Van Wyck Gazette Summer Issue 2015 Special Edition

Summer Issue 2015

Rhinebeck • Poughkeepsie • Wappingers Falls • Fishkill • Beacon • Newburgh

Special Edition

Meryl Hartstein Tips on Creating a Happy Relationship Contrary to many beliefs, there are happy relationships. Not everyone is destined for divorce, breakup and heartache. There are many who survive the ups and downs and continue to be happy where they are. Here are my tips on how to keep it fresh, exciting and without drama:

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Identity: It’s crucial to keep a separate identity in any relationship. You are not changed into someone else when you decide to be someone’s partner. You need to keep your identity intact. You interests, your friends and most importantly, your space needs to be respected by one another.

It’s much healthier to have outside interests apart from one another. If not, there will be little to talk about if you are together nonstop and inseparable. This keeps the relationship interesting and fresh.

Extras: Those little extras that we can do for our loved ones can turn a frown upside down! Going that extra distance is worth it. Just by remembering their favorite foods, buying them a little token of your appreciation or just by telling them how much they mean to you really can strengthen a relationship. Just as women want to be adored, men want to feel appreciated. It’s those little extra gestures that we can do that will make them want to make you happy in return. Remember, what you give is what you will receive.

Passion: We all know about physical passion in a relationship, but emotional passion is necessary too. Knowing that you are desired on every level can be very hot. Planning intimate time together brings anticipation and it keeps things fresh just like when you were dating early on in your relationship. Letting your partner know how attractive you think they are can be a real turn on. Tell them how happy they make you and what you want to do to them when you are together again.

To sum this all up, what we give is what we will receive. Yes, its true men and women are completely different, but we all want to be loved. If you practice respect, kindness and honesty, most relationships will thrive.

It’s an ongoing effort that takes two for it to work!

Peter Rae

Niceties: In our day to day language, we sometimes forget simple words like please and thank you. If you can use them on a consistent level, they will become more automatic. When you have a close relationship to someone, laziness can start to settle in. We forget the niceties that we used to use in the beginning of our relationships. It’s a sign of respect and it makes a huge difference.

The Port of Missing Men

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Communication: We all know that communication is crucial to getting along, but many of us shut down instead. It’s easier sometimes to just sweep our words under the rug. That’s the worst thing you can do. It only collects anger and resentment.

That doesn’t mean you have to spew out words immediately when you get annoyed, but if it’s something that you can’t dismiss, then have a talk. You will be surprised how much better the relationship will feel if you aren’t harboring unspoken words and feelings.

Laughter: Part of friendship is laughter, so why shouldn’t it also play a huge part in your relationship. Learning to laugh at even serious situations, makes life so much happier. It lightens the load and can turn negativity into positivity. Finding happiness together is what it’s supposed to be. Laughter creates memories. Having a similar sense of humor is bonding and connects you on a different level. The more laughter the less arguing!

Creating Happy Relationships

Meryl Hartstein

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Learning From Social Media

David McGorry

The Psychology of Change

9

Diane Lang, M.A.

Organic Farmers & Chefs of 10 the Hudson Valley

Victoria Johnston Boecherer

The Name of This Band is...

12 Mike Jurkovic

Magic Wings

14 Ann Jamieson

Hopewell Depot

16 Christopher T. Jodlowski

The Soundtrack of Our Lives

18 Dawn Wan

Follow Your Bliss to Bliss

20 Janet Hamill .

YikeBike Undiscovered Urban 22 Freedom

For media kit, to advertise or order copies email vanwyckgazette@gmail.com

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Va n Wyck Ga ze tte Editor In Chief It has taken just about five years to select our most unique group of creative and talented contributors then publish the very first Best of Van Wyck Gazette Special Edition. I envisioned the concept of a community magazine while a graduate student at Marist about twenty years ago, later published a magazine in the corporate world and another while a homeowner in a large community.

Our focus promotes both a very loyal advertiser base and professional group of writers. Our logic is that advertisers know their business and writers know theirs. So our Contributing Editors are published authors, playwrights or poets, not advertisers. Over the years our pursuit of quality has attracted both corporate advertisers and local entrepreneurs.

The steady availability in print has built a media product with experts in their fields, those who live a lifestyle worthy of their time to write a story and your valuable time to read it.

Competition is fierce in the micro-publication market. So only about one in one hundred writer applicants makes it into print in Van Wyck Gazette based upon our very stringent criteria. Those who do cherish the Hudson Valley lifestyle. So many personalities have given the gifts of their talent over the years such as; Marilyn Cramer, Dianna Lefas, Thor Larsen, Arlene Larsen, Susan Martin, Salina Sias, Lewis Gardner, Steve Kelman and those in this Special Edition. Plus the art works of Jose Acosta, Liz Cooke, Andy Milford, Stacie Flint, Jonathan Carraher, Joseph Yeomans and, of course, Charles Fazzino.

I hope you enjoy the very first 24 page Best of Van Wyck Gazette Special Edition and appreciate our sensational group of contributors who work magic to share our vision and infuse their personalities into our niche community magazine.

Joseph Caplan

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Our appreciation to Charles Fazzino for a spectacular cover designed exclusively for Best of Van Wyck Gazette Special Edition.

Charles Fazzino, a graduate of the School of Visual Arts in New York City, is one of the most popular and highly-collected pop artists of all time.

During his more-thanthirty years as a pop artist he has inserted his unique, detailed, vibrant and three-dimensional style of artwork into the very fabric of popular culture. Fazzino’s artworks are exhibited in hundreds of museums and galleries in more than twenty different countries. He has received many private and important commissions and has been selected as the Official Artist for festivals and events all over the world. Charles is often referred to as a Pop Culture Historian because of the breadth of his work and the way it touches his collectors and captures the best parts of their contemporary lives. His legacy will mark him as part of the next generation of famous pop artists as he follows the paths originally forged by pop art pioneers such as Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Red Grooms, and Roy Lichtenstein. http://www.fazzino.com

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Summer 2015 Issue

Peter Rae

The Port of Missing Men

In 1907 Meredith Nicholson, a popular author, poet and later on diplomat from Indiana, published a novel about some Confederate army officers who refused to recognize that the North had won the Civil War and retreated to a hideout in rural western Virginia. The book proved popular, rising to #3 on the best-seller list. The name of the hideout, and the title of the book, was The Port of Missing Men. It’s not known whether Henry B. Anderson, a New Yorker who annually summered with his family in Ridgefield, Connecticut at that time, had read Nicholson’s novel. Anderson was a prominent New York City attorney whose clients included the Vanderbilt and Mills families, both of which had homes in Dutchess County. The Andersons were one of a number of wealthy city families who built summer homes in the rural western Connecticut town of Ridgefield in the 1870s, ‘80s and ‘90s.

Although they were only summer residents, the Anderson family contributed

This map from a 1908 atlas shows the extent of the lands purchased in Ridgefield, CT and North Salem, NY by Henry B. Anderson and his partner, Ogden Mills, for the Port of Missing Men. (Courtesy North Salem Historical Society.) much to the community. After a fire consumed most of the buildings in downtown Ridgefield in 1895, Henry Anderson, along with some other summer residents, led the way in the town’s rebirth. He organized and built the town’s first water system, the Ridgefield Water Supply Company. He also set up the town’s first sewage system and electric supply company.

With the town well on the road to recovery, Anderson turned to more personal pursuits.

Continued on page 6

Va n Wyck Ga ze tte

Page 5

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That means you’ll find several hundred new, beautifully designed, beautifully crafted styles with all the timeless appeal you’d expect from America’s classic design brand.

and sophisticated than ever. Relaxed yet refined sofas and chairs are fashioned with deep, lush seats, high backs and soft curves. And dressmaker details such as button tufting and waterfall skirts adorn many of the styles for an elevated sense of glamour and grace.

