineer that worked on the Thruway bridge in the fifties would eat dinner there 6 days a week. Mrs Howe was a waitress there and once told me that he would work on his equations over dinner , his table full of papers. Further down the street was the Castleton Pharmacy. It sold out to Rite Aid in the mid- seventies. It was closed up and business shifted to Schodack Plaza. A few steps down was Pat the Barber. Open Tuesday thru Saturday. I remember the place being packed the week before the opening of school for that back to school hair cut. Lots of comic books to read as well as Look and Life magazines. Next to that was Bakers Supermarket.. Groceries , beer etc. Not alot of variety but you really could do your weeks shopping there. Across the street was the Methodist Church. Was there from 1898 till sometime in the late 70's early 80's when it moved further into the center of  Schodack. A few steps down was a dry goods store that morphed into the Castleton Model Railroad Club.The Prins insurance agency was there next to it and still is. Next down the west side of the street was the Masonic Hall. I believe it was called the Sunnyside Lodge. As is Masonic custom it was on the second floor when renting the premises. The news stand once called Killmers. magazines  , books , newspapers , fountain service. I used to buy my Saint Mystery Magazines there as well as The Sunday New York Times. Past the boat yard street where the Castleton Boat Club was located was the Village Inn liquor store and bar. Still there I believe.Across from that was our Atlantic Service Station.  The Post Office was next built during The Eisenhower Administration. Finally as you are leaving the village was  The Village Hall and library. Just outside of the Village limits was Dr. Kilmoblot's medical Bld. The west side of the street was mainly business , the eastern side houses and apartments. 90 percent of what I have described is now all gone  , never to return. Malls and chain stores , I90 Bypass being completed pulled people away. The town expanded east away from the Hudson River , people did their shopping in neighboring towns and malls. My home town Main Street died a slow death over about a 20 yr decline and as is with so many such places is a shell of it's former self.  Post War America stopped very little to consider what was being lost. It just moved on.

Hudson Hawk"s 100th Blog

So , it has come to this. According to my stats I have now reached my 100th blog. So with my morning coffee I set down to ......say what. I guess I will do what writer , director , producer Blake Edwards said when he accepted his honorary Academy Award in the mid nighties. He said"when I really began to think about this I finally had to simply say I need to thank everybody.' So I do as well. I have received over 4,000 hits in the past few yrs and have received occasional comments. People have allowed me to interview them about their memories. Some people have simply remained my friend. All  important to me. A few people have allowed me to explore their property as well as their memories. My wife has given me encouragement , atleast some of the time as long as I don't bring home to much clutter as she calls it. I even have a small but steady group of readers who check in to see what is new. To all I say a simple thanks. Whether  I write of an aeroplane landing in Castleton NY in 1911 or a set of sports car keys I discover at a garage sale I am somewhat amazed people read about it from me. I intend with some  of the time left to me to do some more exploring and piecing together. NYT's writer Thomas Friedman recently said the future belongs to those with imagination. This will create our new economy in the future. The more I look into the past I  have come to believe that I explore imagination as well. We stand on the imagination  of the past. So wherever this blog takes me once again thanks,  BE SEEING YOU.

Paul McCartney: As The Moon Rose Over Yankee Stadium 7/15/11

 Last night as a full orange colored moon came up over Yankee Stadium  on a warm , humid night I saw Paul McCartney step out on stage. It was an all most perfect night for a concert. The older crowd  of which I am a member and the younger crowd not fully aware of the total body of work of this era seemed mellow and  responsive. A good night , everyone got their monies worth. The audience was of course reliving a part of their past. but there was one part of the past that was missing. No , not Lennon or Harrison. Bad sound. A member of the band you did not see was there at the start of the stadium design. The acoustic engineer. We have come so far.....we have forgotten the past. Good sound was not all ways so , in many ways the rarity. The famous first concert of The Beatles at Shea Stadium was essentially done with only the bands amps and speakers.  So all the screams was in a real sense a blessing.....you didn't have to hear them play. Companies like BOSE have taken science and made it functional. Places like the Fillmore in NYC and Aerodrome in Schenectady NY began  to set a standard in decent sound reproduction in the 60's. Slowly this has been brought into this , the larger arena. Thank God.and science because it made for a very good night last night.

Pissing on Maple hill High School: Schodack NY12033

They say confession is good 4 the soul. So here is a story of minor confession. First weekend after graduation. Me and a friend whose identity I will leave blank.....................were going to pick up another friend. OK we both had a couple of beers. It was the first Saturday after. graduation. As we drove past our recently graduated high school one of us suggested we urinate on the school. So we pulled in back of the school and went to where the old Gym was located. It was after seven and no one was around. A few feet from a drinking fountain in back we let it rip. On this solemn occasion of minor rebellion for some reason we decided to sing our Alma Mater.
 On the heights above the Hudson , famed in history seen , stands our noble Alma Mater , gracious and serene.
Castleton will keep they memory ever in it's heart , may they teachings guide us safely , though we're far apart.
We finished , started to laugh and went back to the truck. As we pulled out down the road we saw a Schodack police car. Call it teenage paranoia , or perhaps we somehow had not committed the perfect crime we hung a left and went in the opposite direction from where we were going. Took another right , headed towards Gould Apple Orchards. Low and behold as we looked back so did the police car.  Oh shit. He was still far back , we speeded up. No doubt probably just on patrol but we wanted to get away.  So we ended up pulling into the Eckert's driveway and pulled behind a tree. The police car passed. at a rather high rate of speed. Hhhmmm. better cover our trail. So we took a longer route around. After a couple of minutes we both started laughing. A cathartic laugh , a deep laugh that came from deep within us. We were graduates , to many memories and I assure you not all good. Free at last , free at last , thank God Almighty we are free at last. We pulled over & continued our laugh fest for a couple of minutes. Lets go pick up J. We had in a small way moved on. I know  , how immature , stupid , etc. But we have both gone onto responsible adulthood , and most likely remember our farewell.

