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.