An authorized Ethan Allen retailer since 1979, The Bells’ offers an inspiring selection of designs and price points to beautify your home from floor to ceiling. And it all comes with the legendary craftsmanship Ethan Allen is known for. A great majority of styles are crafted in the company’s own workshops in North Carolina and Vermont by skilled craftspeople who know what they’re doing and love what they do. The rest come from some of the best artisans around the world.

Living, dining and bedroom styles deliver a simple, elegant look with a modern sensibility that underscores the idea that luxury lies in the details. Highlights include honed black marble tabletops, cathedral walnut veneers, hand-carved motifs and hand-tooled leather inlays. Plus the all-new optional hand-gilded embellishments and magnificent marquetry honor centuries-old design traditions.

You’ll discover stylish furniture for every room and a wide array of home accents to complete your look. Plus endless ways to personalize your style through custom fabrics, finishes and trims—and free professional design service to help you with the small things, like choosing the perfect lamp; the tricky things, like coordinating fabrics and finishes; and the big things like designing a complete room.

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You’ll also find dozens of brand-new home accessories to put the finishing touches on your style, including comfy cotton sateen bedding in a terrific array of colors, handgilded mirrors, pearl-beaded pillows, dazzling crystal chandeliers and much more.

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Page 6

Summer 2015 Issue

A Retreat for the Wealthy Henry Anderson’s restaurant and lodge opened in 1907 in North Salem, just across the state line from Ridgefield. As depicted on a postcard of the day, it was quite rustic in appearance and sat on a hill overlooking fields and farmlands. According to local historian Jack Sanders, author of several books about Ridgefield’s history, it was said that on a clear day you could see the mountains Apparently interested in the welfare of west of the Hudson River, more than twenthe upper class, he and business associate ty miles away.

Ogden Mills quietly bought up properties Getting to the farm was no easy trick. in Ridgefield and in the adjacent town of While the automobile was quickly becoming North Salem, New York, about 1800 acres popular among the middle and upper in all. classes (indeed, Anderson was one of the

Peter Rae

more than 100 years later, the rock-based roadbeds still stand out.

One such road was and is named Old Sib Road. It ran from near the center of Ridgefield northwest for about four miles to the state line, and from there a short distance to the restaurant itself. The Ridgefield portion of Old Sib is used today for car traffic, while the New York part is a hiking trail.

The Port of Missing Men was apparently a success. Operating as a public restaurant for its first two years, its guest book, which has been preserved by the Ridgefield Historical Society, contains more than 20,000 signatures. Later on the restaurant was turned into a private club, and similar records are not available. It has been suggested that during this time, while leaving wives and families at home, members may have been able to bring girlfriends.

first presidents of the Automobile Club of In the 1920s, Prohibition was the rule of America), there simply were no roads leading to Anderson’s retreat. They had to the day, and many now referred to the club as “Anderson’s Tea House.” Despite the be built. ban on alcoholic beverages, liquor could As it happened, when Anderson was still be had at the Port of Missing Men. A overseeing the construction of Ridgefield’s decade later, Prohibition was over but the water company and other projects, he had Depression had replaced it. The Port of brought in skilled Italian immigrants to do Missing Men closed forever in the midHad Anderson read Meredith Nicholson’s the work, and many had stayed on. They 1930s. best-seller? Maybe. He named the lodge were soon hired for the new project, building more than ten miles of roads so solidly that, Ye Port of Missing Men. His original intention, it is said, was to establish an exclusive summer community for wealthy New York families. But before development actually began, plans changed.

Anderson instead built a restaurant and lodge where his wealthy colleagues could hunt, fish and dine in comfort – unencumbered by their wives and families.

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Va n Wyck Gazette The Builders Who Came and Stayed Despite its closing, its memories lingered on. Many of the Italian immigrants who had been brought in to build its roads and buildings stayed on in various operational capacities. One was Nazzereno Gasperini, who came from Italy in 1905 to help build roads and soon became a road crew foreman. After the restaurant was opened, he stayed on in various capacities.

Her parents stayed in Ridgefield as well.

Nazzereno became a co-proprietor of a market and butcher shop, Brunetti and Gasperini, on Main Street until his retirement in 1955. The shop itself lasted another thirty years as Brunetti’s.

Westchester County and turned into a park.

Today the Sal J. Presidio Mountain Lakes Park, the county’s largest, offers miles of hiking trails, overnight campsite rentals, and summer camping opportunities for the county’s disadvantaged kids.

On April 4, 1911, while living in North Salem, Nazzereno’s wife gave birth to a daughter who they named Mary. In 1922, the family moved to Ridgefield and two years later moved into a house on East Ridge. Ninety-one years later, Mary still lives in this house; she recently celebrated her 104th birthday there.

Soon after the restaurant opened, the Anderson family sold their house on West Lane and moved to a new one Anderson had built in North Salem, in an area of his holdings that overlooked three lakes: Waccabuc, Oscaleta and Rippowam. In the early 1920s the family moved again, this time to the Gold Coast of Long Island, purchasing an estate in Sands Point. Sands Point was the town F. Scott Fitzgerald used as the model for his iconic novel of upper class American life, The Great Gatsby.

The area itself looks a lot different today.

In 1907, it was largely agricultural – farms ruled the day. Today our food comes from California, other states and other countries, and the onetime farm lands are now woods.

Houses exist among the trees on the Ridgefield side, while trees predominate in Westchester County’s park.

In an interview published in the Ridgefield Press, Mary recounted some of the highlights of her life. At age 14 she drove a car, noting that in addition to driving it you had to crank it. As a young woman, she worked as a waitress at the Port of Missing Men. She visited Italy in 1930, met and married a young man named Primo Paterniani, and brought him back to the U.S. Over the years the Paternianis raised three daughters and had six grandchildren and thirteen great-grandchildren.

Other than memories, little remains of Anderson’s Port of Missing Men today.

Immediately after World War II, the site was under consideration as the headquarters of the United Nations, but lost out to Lake Success, New York. In the 1950s, the Ridgefield portion of the estate, comprising about 600 acres, was sold to a land development company called Eight Lakes Development which built and sold hundreds of homes in the area. On the New York side, the estate was ultimately acquired by

Addenda Were you to Google “Port of Missing Men,” you would find it’s been used elsewhere. A similar hideout was established in eastern Long Island near the Hamptons during the 1920s and grew to be much larger than its Ridgefield counterpart. The movie database, IMDB, cites a movie of that name made in 1914, but has no other details. And in 1987, author Mary-Ann Tirone Smith, who coincidentally was living in Ridgefield at the time, published a novel that she named The Port of Missing Men. But it had nothing to do with Henry Anderson – the story’s protagonist was an Olympic swimmer and the name itself was given to an ocean liner.

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Summer 2015 Issue

David McGorry

Learning From Social Media

Just as technology has changed the way businesses market to their customers, it is also providing new ways of learning from them.

Advanced analytical tools are enabling companies to get deeper insights into what customers want and can provide businesses with many differentiating ideas that would not have emerged from traditional focus groups, individual interviews or broad-based surveys.

Research is expensive though and without large budgets, small and regional businesses could lose out on valuable information that can help them grow their markets and differentiate themselves from competitors.

Social media and websites offer many new ways to reach out to customers. And more than just offering the opportunity to get the company’s message out, social media provides a forum to learn from customers so you can position your business as the best choice to meet their needs.

If you have a very tight budget and don’t have the time to create and manage a website, you can start by launching a Facebook page. You can start your own page free, publicize it in your store or business and post discount coupons and useful customer information on the page to drive traffic.

As customers begin to visit the site, invite them to post pictures of themselves using your products and to share their personal stories. If you want to integrate the live and

online experience see if some of your inperson customers will let you take their pictures and post them on the site. This can help you reinforce or remind them of the fun, value or pleasure of the live experience and encourage repeat business.

can begin to identify segments and target those segments with specific messages.

Are there different things that drive people to consider doing business with your company? Is that broken down by age?