Moordener Kill Schodack NY

This is my first blog from a hotel , the Best Western at Franklyn Square Inn in Troy New York. I have spent the last couple of days exploring the lower Moordener Kill in Schodack/Castleton New York area. Met a couple of fisherman and 4 kids swimming under the lower falls. School is out and the kids so far seemed to enjoy the summer. Even in the later 19th Century this was an area of recreation. I have found old nails and such I believe from when there were benches below the lower falls. People would use that area to cool off and enjoy the natural beauty. Trust me I find that area still  quite attractive despite remainders of industrial use like the concrete pilings. On ebay I have purchased a postcard postmarked July of 1913. It shows the upper falls. Though written in pencil it was sent to a lark Street location in Albany. I can read a portion saying wonderful time , beautiful town. The falls were apparently a beauty spot of Schodack. I have  read old letters telling of people  taking their Sunday's after church in the gorge area reading newspapers and playing in the water etc. Probably the coolest part of the area to be in on a hot summer day. This went on even into the 1950's where people ice skated above the upper falls then known as The Dam. Also swimming in various parts of the stream. On Patrick Way there was a place known as The Grove. Picnic tables and places to cookout were there and many families and church groups reserved time . There was also a small store  that sold soda and basics of that nature.  Essentially an old fashioned swimming hole. Times have certainly changed especially since the suburban push began in the late 1950's , early 1960's  within the village and town. We were going from a rural backwater to more a suburban culture very rapidly.  This is why I have spent time on my last couple of trips , finding evidence of this past though much has been flushed to the Hudson river where it empties. So after a long day of this searching it is time for dinner and an early goodnight.

Neighborhood House Parties And Their Decline

 Being that the 4th of July is on a Monday this yr we are starting what we call a long holiday weekend.. The beach or visiting relatives , fire works , cookouts. Kids are on summer vacation. Weather looks overall good.  Good times ahead. Now I don't want to make this out to be a remember the good old day's piece. God knows we hear that alot. But one thing  I wish to write about before  my tickets to the Mets game arrives is about a memory I have. House parties. In his book Bowling Alone Robert D. Putnam attempts to demonstrate how increasing fragmented our society is becoming. How we are becoming a less social society and participate less in civic affairs. I agree. A while back I came across an old Look magazine. One of the things I noticed was an advertisement for  a charcoal grill. The caption stated excitement for your next House Party. Now there is a term you don't hear that much anymore. House Party. I am as you might guess in my fifties. I've got a long memory perhaps to long. But as a kid & teenager I do remember many more simple get togethers in local neighborhoods. Generally called House Parties , especially in the summer months. Invite some relatives , some neighbors , perhaps work associates. Fire up the grill , get a cooler full of beer and soda for the kids throw on the ice. If you had a pool  the more fun. One could drive by the various newer housing developments in my hometown of  12033 in the early evening and see the garage door opened a few lawn chairs out lights on and people relaxing and talking.having maybe one to many beers or glasses of Sangria. What is my point here is our basic social beings were getting fed. Increasingly psych research shows us that for a greater feeling of social happiness we need these connections. I do believe we have less than we did. But for many the loner style so treasured in film and social lore is a myth. We need people , connection. Those House Parties provided connection , simple function that they were.Honestly many of the conversations at these events were not deep. Sometimes politics but more likely Moms talking about what department store like a Robert Hall had the best sales on school clothes for the fall or who had gotten engaged etc. OK , to much boozing back then.....to many cigarettes smoked......to much keeping up with The Jones , sure. That was America back then. Like today there was no lack  of social critics. But somewhere we sunk into a deeper quiet than is in my opinion  been healthy for us on a personal level or The Body Politic as we used to say.   But frankly BSing on a summer evening or even a mid -February gathering in a living room had real benefit. Nothing terribly formal mind you but you stayed within a construct of a community. Felt a part of something bigger than you. Now off my Soap box. Enjoy the weekend.

JC Whitney Basic Car Air Conditioner Discovered

JC Whitney was and is a mail order car parts company I believe based out of Chicago. Their catalog ordering kept many an old car going or improved. Ordered VW parts from them many yrs ago. At a Garage Sale near Baldwin NY I discovered for sale at $.50 a really unusual and  odd Whitney product from the late 50's , early 60's. It was a car ice cube air conditioner. The ladies who were selling noticed my attention to the item. One came over and asked me what the heck it was. It had come from her Fathers garage  who had passed away this past February. I explained what it was , how it worked. I explained that I actually knew a {red neck] who had one . She offered to give it to me.....I declined. This is how this most basic of air conditioners worked. Once mounted somewhere on dash board of your car and the direct current wire attached to a hotwire  under the dash one would fill the tray container with ice cubes. Flick the switch and on would come the fan. The air would blow over the ice cooling it down  and put cooler air into the car.  It actually did work to some degree. Anyway , it came out as a novelty product when car air conditioning began to come into the market. In the 50's when air conditioning began to take over from fans or a shady porch it was an expensive item. But with increased traffic flow and more "traffic jams" it rapidly became a prized option. As we know today it is practically standard equipment on most cars. So , a short  trip back to  mail order automotive  artifact time. Car stuff always fascinates me even this stuff.

Three Young Guys in a Bar

 I have just finished the book Fire and Rain. It was a look back at the year 1970 and what was happening in music and culture. Many things were beginning to change that year after the 1960's had marched through. I have been fascinated by this time period as well....have written some about that period. So many things were quickly passing , so much building. Unless you were there or sort of there it is hard to explain what currents were weaving through society at that moment. So I present this story as a micro look at that time , about midway through that year. One cannot be sure but I think it has the sort of  personal history that may reflect the developing mood across a nation which was quite weary at that moment.  It begins ....there are three young guys in a bar. They are at best nominal of  any faith. But as many jokes go a Catholic a Jew and a Protestant. the bar is Garafalo's Bar in Castleton N.Y. 12033. Long now closed. It is mid July. They sit in a booth nursing their Budweiser beers. The door to the bar is open as it is humid. Something not allowed anymore because of health laws.  A 1966 Ford Falcon with a loud exhaust  passes by and then burns rubber at the stop light. These guys have known each other since early elementary school.. They are unusually quiet. The afterglow of High School Graduation has passed , all the graduation parties done  , gifts received and congratulations given. Summer jobs are here. One remarks that after waiting for so long to graduate the feeling goes so quickly. We will not be going back....which we all agreed was a very good thing. I remarked that the past year was the only year  I actually enjoyed for yrs. As a matter of fact I had returned home from another school and to be honest come back from a sort of private edge , my past year with a little help from  my friends turned out to keep me focused and I was indeed changing toward a more adult outlook. Though I would not admit it at the time. College beckoned us all. We planned some adventures but we were indeed going to new places. Then one of us said........I am sick of the sixties.....the arguing .......the war.......protests .....riots........Jesus  will things ever quiet down. We were quiet for a moment ,  Then we all agreed. We seemed to feel fatigue , a situational fatigue. We did not know it of course but people like Morrison would be dead within a couple of years. Hendrix had only a couple of more months on this earth. Our high school era was really ending.. The Beatles had split in the spring. What had anchored us was leaving. We didn't say that of course more of a gut feeling. Society was turning , Kent State shootings were a watershed for many of us. We did not realize it but we were responding to our young national cultural mood. So were it seems many young people. College campus's were becoming rapidly more quiet , The Nixon Administration was in charge ,  Woodstock seemed a long ago event that night though it was less than a year before. It is not that we suddenly lost our wise ass adolescent  edge but we were somehow looking at a bottom line. We were going to be something else. That night we began to talk about some of what we wanted to accomplish. College and careers. One of us was within two years of meeting his future wife which would have shook  us to the core if we knew something like that. I bought a round ,  and we talked some more. A discussion of  the future , the kind of discussion America was having it appears. By the next New Years  we looked alot different from say the recent ball busting American year of 1968. I think our quiet thoughtful talk that night was happening all over.....reevaluation ........all most in a semi conscious way. America of that present  a few short months after a new decade was rung in was moving as perhaps America does best quickly. We don't have as a people alot of patience. Not then and not now. This conversation stayed with me all these years. At Garaflo's that night we  may have put a foot into our next life. As our society was as well. It was nice to do it with my friends.

Jim Morrison : You've Been Dead A Long Time

 On a recent trip to my home town , I stopped by  one of our local cemeteries. I promised my cousin I would stop by and "pay my respects" to a family friend who had recently passed away. By the way , I hate cemeteries  and funerals as well. But a promise is a promise. After a short search , found it stood there for a couple of minutes. Thought about their life for a moment. As I was walking out I passed the grave of an old classmate which caused me a moments delay. I kept walking and then stopped. An odd artifact of sorts on the ground in front of me. Reached down , picked it up. An old Doors LP or as we called them a record. It was weather worn but the label could still be read. It was their first album I believe....the one that featured Light my Fire. Came out around 1967 I believe. The shorter version of light my fire became the big hit of that long ago summer. My first real kiss occurred that summer.....while that song played on the radio. East Hampton Connecticut in July of 1967 while on a  visit to my aunt & uncle's home summer home. Amazing how a memory can be jogged out of ones mind. What this record was doing there , who knows. People do leave all sorts of things on graves for the dead. But of course it is a way to comfort ones self.  Morrison would of course die in July of 1971....purported drug overdose. He is buried in a much different place than a small local cemetery in Schodack , NY. He was buried in the Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. My daughter while on a semesters study in Italy stopped by his grave while on a visit to the city of light. Believe it or not it is one of the top 10 most visited sites in Paris. Not forgotten after all these yrs. A best selling post card you can buy is Morrison's grave. Imagine that....Jim Morrison's grave up there with National attractions like the Eiffel Tower.  A sustained memory , part talent , part illusion , part lost memory , like along ago lost kiss. I never saw The Doors play live except on the Sullivan Show. Owned their music.  Part of a young life at the time. But the yrs have gone by , you have been dead a long time. I placed the album down on the ground where I found it and continued on my way out.