Lifestyle? Economic background? Analyzing what your customers say can help you provide relevant offers for each target segment. The more personal you can make your outbound marketing, the more attractive your business will be to your customers.

Always offer customers who visit the site the opportunity to register for outbound communications and use this as an opportunity to learn more about them. Ask them some questions “that will help you to serve them better,” but only ask a few Letting the conversation flow on the web thoughtful questions, you don’t want to take or in person also helps you understand the too much of their time. language or buzzwords that people use It is always valuable to get comments when discussing your business. When I am directly from your customers and to in need of something for my home and want encourage them to ask questions. If you to find a local business that sells it, I will don’t have enough web traffic to assign often type some search words into Google someone to monitor a chat screen, give the and add the name of my town or the visitor an opportunity to ask questions and surrounding town to get a list of local then give a time frame that lets them know businesses that sell the product or service. how often you check the site and when you Make sure your online experiences discusses your business in customer will get back to them. language, so you will show up when people There is a lot of opportunity to gain insight are searching common terms. Conversations from customers just by letting them talk. with customers and comments on the And, all these insights are costing you website are a no cost way to learn these nothing. You will get complaints at times terms so you can integrate them into the but at least you will know about them and copy on your site. will be able to address them. But don’t forget Professional research can definitely help to pay close attention to the comments of your business grow. But for those who are your happiest customers. Their stories help not in a position to afford it, there are many you identify what creates the ideal customer ways to learn more about providing value experience and what products are most to your customers and growing your likely to bring them to your store or business. business just by investing your time and Understanding from them what is most being willing to listen. valuable about the live business experience and how the social media and web David lives in Fishkill, NY with his wife experiences complement it is the foundation and two daughters. He worked for IBM for for building the ideal and most profitable 29 years as a brand and naming consultant. customer experience.

He now works as an independent brand As you learn about your customers you strategist and naming consultant.

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Va n Wyck Ga ze tte

Diane Lang

The Psychology of Change Most of us spend our lives avoiding change and transitions. The truth comes out eventually that we can’t avoid change and the more we try to the worse our lives become. We have been changing since we were born. We go from crawling to walking, from Elementary School to Middle School to High School. Then we transition into college and adulthood. In adulthood we go through many more changes and transitions.

I find myself to be in the middle of one in mid-life, or as most would call it a “mid-life crisis”. Change has been a part of our lives forever but yet we spend so much time avoiding it and living in fear of it. Imagine if we never changed, we would never grow and develop. You wouldn’t be the person you are today.

In today’s society, change is forced upon us with the recession, changes in employment or fear of being laid off, real estate market changes, prices going up in food, gas, etc. As adults, these changes can be overwhelming and traumatic. So, we try to stay right where we are. We think if we don’t change everything will be ok.

We think we can trade in change for security/ stability which we assume we will have if we don’t change but that’s impossible and trying to do so just sets you up for failure.

What can we do to avoid this vicious cycle of change being thrown at us and trying to stay the same which ends up in misery.

We must realize and ACCEPT change will happen. Yes, I mean just accept it right now. Evaluate your life at this moment: what changes are going on? Are you in the middle of a transition? What changes do you want to make and which ones are you trying to avoid?

A few years ago, I got very sick. In the

first few months of my illness, I was in denial.

I knew I was sick but I didn’t want to change.

Instead I became very angry about my situation and that eventually lead to depression. One day I hit rock bottom. I couldn’t take it anymore. I had lost all control of my life except for one thing; I can accept where I am. Accepting gives you some control back. Accepting is a choice. I accepted that my life was forever changed and that was ok. This acceptance leads you to the next step.

citing. I still feel the anxiety go through my body when change is occurring but I have changed my belief about change. I see change for what it really is: A New Beginning!

When I look back at my past and changes, I see that I have made it through all my Once you accept that change is changes and ended up a better person for unavoidable and accept the change you them. are going through then that phase of your Teachable moments - all changes bring life starts to finally end. Change happens lessons. Look through your past changes because something is ending. We don’t and current ones and ask yourself: look at change as an ending but yet it is.

What can I learn from this situation?

Change happens due to an ending and so a new beginning can start. When you don’t What benefits will come from the change? accept change, you delay the process.

What can I do different next time to avoid Perception – how you perceive change the situation? will help you through the process and What we think, feel, believe and help you come through it smoothly. When experience controls your personality. If you accept change then you can perceive you’re not experiencing new thoughts, it for what it really is. beliefs, experiences and behaviors then Change - New possibilities and oppor- everything stays the same. This means you tunities. will have the same results day after day. If Change brings a whole new phase of life, something isn’t working and you don’t a new chapter, a new beginning. These are change how you think and feel about it, it positive things and should be perceived as will remain the same. If nothing changes, so. We tend to look at change negatively we feel stuck and we won’t develop and grow which leads to boredom and due to old limiting beliefs we have. depression.

Take a few minutes to look back at your Most of your old thoughts and beliefs are life. What does change mean to you? How have you dealt with change? How did your in your sub-conscious which means these family deal with change? What beliefs can thoughts are on auto-pilot. We need to be you change because they no longer serve aware of our thoughts to change them. you?

Awareness is a key factor in change. Be aware of your negative thoughts/beliefs that For example: I perceive change as exno longer serve you.

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Summer 2015 Issue

Victoria Boecherer It’s one of the small, nagging ironies of life in the United States: Since the implementation of the “certified organic” label in October 2002, there has been infinitely more confusion about how our food is produced, not less. This is especially difficult and disappointing for Hudson Valley residents, who have been at the forefront of the sustainability movement for decades, and photographer Francesco Mastalia has published Organic: Farmers and Chefs of the Hudson Valley in order to define what organic means to this region, specifically. I’ll give you a hint: there’s nothing “certified” about it.

More than one hundred local farmers and chefs were interviewed and photographed for this book – men and women of all ages, from all walks of life, and with very diverse

Organic: Farmers and Chefs of the Hudson Valley

professional backgrounds – and nearly every one of them has a problem with the “certified organic” distinction. Some have waded through the bureaucracy to certify their food, but most reject the label, claiming that it does not sufficiently reflect their practices and beliefs. Even some of the certified organic farmers admit it has little meaning to them. Farmers and chefs would much rather discuss their individual philosophies on organic farming, and Mastalia has provided them with an opportunity to speak for themselves in Organic.

What becomes apparent is that Hudson Valley farmers and chefs carry with them a love for their community which motivates them to cultivate the most nutritious crop they can produce. And though the passion is present, the soil is fertile, and the consumers are educated, this is no simple task. Ric Orlando of New World Home Cooking explains, “The one thing about being an organic chef, a sustainable chef, a clean chef, is that every day you have to weigh decisions, you have to decide what’s best overall,” meaning that one must produce a healthy crop for the consumer without damaging the environment which supports all life. “That’s the biggest challenge,” Orlando says, suggesting that conventional producers don’t address or even recognize that this principle applies to every aspect of human life on earth.

Orlando’s comment speaks to the larger picture, that the community includes all elements of nature which work together to support life of all kinds: soil, insects, animals, natural gases (including oxygen), sunlight, and so on. If just one of these factors in

compromised by our negligence or willful ignorance, all forms of life will suffer for many generations. Sustainability, organic living, green living, clean living, whatever you want to call it – it is our past, present, and future, and though it’s not easy, thee farmers clearly understand that nothing worth having is. Together, Mastalia and his subjects create a nuanced argument encouraging environmental consciousness. When the reader comes across the same themes -- respect for all life form, responsibility to one’s community, furthering the education of consumers, et cetera – one hundred and thirty-six times, it is virtually impossible not to be persuaded as to the benefits of such a lifestyle.