Schodack Valley Spring / Schodack N.Y. 12033

 I spent the last few days doing some research and  collecting near and around The Moordenkill stream in and around the Castleton / Schodack township area. An interesting area which I have been itching to explore in more detail for quite a while. I received a good room deal at the Franklin Square Inn  in Troy , NY so I had a good set of digs from which to set off from. Spent a long day in the Moordenkill Gorge  , photos , some interesting rock finds which I may discuss at another time. On one of my passes along Schodack Valley road I passed  a small abandoned dwelling. A few minutes later my memory was jogged. I went back took out the Vietnam Style Tomahawk I have in my bag  and chopped away some trees of paradise. There it was , a once famous spring in this area. Old field notes would provide more history. This spring has been active for well over a century. Generally it has been referred to as the Schodack Valley Spring.  Old interviews in the sixties and early seventies revealed that this was a well traveled road 70 plus yrs ago. When horses were still used for farming or teams of oxen it was stated to me that no animal would pass by this roadside spring without drinking their full. Many people would travel to it for drinking water as it was considered widely as a very sweet spring. It was even considered in a strange way to be a health drink. If one had a sick animal that wasn't eating well a pale of this water could be restorative. As the yrs passed it was used for many people as a good drinking water and was used in apple cider making. I  have even talked with WWII vets who told me it was a sobbering up place when that generation finished up their night on the town so to speak. A couple of slurps of water , throw some on you face you felt more sobber already. Hence my last previous visit to this watering hole. Circa July or August in the yr 1970. I and a couple of friends stopped by for a late night drink and a cold splash on the face.That is an old memory. But remember young drinking was not as frowned upon as it is now by  various parts of society. Anyway it appears that this spring going into an old barrel is not  as nearly used at it once was. I can't vouch for it's purity but I did take a short drink and threw some water on my face and sunburned red neck. So far no ill effects. These sort of springs are neglected in many areas but were once where communities might form around with a reliable source of good healthy water. If I was going to start a business today I might buy that property and start a spring water company.....God knows how many spring waters are on the market but this might have been worth the risk capitol.

Walking the Fields of Carnage

 Last week with my Pal Marty Rumpole we traveled Civil War Battlefields of Gettysburg and Antietam. Quick stop off in Harper's Ferry. I did my major time at Gettysburg. Bike tour of the battlefield with a guide Walked Pickett's Charge. Absorbed the history from the Guide and he really knew his history. Little Round Top , Devils Den came fully alive with a good guide. What moved me the most was our early evening walk of the open field of the final charge of the battle. It has become known as Pickett's Charge. I walked it both ways from the Union lines and the high water mark to the statue of General Lee & back again. By the way a note the field is full of ticks so beware. In that walk through the muck and humidity of that field I became moved by the fact I was stepping on ground where dead men once lay. The carnage of over a mile in length with precious little cover. Essentially only a few fences. Under constant fire. War........what we have done & continue to do to one another. Marty and I grew quiet the further we walked. All the facts we knew , all the books read. That sometimes can not  really tell the story. Sometimes a simple walk is a book within itself. After we finished I felt a sense of  being alone as darkness was rapidly falling. Missed the wife I guess.

The Saint Will Be Back : James Purefoy As Templar

 I was informed last night by Feed Blitz that the actor James Purefoy has been once again selected to be the famous Simon Templar. He was scheduled to do the role a couple of yrs ago but they say complications intervened etc etc . So the  filming is scheduled to begin apparently this July in New Orleans. As a minor league history guy why does this interest me , a TV movie of an old semi forgotten sleuth. Well first , I like old time detective fiction. Maltese Falcon , The Thin Man etc. My dog is named after Dashiell Hammet the author of many classics of the genre. But it occurred  to me late last night perhaps something slightly more interesting is going on , at least to me. A new James Bond novel is due out next month by Jeffrey Deaver , a new  Saint novel is being worked on by Burl Baer. James Bond movie # 23 is soon to start production and is due out in 11/12. Last and I hope not least it has been reported that Johnny Depp has signed on to do the next reincarnation of The Thin Man. The first Saint novel published in 1928 , Bond 1951 , The Thin Man 1932 I believe. All 3 authors long dead. So why do we as a segment of society keep going back to characters  such as these ?  I have actually given this topic some thought. Both in my career & life I have seen in people deal with all the changes that have been piled on in the last few yrs. As a matter of fact I myself am sick of phrases such as "you have got to embrace change". Bullshit ! I have had my share of change , liked some , dealt with some but I will embrace what I choose to embrace. These figures from the secret agent past  perhaps shows us folks a figure who despite danger feels comfortable in their skin and continue to be as they are. They do as all ways give us escape. To give a strained metaphor they are our lighted lamp post in the night we can lean against , light a cigarette ,  take a breath and continue our walk down  the troubled street ahead. I told you it was strained.

Amsler's Penny Candy Store Castleton N.Y. 12033

 I was up to the Albany N.Y. area this week finalizing travel plans to Gettysburg with my friend Marty the lawyer known affectionately as Rumpole to friend and foe alike. Anyway on the way back I could not resist a stop over in my hometown of Schodack. I wanted to take a look at a spot on the Moordeners  Kill that I have a plan on doing some exploratory work  this or next summer. It was Spring Break , kids were off from school so many younger kids were out and about in the town despite it being a rather chilly late April day. I remembered a recent conversation with a long time resident about our mutual school days and she mentioned Amslers store. Located on Ransom Street located in the Village. On one side of Ransom Avenue is essentially a couple of corner houses a Telephone Bld and the rest is parking  lot & playing fields of Castleton Elementary School. The other side essentially houses , former Ray Funeral Home and Amsler's store were located on that side of the street. Ransom is a common looking street that most Americans would feel reasonably comfortable around. As of around 4 yrs ago the old bld still stood looking much like an old garage painted a mustard brown. This was a hub of many kids and teenagers lives from the 40's to appx the mid 60's. It was sort of an old basic general store , few basic groceries , beer , cigarettes ,  newspapers , penny candy. In the evenings a few locals might have a card game going on. I have been told basic philosophy was also dispensed by old man Amsler. But I can tell you , going there as a kid was in a real sense a right of passage. When you were deemed old enough to ride your bike to that place you   had obtained a new stature. I remember going there with Steven Ennis with a dime between us and carefully selecting our candy stash. To be honest I also bought cigarettes for my Mom....Kool was her brand. There was a time there was no age limit for buying cigarettes. Kids bought their cigs there all the time. I believe it cost around a quarter a pack back then. Oddly one of my favorite candies back then still is in use in my home today. Atomic Fireballs. By the way back in those old days they were much hotter. I remember some kids essentially getting chemical type burns in there cheeks from over use. But this was our central meeting place as kids , in the summer we caught up on kid type news of who was doing what , count down to return to school and what teachers we faced in the next grade. This store was our version of our street corner , our facebook and or e-mail. Certain little rituals were created like finale soda of the summer. Steven Ennis and I became blood brothers in the back of Amsler's , a ritual many kids did involving cutting ones self and pressing the cuts together to join the blood. This was witnessed by 5 other kids with a certain solemness. Mr. Amsler died  circa mid sixties and the store soon closed. It was missed.........since I was in town I drove past the site of where it was. A small garage storage type bld now sits where it once was. One would never know what a central place this once was. Anyway I soon was off to check out an old VW bug that was for sale on Maple Hill Rd.  A Super Beetle as a matter of fact..........later in the early evening as I traveled towards  home in 11509. That area is a nice area near the ocean but interestingly all most every house has a fence around it. Few know their neighbors well and frankly probably don't want to. The local coffee shop "The Korner Kitchen" is a friendly enough place but it is a quick in and; out type shop. Very little conversation. Nobody hanging out for long , so has gone our society.

Jefferson's Birthday Today 4/13/11

We do not have Jefferson's Birthday Sales at Sears & Macy's. This day only gets a humble mention on line or on the back pages of The Times & will it be mentioned in our schools today ? Perhaps at Mr. Jefferson's School in Virginia. He was a man of contradictions , wisdom , words and he had the grace to die along with Adams on the 4 th of July. I think tonight I shall surprise my wife with some humble flowers. As a man who likes , collects and works in history I think it worthy of a moment in fast paced America. Be Seeing You.

Volvo P 1800 Keys Discovered

It was the last Saturday of March , I had taken a quick day trip to the 06037 region of Southern New England , in other words Berlin , Connecticut. A quick visit to my Aunt & Uncle. While there near Webster Ridge area I discovered a Garage Sale. I stopped by because as a teenager I knew the couple who lived there. The husband now gone a couple of yrs and his widow thinning out her life as she prepares for her early 80's and probably selling her home. Her older daughter Susan was helping & after a few moments she remembered me. I have not seen her in over 35 yrs so I felt slightly honored. Anyway I looked around just to be polite. Suddenly in a bowl of odds & ends I spotted them. I walked over & picked them up. Of course , Paul once owned a Volvo P1800 sports car. It all came back to me , it was red , black interior. The car of Roger Moore when he played The Saint on television. Simon Templar's car. I held the keys in my hand , looked at them and his daughter commented "oh the Volvo , Dad's mid-life crisis car." Atleast that is what she and her Mom called it. He bought new in 1968 , sold it in 1984 after many good yrs of service , later sold in the late 80's to a College Student who racked it up on the Berlin Turnpike late at night just south of Hartford. Mores the pity. I consider these cars a work of art. So of course I had found my artifact for the day , purchased them for a nominal cost and was soon after a quick good by to Aunt & Uncle off for home in the late afternoon........On the way back home I once took them out of my pocket , felt their presence in my hand looked them over again. One of the definitions of man is that he can make and use tools. We don't often think of keys as tools often but they are. They are a gateway tool for doing other things. When it comes to car keys , a defining number of things. Memories came back of my friend Ron's brothers 1800. It was Safari Yellow. He would leave it at his parents house over many summer weekends. We would work on it , keep it going , of course use it. That is where I fell in love with this model. So did Kunicki. There was just something about it , it's rareness , it's handling , it looks. It also had odd little touches , a switch on the dash activated an electronic 5th gear as an example. One memory I have is a dark and stormy late summer night in 1970. We were returning from a club called The Barrel in Rensselaer , NY. He were heading over the old grooved iron bridge towards the suburb of East Greenbush. The bridge was slick , we went into a skid on the uneven grooves. For a moment Ron took his hands off the wheel and that is all it took , the car pulled itself from the skid. Both of us somewhat intoxicated broke into a dark laughter. Saved by engineering......anyways other car related memories came flooding back back but another time. After a couple of days I traveled over to one of my research sources , Chardonas the Locksmith in Island Park. Given enough time and sometimes a fee arrangement some research is done. He went into the computer and one of his blank key books. The ignition key serial # 214315 was madein the 60's era and was smaller than most American car keys. The smallest key was a glove compartment key. Stamped made in England and Union. I was not sure about this key but glove compartment keys were apparently much more common than today. The last key a trunk key similar but different from the ignition key. The Volvo key fob was of the older variety Volvo logo. My research payment was to have a key made , costing me a hefty $8.70. The 1800 hundred blank alone took 10 minutes to find. Anyway , was now sure they were genuine. So , I had a memory but not the car. As it so happened , I did not add this to as my wife calls it my pile of junk. What I call artifacts. In the Indiana Jones , movie the Last Crusade , Jones states of an artifact that he is trying to obtain "it belongs in a museum". Kunicki's birthday is in March and so a couple of days later he received an unusual gift. By the way he is used to getting unusual things from me in the mail from around the world. I suspect this was one of his favorites , as he has the ignition & glove compartment key on his current key chain. So they found a good home that has a certain appreciation for them. Automotive memories can be some of the best.