In light of the notorious physical and lifestyle challenges of the farming and restaurant industries, Mastalia wisely explains why so many people take so much enjoyment from their jobs. Readers who have long considered farming to be an extremely practical lifestyle, ruled by government regulation and terrorized by Mother Nature, will be surprised to learn that many farmers describe their jobs as creative outlets. Bob Walker, of Kinderhook’s Katchkie Farm, raved about building his farm to his own specifications, and implied that the sense of satisfaction he got from executing his vision framed the rest of his career. “Being able to design and build from scratch was a really great project. It’s still going, we’re not done. That keeps it interesting, instead of planting the same head of lettuce over and over again.” By illustrating how a farmer examines his job and how he is mentally and emotionally

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Va n Wyck Ga ze tte stimulated throughout the process, Mastalia injects emotional depth into what is a misunderstood way of life. But hopefully, not for long.

poses. It is most certainly in the eyes -- their positions. Overall, this unaddressed issue steady gaze, the lightness of the irises is outweighed by the book’s unique artwork encompassing the dense black of the pupils. and inspirational and informative effects on See if you can look away. the reader.

Unlike many photography books, the persuasiveness of Mastalia’s interviews is only heightened by his images. Large, bold, and soulful, his portraits capture the passion and history which permeate the book. Gail Buckland, author of Organic’s preface, provides a detailed description of Mastalia’s photography process, which painstakingly involves using nineteenth-century methods with period equipment to create images (Julia Margaret Cameron and Matthew Brady favored camera models which were nearly identical to Mastalia’s). Between the minutiae involved in keeping the outdated equipment in working order and the precarious mixing of necessary chemicals, Mastalia’s process would leave Annie Leibovitz agog.

An awareness of history can neither be stripped from the images, nor their subjects. It is in the identifiably ragged frames, the slight blurring caused by windblown hair and clothes, the solemnity of the faces and modest, natural

My only contention with Organic is that Mastalia overlooked the major complaint of those who ignore organic goods: that it is too expensive. Though some eagleeyed shoppers argue that prices of conventional and organic produce are no longer as divergent as they once were, many still claim that organic foods are cost-prohibitive; given the state of the economy, there must be some truth to this argument.

It would be interesting to know if these farmers’ methods are more costly than conventional methods, or if the chefs featured pay more for organic local produce (certified or non-certified) than they would for their conventionally grown, imported counterparts.

Perhaps Mastalia avoided this topic because it might divulge farmers’ practices in the process, leaving them in compromising

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By producing this lovely book, Mastalia has (perhaps unknowingly) made the most overarching point of all: he has illustrated the principles of the Hudson Valley.

By including a Foreword, Preface, and Introduction he has offered the reader a community within a community, with each providing his or her own experiences, motivations, and perspectives. He has proven the relevance of history by producing timeless images with photography equipment most believed to be defunct museum pieces. He allowed the people most intimately involved in the production and presentation of organic produce the opportunity to illustrate that they are literally the foremost experts in their fields.

Photographs by Francesco Mastalia; Preface by Gail Buckland; Foreword by Mark Ruffalo; Introduction by Joan Dye Gussow. Published by PowerHouse Books, 224 pages.

Page 12

Summer 2015 Issue

Mike Jurkovic

The Name of This Band is. . . Chapter Two his lead guitar and man- break into the music business. We’re trying dolin, riffing magic and to break through the bs of the Earth plane!” light.

(I can’t help but notice a huge grin of artistic The trek through the satisfaction crossing Sharkey’s face) “We open mics, clubs, and want to empower people to break through “Best Area Band” com- the old thinking, the old models, the old petitions quickly evolves ‘isms’ that are killing the planet, keep us at into a vibe that proves war, and ultimately prevent our spiritual an irresistible force and advancement.” source of elation to even the most jaded, of which, for the sake of transparency, I was counted among. (I was ripping and regaling the record business writing as The Rock ‘n Roll Curmudgeon)

We break. After other business and sundries, we settle back in. But as often happens with wildly creative, life passionate people, our talk strays from the larger concepts and historical flow, jumping ahead to 2005 and the ten year anniversary of the release of their breakthrough, double disc Flapjacks From the Sky. If the course of the band could ever really said to be set, “We were, and have twas Flapjacks that put it in motion. been, trying to tap into Every disc has its fair share of fan/band the collective conscious- favorites, but Flapjacks is the motherlode, ness, that genius, that the collection that tuned everyone in and wants to change things,” turned everyone on. Of the twenty songs, Photo - Courtesy of Tom Moore 2014 Joziah begins, again these immediately come to mind: “Baby with the big ideas that Jane,” Bike,” “Sullivan Lane,” “Sunday In Tuning to a Pawnshop Accordion: have kept the band’s music and mission the Rain,” “Look Ma No Hands,” “Call to the Music for The Transition miles ahead of rock’s baser ambitions.

Mystic,” “Rocket,” “Moondog House,” “I Chapter One closed with the spirit nation Tink edges in, because it is, as we’ll see Wish,” the riveting “Talking to the Buddha” of Slambovia slowly rising above the in future installments, a sometimes and the great, Slambovian un-single “Living physical into a new realm of possibility, Sisyphean effort to stop Joziah when he’s With God.” promise, and potential. It was here the on a roll. “For us it’s more a holistic approach “Flapjacks was a very intense experience ghosts began to conjure and reveal to the to life. How do we bring art into it and how for me on many levels.” the gent who, before successors of the Ancestors the next does that art lift people up?” becoming the band’s signature guitarist and phase: Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian “We’re deluged with options,” she producer, actually auditioned other guitarists Circus of Dreams. continues. “You used to walk into a record for the Ancestors, openly admits.

Tony Zuzulo, who had quit his drums for shop, buy an album and that was it. Now And so Sharkey speaks. Those of you a future in computer sciences, sets them there’s so many confusing options I don’t paying close attention know that, until now, up again and he and Joziah intuitively lock want. Just give me a candle and it’ll light Sharkey’s been the quiet Slambovian. in on the attic recordings that produce A my way. I’ll find what I want and where I’m “I had two young daughters (ages 3 and Good Thief Tips His Hat. Tink takes on going.”

1) and my wife, who had never driven beaccordion, cello, piccolo, and other odd, Joziah weaves back in. “The key for us, fore, was just learning how when Joziah dusty instruments. There is no bass player. Finally Sharkey travels from NYC with as our history proves, is we’re not trying to and I go off to a friend’s cottage in Con-

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Va n Wyck Ga ze tte necticut for six weeks to focus on recording of this strength and quality. You guys were the songs,” he says, launching into his rec- blessed with two. ollections.

“Jo is such a prolific writer. We already “Deep in my heart I wanted to make a had more than enough great songs for the killer album for the band. I invested a lot album, and then he writes ‘I Wish’ and into it - we all did. So each song is incredibly ‘Better Life’ while we were trying to finish special to me.” the record! They were so undeniably great, “We set the living room up as a control they just had to be on there. So against room and set Tony and his drums up at one conventional wisdom, it became a double end of the porch. Joziah was in a glassed album.” off section at the other end of the porch and I was in the control room with my amp in a bedroom closet. We had tried recording ‘Buddha’ many various ways but we were never happy with it. But we could feel from the get-go this was the take. Then this horrible errrrrrrrrrrrrrr noise comes blasting through our headphones. Miraculously everyone kept playing, because we knew this was the one! I finally wiggled the right cord and the sound disappeared. Fortunately the noise was only on my guitar track, so with minimal patching we landed the song.”

When his eyes don’t well up, his face lights up as other indelible memories surface. “’Rocket’ was our big fanfare. We knew it had to make instant impact and we threw the works in on that one… cello, accordion, banjo, mandolins, jaw harp… rocket ships! (Yeah, rocket ships!) We had just finished ‘Baby Jane’ and right as I hit save the power went out! The whole town had lost power. Luckily, when the electric came back on we found that the track had been saved. I’m really proud how ‘Baby Jane’ turned out.”

“I was glad we got a great flute performance on ‘Bike.’ Tink is a phenomenal flautist and she really shines on that track. ‘Big Eight Wheeler’ almost didn’t make it. There was some kinda flaw that was holding it up. But I was determined to solve it because that’s one of my absolute favorites on the album.”

us a while (2001-2004) to complete it.”