Reverberator Discovered/Schodack NY

Helping friend clean out their Mother's garage I discovered an odd piece of automotive and radio history. It was buried under old records & old Haynes repair manuals for VW Bugs and items such as that. It was odd enough to stop for a couple of minutes and look it over. At first I had to think exactly what it was and then it came to me from a memory of the mid-sixties. Essentially circa 1964 or 1965 It was labeled a reverberator and it was once a "Hip" sort of item to have installed in your car. What it was essentially did was to create an electronic echo chamber. It made your top forty radio station sound atleast in theory "better". As a matter of fact probably the main reason I have any memory at all of this craze is that my older brother had one installed in his car. A few days later I thought about the Reverberator. A few memories surfaced . This was a time when many cars had duel antennas which people thought would give better radio reception. They were wrong but it looked "cool" anyway. FM radio existed but not yet in heavy use and most cars sold did not yet have AM / FM radios , only AM. I do remember a few cars driven by a younger crowd driving by with radios blasting and hearing the echo sound. Weird. Anyway this echo chamber era was a real short one. Probably if my memory serves me maybe a year. People began to find them to be irritating , began to turn them off and they began to go off the market. Later sixties or early seventies garage sales began to have them up for sale {CHEAP}. So anyway.....that item is now discarded in an electronic recycle bin. Farewell to a short lost era.

Under the Gretchen Moon : Schodack N.Y.

When I was in elementary school in the Castleton NY 12033 area there was an unfortunate women that lived near our elementary school with her family. Her name was Gretchen.......I will not reveal her last name. She was psychotic and delusional. Her claim to the town's fame was the local looney as many referred to her. Usually during the full moon , she would dress up in what would have been fashionable clothes in the 30's often with a beret and walk for miles all over the town of Schodack. Other times of the month she would act quite within normal bounds for an elderly woman in her 70's. I once had a conversation with her during one of her quiet times. She asked me about school and the recent weather ect. Normal. But those times when she became active became the stuff of legend in our small town. She would talk loudly to people that were not there , walk sometimes 10 to 15 miles from her home , often with an angry scowl on her face. I remember many times passing her in the night in our parents car as she walked by the side of the road. Needless to say she held an all most legendary position to the kids of the town. She was our Boogey man so to speak. Trust me you avoided her at those times. Legendary stories were told of her , how she became as she was. A nurse in WW1 that had a shell burst near her medical tent......left by a doctor/ lover leaving her to always search for him. Who knows? On occasion she would walk by a home of someone she had known during childhood and call out their name. Sometimes call them to come out and play. All this was tolerated by the citizens of Schodack. Her family in whatever dysfunctional manner they lived seemed to accept her for what she was and let her be her untreated self. One of my dark memories of her was on a late May night when I was a kid of around 10 or 11. I could not sleep as often happens in my adulthood. So I was looking out the window out at the sky & the moon. It was about 2:00 am in the morning. Off in the distance down the street I saw her shadow like figure walk under a dim street light. Silent and grim she walked the night....sending a chill down my spine. I suppose it had to eventually happen....she was struck by a car along route 9. She was not killed but suffered multiple fractures of leg and hip. She lived another 2yrs but never walked again. As the yrs went by her memory faded.....she died and was buried in her family plot I believe without a headstone. But the funny thing is ....she left a deep impression on my generation. I talked with a handful of people from that era in the town. All remember her and all have a story. A story more from their darker recesses. She left an odd mixture of fear & curiosity behind.

An Ode To My Wife Beth

Last July I celebrated my 30th anniversary. My children rented out the Farmer Boy Diner in Schenectady and we had a large celebration. By the way that is where a young broke Human Service worker used to take his girlfriend for a late dinner. Anyway , being married to a mildly quirky guy with unusual hobbies like rally racing , archaelogy , history , rowing , old cars and attempts to create art is not easy. At my home in 11509 there is a pile of rocks and stones I have dragged home to examine to see if they were stone tools. My wife in frustration used them to create a rock garden. Often I view my life in terms of BC before Crounse her maiden name and AD after domination. Ha Ha . She does not find it funny as either. But I felt it only fair to give her a mention. To say thanks Hon , appreciate it. Could not have remained as whole without you.

Some of my source people

I think it is time I printed a list of some of the people I remember through conversation or interview that have given me source material for this blog. History is sometimes just memory and many of these people are memory , many now gone.

Vivian Ingalls Teacher Maple Hill High School Schodack New York
Elmer Henniger Justice of the Peace Schodack
Lewis Hudson former Town of Schodack Supervisor
Eloise Hanreader
Ron Kunicki
Lillian Kunicki
Ted Kunicki
Willard Wright
Ruth Steele Teacher MHHS
Charles Harris Carpenter
Peter Stohl Teacher
George Andrews
Jack Ray Funeral Director
Betty Ann Crounse
Kenneth and Virgina Golden
Marion and Henry Peters
Benny Funk
Janet Abelseth
Tim Harris Teacher Baltimore Maryland.
Douglas Hudson NYS Senator
Ernest Hudson
Margaret Ward Teacher MHHS
Gerald Boule Teacher MHHS
Edgar Swartz
Ruth Speasky
Ruth M. Hudson Former Town Clerk Schodack NY 12033
Beverly Ingalls
Fletcher Thomas Former race car driver
Arnold Feldman Map Maker
Loretta Harris Author & Geneologist
Hope Long
Donna Blasch
Susan Walsh
John Connolly
Pauline Jennings
Arnold Bonwitt'
Dennis Olson
Jeffrey Hudson
My thanks to these people living & dead I know I have left some people out but will add to another list in the future.