(Sharkey’s son Ben was born while the disc was in its final phases.)

“Music touches all our power centers and Flapjacks, by everyone’s definition, certainly does. All the DNA is in there, and the album was generously received by the media and our tribe. We got plenty of airplay.

The press started calling us this alt/folk/ country/rock band. I guess on some of the Why wasn’t “Living With God” a single? songs the ghosts of the Grand Ol’ Opry did The song is utterly irresistible and the chorus get their voices in, but I like to call it surreal Americana, or hillbilly Pink Floyd.” is perfect, sing-along-while-driving pop.

“Jo tells these abstract stories about the Sharkey fist bumps me exuberantly in inspiration behind ‘Talking to the Buddha’ total agreement. But my question seems but I’ll tell you the real thing. It was right to stop him as if he’s looking for the right after 9/11 and like everyone else we were words. “That song has always brought me watching the news.

During one press great joy. To be honest it still does and conference, someone asked the Reverend always will,” he enthuses. “And I crafted it Billy Graham why did God make this to be that single, but, without getting too far happen?

He replied ‘I don’t know.’

We into the weeds, it just wasn’t in the cards thought, what kind of good counsel is that? at that time. We didn’t have a solid consensus within our label . . .” he trails off, Man, through free will, makes these things and I sense a sense of missed opportunity. happen. Not God. Not Buddha. Not the “It’s such a great track though!” he parent of the universe or whatever great rebounds.” It’s probably my favorite song spirit you want to call it or believe in. That’s why Jo wrote the line ‘And I realized that I/ on the album.”

Was causing all this rain/Somebody help “I’m still in awe of Flapjacks,” says the me stop the rain.’” guitar hero who counts Duane Allman, “But most importantly,” she recalls with Carlos Santana, and most importantly his deep sincerity, “our fans had our backs brother Michael, who would lay his Marshall throughout it all. Some put us up when we amp face down on their bedroom floor so were moving.

We recorded in friend’s homes he wouldn’t shatter the windows when he in Cold Spring and Connecticut. One fan played, as his influences. “Not to take lent us her studio in Brooklyn where we anything away from our other recordings, fi nished the album.

Jo wrote a beautiful but it was definitely a landmark and I get song “I Love Brooklyn Tonight” at the tail emotional thinking about how much work end of the process that didn’t make the and life went into it.” album but hopefully will be on an upcoming “Yeah, we managed to skip the dreaded disc.” sophomore jinx by releasing our second Stay tuned . . . and third albums simultaneously.” Tink Friday, July 31st, 2015 begins with a laugh.

“Sharkey worked real hard on Flapjacks,” Every band would kill for a single album she concurs a few days later. “And it took

• • • •

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Summer 2015 Issue

Ann Jamieson

Magic Wings

The sign by the door reads “Smell me.” Pots of fragrant gardenia bid the traveler to stop and indulge in their heady fragrance. Norfolk Island Pines stretch to the roof, lantana cascades down a stone wall, natural light illumines the interior. Stunning butterflies in cobalt blue, fire red and shimmering chartreuse flutter by. Hmm, did someone beam us to Florida?

No, this haven of greenery and warmth exists close by us at Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory & Gardens in South Deerfield, Massachusetts. Although an interesting and fun place to go in any season, it particularly beckons after a long and brutal winter.

Craving an escape from a season of negative temperatures and non-stop snow, New England and in the world), as well as the aforementioned butterflies. Enormous, New York residents can warm themselves in tropical temperatures brilliantly colored koi inhabit the pond. Reptiles also abound; amidst verdant greenery, brilliant multi-color birds (including the thankfully they reside in covered fish tanks.

Gouldian Finch, a native of Australia and the most colorful bird Powderpuff, orchids, caliandra, hibiscus and chenille plants populate the conservatory with color and exquisite forms, and most of them are as attractive to the butterflies as they are to us. Some of the butterflies you’ll see include Blue Morphos, Cattlehearts, Piano Keys, Zebra Longwing and Scarlet Swallowtail, and they hail from all around the world.

Located conveniently on Route 5 about equidistant between Yankee Candle (so big you are handed a map upon entering and chock full of much more than candles) and Richardson’s Candy Kitchen (a favorite place to stop for homemade, mouth-watering chocolates), Magic Wings does more than lighten spirits deadened by winter. It entertains and enlightens.

The first room you enter, the display room, unveils such mysteries as what butterflies eat, how some survive the winter (by overwintering in their chrysalis, which is how we get our first butterflies in the spring), the difference between butterflies and moths, and the life span of a butterfly (about two months). In addition

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Va n Wyck Ga ze tte there is an educational video.

Displays of stick bugs and leaf bugs amaze—can you spot the bug against its leafy background? Tanks of poison dart frogs, residents for the past 12 years, surprise people with their delicate, brilliant beauty. Piles of Madagascar hissing beetles, which can reach two to three inches, have a certain bizarre fascination. Hard to believe some people keep them as pets!

If you’re hungry the cafe is a great place to eat. Homemade soups (a corn chowder was on order the day we visited, lusciously creamy and sweet with no lack of corn and big chunks of potatoes, it proved the perfect lunch on a frigid winter day ) and home baked goods, along with sandwiches, pizza and hotdogs and hamburgers are all available. Their clam chowder has even won awards at a local chowder cook off! Be sure to sit in the sun drenched tropical atrium when you eat.

Even the bathrooms are butterfly themed, as the tiles on the walls were made by art students from the Full Circle School in Bernardston, Massachusetts. Their assignment was “See butterflies in your minds eye and paint what you see.”

The family owned and operated enterprise has been in business over 15 years. Kathy Fiore’s father George Miller started in 1998 as the general contractor to build Magic Wings. Becoming fascinated by the project, he chose to become a partner. Within three years, he brought his daughter and son (also George) into the business.

Both off doing other things, they had absolutely no plans to open a butterfly conservatory. “You never know where your path will take you,” declares Kathy.

On staff is a horticulturist for the plants and an entomologist specializing in butterflies (lepidopterist) for the butterflies. The conservatory is relaxing and beautiful, and Kathy encourages all her hard working employees to take a breather and go spend time there. “After all, that’s what we’re here for!”

Magic Wings is also available for bridal showers, rehearsal dinners, and other events.

The 8000 square foot building houses around 4000 butterflies and is open every day except Thanksgiving and Christmas. Hours are nine to five except in the summer when they are open until six. For more information give them a call at (413) 665-2805 or take a look at their website, www.magicwings.com

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Christoper Jodlowski Approaching the hamlet of Hopewell Junction with my boys after some errands on a cold, sunny Saturday, a roadside sign caught my eye. I recalled hearing about “the Depot restoration,” but I hadn’t given it much of a thought since. This happened to be one of those rare weekends when we didn’t have a million places to be, so I suggested to my kids “hey, let’s go check it out.” My suggestion was met with a pretty tepid, if not completely skeptical response. To be fair, they’ve been worn down by historical detours their whole lives. But since my vote counts more than their two, we pulled a quick U-turn and went back to explore.

Summer 2015 Issue

Hopewell Depot flat-top desk displayed an array of telegraph keys and typewriters and other trade-tools of the period.

As we passed into the South Waiting Room – now a museum - Mark’s excitement grew. For the next 45 minutes, he showed and explained - partly to me, but mostly to my kids – relics of days long past. And for those 45 minutes, two boys you’d think would rather be staring at video games were completely enthralled.

As Mark showed us 100 year old log books and told of the history of the area – the geography and geology and topography, even he, who’d told these stories countless times, would pause to gaze at whatever piece of history we were studying as though he was admiring it in amazement anew.

If the history of the Depot is interesting, the story of its restoration is simply remarkable. It comprises the tales of individuals, each drawn to it in different ways and for their own reasons, but all eventually becoming caretakers and storytellers in their own right.

The Hudson Valley is flush with enough history to keep even the most ardent buff well occupied. It’s seldom, though, that one can find among all that history a symbol of the very start of something. Yet there, nestled away on a gravel lot, just outside the busy shopping centers of Hopewell Junction is exactly that – the very place that put the “Junction” in Hopewell. And that is the point at which we found ourselves.

The excitement for what the volunteers have built there comes through in the wide-eyed excitement with which each re-tells the story of how they came to get involved and how far they’ve seen the project come.

down. Then he lead us through a short hallway and seemingly back in time. The Hopewell Depot is laid out in a squat “H” pattern, the two ends essentially acted as “smoking” and “non-smoking” waiting rooms and the hallway between divided two offices. On one side, the Station Master’s office furnished with a period rolltop desk, and across from it a small room that multi-tasked as a communications center, freight office, and ticket window. In it, a

Joe continued his introductions. “We like to think of Rich as the father of the Depot,” Rich Taylor seemed like he might otherwise be a quiet man. The kind of guy who would typically stand in the background and not say much. But we were standing in the Depot, and he spoke of it the way a proud father speaks of his children.

“I was walking down the bike path and as I came by here, there was all kinds of activity. I stopped to see what was going on and before I knew it, there was a hammer in my hand,” volunteer Joe The small, pale yellow building sits alone, back off of route 376, Sullivan recalls.

Three years later, Joe is the President of the Hopewell Depot away from nearby houses and shops. It looks like any other oldtimey train station you’d imagine, with its symmetrical footprint Restoration Corporation. Joe introduced me to other volunteers. and squat, broadly overhanging roof. From the outside, everything Bernie Rudberg is their resident historian. “Bernie,” he tells me, seemed quiet. No people around and not many cars in the parking “wrote the book on the history of the railroad in this area. Literally.” lot. The snow kept the nearby rail trail empty. But the sign on the He pointed to a shelf in the corner where a book with a photo of the very building in which we’re standing on the cover, and below door said “Open” so in we went.

A kind-eyed, bearded man named Mark welcomed us warmly. it “Bernard L. Rudberg.” Bernie’s wife, Celeste, along with being Standing in what used to be the main waiting room, he gave us a member of the Depot, is also a member of the Fishkill historical a brief history of the Depot – that it had originally been built in society and in a few short minutes, told me more about the town 1873, it had been moved twice to better service the changing I’ve lived in for the past 12 years than I’d ever heard in that entire rails, and that before being restored, it had been nearly burned time.

“I was just headed to one of the shops over there to get some

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Va n Wyck Ga ze tte welding done. I saw this back here and I knew immediately that something had to be done. I had no idea how it was going to happen, but I knew it had to happen.”

The “this” in 1995 when Rich passed by was a charred shell hull of building that now stands here. In 1986, an arsonist had set fire to the building and for the next nine years, it sat alone among gravel and weeds, a forgotten relic.

The “something” at that point, was simply tarping the roof and halting the decay. Rich pulled together a steering committee that would eventually become the Hopewell Depot Restoration Corporation.

Unfortunately, due to other commitments – Rich and his wife also founded Habitat for Humanity of Dutchess County – he was unable to join that committee at the time. So the newly formed Corporation got started on what, for any such group, is the hard part: organizing people and raising money. And that step took a while. Fifteen years, to be exact. For those 15 years, the folks of the Hopewell Depot Restoration Corporation struggled to make progress. But in 2010, with the building facing demolition, Rich found time to rejoin the group and the hands-on work finally began.

“The first thing we did when we came inside. . .” Rich paused to smile “. . .was shovel snow off the floor.”

In 2010, the Dutchess County Rail Trail, which now brings visitors to the Depot by bike and on foot along the same route by which they once came by train, opened just yards away. That, undoubtedly, brought more attention to the building and its restoration and work quickened.

In 2011, as things were moving along nicely, the project hit a bump.

“We needed a new roof structure,” Rich recalled. “And it was going to cost $5,500. Without a roof to cap the building, all of the work inside would be at risk.” They put out the word and within days a local businessman delivered a check for the full amount.

“We then went to the East Fishkill town board and told them a replica of the Depot’s original slate tile roof would cost $10,700. After a short private discussion, they quickly agreed to give us $11,000.“ With that funding in place, they could now finish capping the structure.

“It was January 11, 2011,” he continued. “It was minus three degrees out and I came expecting that a few of us who showed up were about to have a long cold day of roofing. But 25 people showed up that day to help out.”

“Twenty five people,” he repeated in admiration.

Then, as if they can just never get enough of it, the two men paused to look around and take in just how far they’ve all come. The work isn’t over, though.

“We want to make the area around the Depot into a small park that reflects its history. We’re working with the County to build an Interlocking Tower like the one that stood across the tracks (now the rail trail) from the Depot. The new tower would include rest rooms for the public.

We’re also reaching out to the railroad (The MTA currently owns the property to the west of the Depot) in the hopes we can bring in a rolling stock exhibit. Perhaps a restored caboose.” Joe explained.

Those projects, of course take the time of volunteers and the financial good will from a public that’s ever squeezed. The Depot currently runs on funds raised during an Arts and Crafts fair on the first Saturdays of each month through the summer and donations from visitors. That road will be long and they know it. But they have going for them the knowledge of just how far they’ve come.

“There’s a lot more we can do around here,” Joe said, “But we’re excited. We’re really excited.”

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Summer 2015 Issue

The Soundtrack of Our Lives

Dawn Wan Heading into work one day, I boarded the Metro-North train bound for Manhattan.

My head swirled with a host of random thoughts: remembering the bill I forgot to pay, ruefully; pondering what I might eat for a snack later on, delightedly; and contemplating my pesky co-workers that I would soon have to see, unfortunately.

Finding a suitable seat facing the Hudson River, I plopped down and slid towards the window, tossing my backpack next to me.

I tilted my forehead against the cool tempered glass and stared out at the rolling Hudson River. Approaching was the Tappan Zee Bridge, standing resolutely, carrying the weight of a steady stream of traffic, like a resigned Hercules obediently fulfilling bridge duty.

I pulled out my iPod and stuck in my earbuds, selecting from the playlist Paul Mauriat’s classic instrumental version of the French song, Love is Blue. As soon as the familiar notes of the strings-intro cascaded into my ear canals, I was transported from the somber grey train I was sitting on to the colorful, noisy surroundings of my second grade classroom, where I fondly remember putting a found 45 rpm record on a mini portable record player. It was then that I discovered Love is Blue, a song that so delighted my senses that I played it over and over again, hypnotically listening to its enchanting melody until an annoyed classmate bumped me off the turntable. Now, some 30 years later riding the train to Manhattan and a world away from second grade, that song

still captivates me and takes me back to literally and figuratively. After one brief lesson, however, Art promptly went away that wondrous first introduction. on a three-week vacation. Nevertheless, I I moved on to another beloved song, was thrilled by my new mobility and, Heartbeat City by The Cars. The signature apparently, so was my employer, a photo spacey synthesizer sounds that open Ric lab chain, who immediately started Ocasek’s atmospheric love song wistfully scheduling me at every far-reaching lab in brought me back to that wintry day in 2006 the city. when I drove home my first brand-new car.

Since temperatures were in the triple I had been driving around an old beater, a dusty 4-cylinder Subaru that took its last digits, I naturally turned the air conditioning gasp pretty much the minute I parked it on on full blast each time I got in my car to go to work. Without fail, my anemic vehicle the dealership lot for trade-in. would stall at any and every major That night, I took my new VW Rabbit out intersection, inducing a cacophony of blaring for a joy ride, and it was, fittingly, The Cars car horns that would send me into a Greatest Hits that I popped into the CD panicked frenzy. In those agitated moments, player. The moon was out. The barren trees I would inadvertently alternate between glistened. The windows, gleaming and pumping the gas and the brake pedal, while spotless, reminded me of a cockpit and throwing the car into God- knows what gear. aroused in me a primal need to speed. Now Needless to say, that never helped start the armed with 5 powerful cylinders, I boost car. the acceleration and the engine came After a calamitous series of stalls that roaring to life. Silver-lined hilltops raced past me. The syncopated yellow line blurred would traumatize most people to the point into a steady fuzzy one. Meanwhile, my of permanently giving up the wheel, I finally then state-of-the- art stereo sound system stumbled upon the realization that as bad bathed me with the sounds of Heartbeat as my driving was, the stalls were in large City. Mindless euphoria surged within me, part due to my car’s feeble engine that and like a lone eagle soaring over a vast sputtered in the face of simultaneously cruising and running the A/C. canyon, I felt free.