Fish Kills on the Hudson Castleton NY 12033

Reading in the New York Times today that there are enormous sardine mass deaths off the coast of California . Speculation is lack of oxygen as the fish crowded into the harbor. Millions of dead Sardines. I remember smaller fish kills along the Hudson River in my youth in my hometown of Castleton on Hudson New York 12033. As I have previously stated in other blogs that Castleton was noted for it's rate of high pollution. Once was sited in a 1967 NYT Magazine article as the biggest polluters in the Hudson River Valley. Between the Brown Company paper mill and the Anti-Corrosive small steel mill , the open sewers directly into the river and general dumping by garages and farm runoff into streams we had problems in this area. This toxic mix along with the general pollution of the Mohawk and Hudson rivers lead to fish mass killings. Especially at Castleton where it seemed many fish or waterfowl decided to give up so to speak. In I believe 1966 in June or July atleast plus 500 fish washed up on shore with the river tides. With plus 85 degree weather this made for unpleasant times for residents along the river . Many took vacation time to escape. In those times one could smell the river more than two miles away if the prevailing westerlies were blowing. On more than one occasion bulldozers were used to plow up the mass of dead fish and cart them off by dump truck to be buried. With modern pollution legislation this mass killing problem was eventually eliminated to a large extent within the Hudson Valley region. Making summers a more livable circumstance.

Duke Snyder and the Montreal Expos

Well Duke Snyder passed away this past weekend. I barely remember when he played briefly for the Mets. So I don't recall him well as a player , what my memory of him is as an announcer for the Expos in the late 80's up to about the mid nineties. I lived in the Adk Mts back then and could get Canadian channels on cable. There was on CBC a limited number of English language broadcasts of Expos games. He did what some refer to as the color commentary. Noted for talking slowly and filling the air during some horrific seasons before the spectra of Major League baseball was given up in that city. With all I have read of The Duke these past couple of days I don't recall reading of his time in the booth. So for the record add this on to a great career.

Buick Opel Kadett Memo Uncovered

Sometimes one does not have to dig into the earth to practice a rough form of Archeology , or dig into an old archive in a library to find an interesting piece of history. Such is the case with a couple of garage sales recently visited. I purchased a couple of diagrams / schematics of automobiles or as it says on one a werkzeichnung. They were of Opel cars , sold in the United States appx from 1965 to 1975. The incomplete memo was sent by GM to select dealers as apparently as a sales guide. Opel's were being imported from the Opel Company in Germany that General Motors had a share in ownership. As the memo stated " to directly compete with the Volkswagen market share." It appears this memo may have gone to dealers in larger college markets. This memo from the Syracuse , New York region. They wanted the college student market. Hence , the memo advised the younger salesmen show to the Kadett fleet off the the younger crowd. It was further suggested such sales points be used as the term "GERMAN ENGINEERING. " Just like the VW. Unlike the VW this brand of cars with a watercooled engine actually had heat in the winter. The small Kadett also possessed a much larger trunk than the VW Beetle , perfect for packing off to college. The memo than began to talk about the Rallye Sport model as a quality and economic alternative to the much more expensive sports car market when there were no more remaining pages. Having driven an old Kadett , I have a certain fond memory of them. Or perhaps more a memory of youth but anyway the Kadetts are hardly seen today except in a classic car show or two. One still sees a VW Bug laboring by on occasion and are remembered much more fondly by the general public almost as a symbol of the era. The Opel Kadett left long behind.

Dead Cow Washes onto Hudson River Shore Castleton NY 12033

I recently read a story of a dead cow washing up on shore near Seattle WA. Discovered late last month by authorities who have been unable to discover previous owner. This story jogged my memory. It took me to the evening just before I fell asleep to remember the story of a similar incident in the Town of Schodack , near Castleton. I believe this story was told to me by a Malcolm Harris who lived in the Chatham NY area and was a crane operator who worked on the Castleton Thruway Bridge construction project. In the early months of the initial construction on the east shore of the Hudson in what is now the area of a shoreline NYS Park construction workers discovered a dead Holstine cow. It had washed up during the night on this late March morning. As the morning worn on a few locals made quiet inquires to local farmers , no one was missing a member of their herd. So what to do? Now a days the health dept would be called , animal control etc. The workers at the site just wanted to dispose of the dead cow. It was bloated and mangled and some speculated it may have been hit by a passing ship. So somewhere near where the concrete pillars that support the bridge structure are located , a pit was dug. Cleared brush and refuse from the site was gathered up and placed in the pit as well as the cow. Fuel was added and ignited. As the day wore on additional material was added along with additional fuel. It appears the fire smoldered well into late Friday afternoon when it was buried by bulldozer. So that is the story for what it is worth. A piece of odd history now told.