I recalled another time when I felt that sense of freedom, 1988. The place: Tucson, Arizona. The summer: scorching hot. I was in search of a car, which back then, was to be my very first. My friend, Art, along for moral support, insisted I buy the ‘gently used’ Nissan Sentra manual transmission that we were perusing.

Aha! No longer did I need to beat myself up for being such a lousy driver. After all, I did sort-of teach myself how to operate a stick, I reasoned. I just needed to ride with the air conditioning off. Of course, that meant I would have to travel with the windows wide open, lest I fry in the car like a hunk of cheese in the oven.

Cue the Double Gulp: the colossal drink available at your local 7-Eleven convenient “I don’t know how to drive a stick shift!” I store. For the unenlightened, the Double cried.

Gulp is not for the faint-of-heart. Oh no. At He promised to teach me, so I bought it, a whopping 64 ounces, this monster of a “It’s such a good deal!” he crowed.

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Va n Wyck Ga ze tte drink with its massive girth and sheer volume of ice and soda was made for the long haul, steadfastly providing the necessary stream of sugar, caffeine, and coldness to power a person for, oh, at least a few hours in the blistering Arizona sun. Only a desert denizen driving around with zero air conditioning in the peak of summer could truly appreciate a drink of such magnitude. I was that denizen.

Once accustomed to the sweltering heat blowing in on me and cooled by my ongoing series of chilly, perspiring Double Gulps, I relished the driving at last, even if it was just to get to and from work. No longer was I stalling - at least not as much.

Fortunately, the car still drove with the radio on! That summer, Red, Red Wine by UB40 dominated the airwaves, and even though the lyrics spoke of drowning one’s sorrows over unrequited love, its upbeat tone translated into my personal anthem of freedom. Victory was mine.

Red, red wine! I had conquered the challenge of how to drive a stick, and now I was free to go wherever I pleased. Every time Red, Red Wine came on the radio, I blasted it through my crappy speakers: singing along, sipping my soda, sweating profusely, and celebrating my newly acquired independence.

I continued my reverie of darling songs until an unwitting jab to the arm from a newly arrived seatmate jarred me back to reality. I glanced around and glumly ascertained that we were almost to Manhattan.

Shortly thereafter, we entered the tunnel approaching Grand Central Station, and the sky’s brightness immediately turned black. In the stream of darkness, I realized that music was never the background of my life; it was the soundtrack. It is the soundtrack to most people’s lives- the lubricant that wets the transmission, even when we don’t know how to drive.

It occurred to me as I departed the stilled train, now parked in the station, that if we experienced occasions of sadness or any kind of unhappiness, that maybe if we listened to the songs that underscored those feelings, we could, not so much forget the sad, the bad, or the general wickedness of the world, but embrace them like we do a melancholic song that reminds us of bittersweet heartbreak, loss, or yearning for what might have been.

I continued my train of thought as the hectic sea of New Yorkers jostled me in the echoing corridors of Grand Central. I concluded that not only could we learn to accept these less-than-stellar moments, we could also learn how not to get stuck in them. It was simple. Just keep listening. Eventually, we’ll move past the bitter memories that poke painfully at our tender wounds and recall the splendid ones that summon our most exquisite experiences, such as when a found record electrifies a seven-year-old or a Volkswagen miraculously bolts like a jackrabbit, even with the air conditioning on. Indeed, life goes on… Our collection of experiences grows, and the jukebox of our lives becomes an everwidening catalog.

And for the occasions when life throws us into a cataclysmic tailspin, thankfully, there’s the option of pressing ‘repeat.’

Dawn Wan is a writer, screenwriter, and holistic health practitioner.

After years of working in holistic health, she reconnected to her love of writing and returned to school, recently receiving her Masters in Film & Writing at NYU. She is currently shopping her TV pilot, Pangaea Town, about an oddball community of people living and working at a holistic retreat center, and working on a screenplay about a woman on the edge of metaphysical madness, aka a mid-life crisis.

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Summer 2015 Issue

Janet Hamill

Follow Your Bliss to Bliss

Just as Dutchess has Beacon and Ulster Woodstock, Orange County has Sugar Loaf – a hamlet in the shadow of Sugar Loaf Mountain, devoted to creating and merchandising art and crafts.

Originally founded in the mid-1700s as a Kings Highway stopping point for weary travelers and horses, Sugar Loaf became an artists’ community in the 1970s when painters and craftspeople began to live and work in the village’s 18th century buildings and barns.

Sugar Loaf is easily reached by taking Route 17 East or West to Chester exits, 126 or 127. From there, follow signs to County Route 13 (Kings Highway). In six, rural miles, you’ll be at the artisan’s mecca.

Kings Highway

nyl revival, keep it new!

Although subsequent decades have seen residential development infringe on this cluster of studios, shops and restaurants, an optimistic spirit of creativity and authenticity thrives.

Recent additions, including the Sugar Loaf Performing Arts Center), the Seligmann Center for the Arts (at the country estate of the late Swiss American Surrealist painter, Kurt Seligmann), and Sugar Loaf Records, specializing in the vi-

On the first glorious Saturday after a seem-ingly endless winter, I drove to Sugar Loaf. The sun beat down and the wind was mild, as I pulled into the parking lot beside the Barn Sider Restaurant, a village mainstay since 1988. It was a perfect

Bliss Anniversary

day for strolling, the kind of lazy wandering that’s part Sugar Loaf’s charm. I walked past other mainstays –The Candle Shop, Sugar Loaf Gallery and Framing, the Bertoni Sculpture Gallery, My Sister’s Closet (which sells the kind of Bohemian chic I wear on special occasions), Pisces Passions and Rosner Soap. Whatever your arts and craft heart desires, there’s an 18th century, Victorian or ramshackle shop that sells it.

The most eclectic shop of all is Bliss Co-op. Nestled at the end of Romer’s Alley (a charming lane off of Kings Highway), Bliss was celebrating its fourth anniversary and was to be honored that evening by the Sugar Loaf Chamber of Commerce with a cocktail mixer at the Barn Sider.

Outside the women’s art cooperative, celebration and festivity was evident in the pink and white balloons, bright blue, hand-dyed summer dresses, yellow Adirondack chairs and a white awning over the sale table. Inside the celebrating continued in a burst of colorful handmade wares, beautifully displayed. As it was an anniversary, cakes, cookies and beverages were available to the public.

Although Bliss had only been open for a half hour when I entered (in general, shops in Sugar Loaf don’t open until 11 a.m.), the cozy space was filled with customers and artisans. Adrienne Butvinik, an artisan from Otisville who creates wearable, hand-dyed art, greeted me and took me on a tour. I was shown unique items, all hand-crafted – earrings, bracelets, necklaces, hats, bags, photographs, 3-D greeting cards, pottery, felt wear, clothes made from recycled clothes, stained

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Bliss Artisans Dorothy Brady and Adrienne Budvinik

glass, acrylic and oil paintings, terrariums, lace wear, candles, mirrors on dinner plates, bottled oils and essences and lots baby clothes.

Adrienne introduced me to Dana Anders, Bliss’s founder and fellow artisan. She took me outside and told me more about the women’s cooperative.

We sat in the yellow Adirondack chairs, and I learned that Bliss, like many a good thing, was the result of serendipity. On visits from home in Ossining to her parents in Greenville, Dana used to stop in Sugar Loaf to visit a friend’s shop. Dana’s friend invited her to sell her handmade, 3-D greeting cards. The cards sold so well that Dana was encouraged to open a shop of her own in 2011.

In an effort to engage other regional and local women artisans, as well as enjoy the camaraderie and support she found in their company, Dana decided to make the shop a cooperative. It was named Bliss – dictionary defined as “complete happiness.” An ad in the Orange County Arts newsletter soon brought vendors, and Bliss was on its way.

Within a year it had to expand to its present location in Romer’s Alley. Currently, more than three dozen artisans belong to the cooperative, some from as far away as Staten Island and New Jersey.

Each artisan rents a section of the shop; that section becomes her territory; and patrons who favor her work always know where to find it. Members help out by “sitting” in the shop.

Dana said that women are the biggest shoppers, though if a man comes in looking for a tie, T-shirt or shaving mug, he’s sure to find one. Fall and the winter holidays are the busiest time of year; baby clothes are the biggest sellers; and gift wrapping is free. In addition to presenting high quality merchandise, the artisans at Bliss also hold presentations and workshops. When asked why Bliss has been so successful, Dana stresses hard work, perseverance, the quality and variety of the merchandise and the cooperative’s special niche in the Hudson Valley craft world.

Before leaving, I asked Dana and some of the other artisans how they felt about the future of the cooperative and Sugar Loaf, in general. After all, these are not the best times, financially, and Bliss, and every other vendor in Sugar Loaf, is selling what most consider luxury goods. Everyone was upbeat. New shops are opening, buildings are being restored, and Sugar Loaf PAC is introducing people to the hamlet’s attractions for the first time. When asked if anything could further enhance Sugar Loaf’s charm, Ms. Budvinik didn’t hesitate.

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Summer 2015 Issue

Technology

YikeBike Undiscovered Urban Freedom

At YikeBike we love cool gadgets and freedom. We didn’t want It’s time to discover urban freedom - YikeBike has evolved - the to create a namby-pamby device but wanted something that would fully electric folding bike that remains undiscovered by most of genuinely give people more freedom to rapidly move around our the world is now even better. congested cities. YikeBikes are built for people who love the mix of quality, design and usability. YikeBike has earned awards, accolades and acknowledgements from Time Magazine, the Guinness Book of World Records, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) as well as other international organizations.

YikeBike is a driven group of inspirational people, whose vision, courage and commitment dares to change the world. With bicycle design virtually unchanged for over 100 years, YikeBike’s unique configuration challenges the status quo. Our aim when we started this project was to design something that could become the most commonly used transport device in the world.

YikeBike has invested millions of dollars, years of research and development - validated by thousands of hours of testing - that culminate at the bespoke production facility in New Zealand.

Headquarters and manufacturing are in Christchurch, New Zealand where the stringent quality and assembly systems are in YikeBike’s full control. Christchurch is an internationally recognized high technology hub where YikeBike leverage the technology and manufacturing relationships to ensure leading edge robust solutions.

YikeBike history YikeBike Ltd introduced the first mini-farthing concept in 2009 and has continued to evolve the YikeBike design through a dedicated R&D and manufacturing team in New Zealand. The design vision is that YikeBikes are not only functional but should look so good you want to hang them on the wall as a piece of art.

With exceptional performance, design and safety the YikeBike is the lightest and smallest fully electric folding bike in the world weighing less than 12kg, leveraging carbon fiber materials and the latest electronics and battery technology.

There are two new models: model V comes with both a 2 and YikeBike is backed by two of the largest venture investment 3 wheel configuration that can be simply swapped to provide instant balance as well as building the rider’s confidence. The firms in New Zealand, Pioneer Capital Partners and K1W1 as model C is the lightweight premium product, utilizing carbon-fiber well as a number of visionary private investors who believe in the value proposition and long-term opportunities for the YikeBike. materials and the latest Lithium-Ion battery technology. www.yikebike.com

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Page 23

Va n Wyck Ga ze tte Thai food is amongst some of the most nutritious and healthiest foods you can eat.

The flavors of Thai food are quite different than those of any other cuisine. It is globally popular due to its unique flavors of fresh and dried ingredients. Many of the fresh herbs and spices used in Thai cooking such as turmeric, galangal, coriander, lemon grass and fresh chillies are all known for their health benefits.

spices. Pongsak, the owner and chef from a team with two longtime restaurateurs, Pimonkarn and Jitlada, who each have between 10 and 20 years of restaurant operations and service experience.

All three are originally from Thailand and met working in a Thai/Sushi Restaurant in Orlando, Florida, and became friends. “We looked for a restaurant to run together and found several on a Thai society website that were for sale. After visiting several restaurants from Maine, Florida, Georgia, and New York, we decided to call the Hudson Valley our home and now own and operate Golden Buddha Thai. Pimonkarn’s family owned a restaurant in Thailand and she serves as the head chef now and handles the recipes, sauces, and makes sure to keep the Thai authenticity of the food. Jitlada handles the front end of the restaurant including greeting and serving guests, educating customers on the food and helping diners to choose meals they will enjoy.”

Harmony is the guiding principle behind each Thai dish. Thai cuisine brings the marriage of Centuries-old Eastern and Western influences harmoniously combined into something uniquely Thai. The special “We want our guests to feel as though combination of fresh herbs and spices used they are walking into their own living room, in preparing Thai dishes is what gives Thai but also to enjoy the beautiful Thai culture food its very distinctive character. It is also in an inviting atmosphere that features a known for being one of the healthiest foods. pictorial Thailand experience. Like you are Golden Buddha Thai, under new own- taking a short trip to Thailand.” said Jitlada. ership since August of 2014, meticulously The atmosphere is inviting and relaxed, prepares every dish from scratch in and the entire staff is friendly and welcoming. authentic Thai home style fashion using All dishes are freshly prepared to order and only high quality ingredients and fresh

Thai Cuisine

From left, Jitlada, Pimonkarn & Pongsak

the menu includes a range of starters (appetizers), soups, stir-fries, curries, rice and noodle dishes and a range of vegetarian options to suit all tastes and ages, including those seeking gluten-free food.

Beverage choices at Golden Buddha Thai include a slim selection of wines, beer, sake, and sake cocktails. Sake cocktails, Asian infused, such as Ginger Crush, Strawberry Basil Smash, Thai Tea Bomb, a milk-based drink served cold and infused with exotic spices.

We are located in the heart of the village of Fishkill, NY on Main St. (Route 52) across the street from Chase bank (CVS and Gold’s Gym plaza), just minutes away from Route 9. We offer a lunch special (2 course meal for $10), dine in, take out, and catering.

Golden Buddha Thai is open Tuesday through Sunday for lunch and dinner.

Re-charge your spirit with the tastes of Thai at

GOLDEN BUDDHA THAI

UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP SINCE AUGUST 2014

• Cooked order by order from scratch by real Thai chef • Lunch special 2 course meal for $10 (dine in only) • Lunch, Dinner,Take out and Catering • We offer Vegan and Gluten free dishes • Open Lunch and Dinner Tuesday - Sunday (Closed Mondays) • 5 star rating on Yelp!

985 Main Street, Fishkill, NY 12524 Next to Beverage store across from Chase bank (CVS plaza)

845.765.1055

SERVING BEER AND WINE www.goldenbuddhathai.com Like us on www.facebook.com/goldenbuddhathai

Spring Issue 2015

Van Wyck Gazette

Holiday Issue Winter 2014

Van Wyck Gazette

The Grand Slambovians Marian Anderson

Rhinebeck • Poughkeepsie • Wappingers Falls • Fishkill • Beacon • Newburgh

Daryl Hall Interview

by Mike Jurkovic

Rhinebeck • Poughkeepsie • Wappingers Falls • Fishkill • Beacon • Newburgh

www.vanwyckgazette.com