Oarsmen Eleven Rowing Club : Castleton NY 12033

Castleton on Hudson New York 12033 is a small village located about five miles south of the State Capitol of Albany. In it's hay day , Castleton was a small but busy river port and train stop. Those days are long gone of course. At present there is a Castleton Boat Club located on the river. But at one point for a few yrs there was a rowing club that made it's nominal home in that town. The name was Oarsmen Eleven Rowing Club. So named because of the original 11 members. I was one of them. We did not row sculls but had a 16 ft ocean going life boat built in the 60's by the Boston Whaler company. Four could row one on the tiller. Sort of like rowing " The Eights ." By the way I had upon occasion rowed the eights in my junior yr of High School. Hence that is how I was drafted into our society , from past acquaintance. Hello Tim Matheson where you now might be. Anyway my first trek was what we hoped was to be our annual early morning float down. We started near Troy at about 4:45 am and traveled down the river starting in the dark. Perhaps we were trying to prove we were tough. But it was about 17 above zero and we were freezing our asses off. Though I must say Albany never looked better than in that early morning light. Still we were overjoyed to land in the Papscanee Island Preserve area get the boat out and get warm. We went out to breakfast at the East Greenbush Diner after the team was reassembled. We all agreed that of maiden voyage was fun but not to be an annual event. Jesus it was cold. By the way brandy did help. So the club pretty much was a late spring to mid fall affair. We stored the boat in back of 110 Scott Avenue and took turns on use. The club was in existence from 1994 untill 1999. A few new members were added along the way but as we went deeper into middle age interest became less. Plus our wives grew tired of it as well.The boat ended up in 06037 and last time I heard went next to Croton /Harmon N.Y. For a while the club rowed the river from below the Castleton Thruway Bridge to near the Port of Albany and back again. Oarsmen Eleven.

Hudson Hawk's Barbecue Sauce

Well , I am not a great cook. My culinary experiments have sometimes met with disaster. However , I have obtained some success with my barbecue sauce I like grilling even in winter so I tend to stick with that. So here by request is my recipe for Hudson Hawk's Sauce.

One quarter cup butter
2 cans chopped tomatoes or puree
One quarter cup vinegar
One small to medium onion , finely chopped.
2 tsp. salt {you can use less for lower salt diet}
2 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp paprika
Pinch or two of ginger
2 tsp of Worcestershire sauce
1 quarter tsp Tabasco or more according to taste.
1 tsp of black pepper {I prefer course ground}
1 and a half tsp of sugar
Mix ingredients well and simmer for 20 minutes. Use for chicken or beef or other favored meat. This recipe makes about enough for 5 pounds of meat or chicken. Have also used as a serving sauce. ENJOY.

History Is Not An Antidepressant

So many times in difficult moments of our personnel or civic life you often hear people remark how they miss what America and their place in it was. In certain days people feel we were better or more civilized or whatever. We all probably fall victim to these emotions at some point. I myself as well . I have even been retrospective in this my occasional blog about my interactions and experiences of my life past. But the truth so often is not quite as we remember. I have a few fond memories of my hometown life in Schodack , NY 12033. Certain friends and events. But if after moments of thinking of past times with a reflective kindness my sense of historical reality always seems to intrude. We travel through a whirlwind of events , great and small. As someone is in a circle of the glow of life , someone else is miserable. For old school people as an example I might wish to see and discover how some are doing , there are many more people I wish to avoid on a permanent basis. As events this past weekend of the mass political shooting in Tucson AZ unfolded several times people commented what we have become and what better times there was. Bullshit. The sixties were a mass of conflict , assassination , riot , and past discrimination coming home to roost in our cities and of course the ongoing war in Vietnam. The drug problems we have now got a strong foothold in those days. The following decades had their less treasured moments of political strife and social pain. I have also seen improvement in the lives of people and institutions , more responsive to a broader range of the populace. Yes we are a culture more rude and violent on some scales. It is a mistake on the parts of historians or regular folk to avoid the true sense reality of what really was. History is not an antidepressant to be used as a reflective drug to calm or condemn. If it were a drug it would cause a complex reaction , not to be surprised all over again by what just happened.

The Politics of Snow Removal: Schodack New York

As I write this in early 2011 the down state New York area has just dug out of a large snow storm. No one is at this moment quite sure why the streets were plowed so badly in the tri State area during and after this storm. Tax paying citizens in an uproar , mayors & the New Jersey Governor are in a scramble to explain. This will as well pass. I am an old enough old goat to remember in High School the February of 1969 NYC storm when Lindsay was mayor {when there was such a thing as a moderate Republican}. Plows got out late , the city in semi mayhem. I had attended a rowing event in the city shortly before and got out just in time. It all passed. So what does this have to do with the Town of Schodack , New York. Well , all political type people know or should know that these nature made events can effect political careers. How one administratively handles these moments can turn an election , nationally and on a local basis. In the mid 1920's a young Pol named Lewis V. Hudson was the newly elected Superintendent of Highways. He would later be county commissioner of roads. Schodack was if not the first , one of the first towns in New York State to run their snow plows 24 hrs a day during storms. This started circa 1926. A rural town with farmers needing to get produce to market , schools needing to be opened people needing to get to work in factories or get to a doctor. All these of concern. The innovation of 24 hr plowing was new and Schodack was doing it. Various logistic problems arose , such as getting gas to the trucks when there were few gas stations back then and none open 24hrs a day. In interviews later in his life Hudson talked about how he had to get in his own pickup truck late at night and deliver gas to the plows by gas can. Sometimes even at 2:00 am. Such was life in a small town back then. The point is schools were open more often , people got to work more safely and less babies were delivered in farm houses and got medical care quicker. Hudson as I may have mentioned in earlier blogs was in elected political office for over 40yrs. Hudson would partially give credit to 24 hr snow plowing as a major boost to his reelections. A simple lesson in administrative politics from a small town the streets got plowed voters remember.