CT-248 NOV. 4 ‘14

Hi everyone and welcome to another exciting and thought provoking issue of this bi-weekly newsletter The CORNERSTONE TRAVELER. Also available on the web at www.cornerstonetraveler.com

mid-Hudson Valley news: Now that today is the mid-term election day, we can finally see those silly campaign signs for each candidate for office come down. The signs that dominate all corners of our streets and highways. I fail to see the reasoning behind the placement of those signs. It is not unusual to see twenty or thirty signs at an intersection. Do the people of these candidates really believe that the drivers are going to stop and read each of the signs? The problem with these signs is that they remain for weeks after the election. I firmly believe there should be a law that makes it mandatory that the political candidates have these signs removed from public view within two weeks after the election. One week would be better, but I’ll go with two weeks.
I know that this is not a problem to only the mid-Hudson Valley, but all over the country. But a change must be made so why not the mid-Hudson Valley?

observations: I have been noticing a disturbing trend in political campaigns and advertising. And that is the silliness and downright nonsense of the political ads. I noticed this with the Tea party (Republican) candidate for Congress in New York, Nan Hayworth, who was unseated in 2012 after only one term by Sean Patrick Maloney. The ad proclaims from many people that “Maloney is full of Baloney” This is repeated for over a minute. Than Nan Hayworth comes on and says she supported the ad.
When asked about this political ad, Maloney laughs that is good for third graders. I personally believe that the ad is insulting for third graders.
This ad airs about a dozen times a day. I have to wonder what the cost is to the Hayworth campaign?
I remember during the Obama-Romney presidential campaign and how the Romney campaign was more discourteous than the Obama campaign. And where did these negative ads get Romney? Can you say loser?
I have read where Thom Tillis in South Carolina, a Tea Party candidate for Congress wants another government shutdown. The Tea Party took a hit with approval ratings after the last government shutdown. It cost the American economy 30 billion dollars that will never be recovered.
Just think about it.

sports: The Rangers are now 5-4-1 in the Atlantic Division of the NHL with 11 points.
The Islanders are 6-5 un the same Division with 12 points.
The NBA started and the Knicks are 2-1 in the Eastern Conference.
The Nets are 1-1 in the same Conference.
The Jets lost their eight straight game to the Chiefs by a score of 24-10.
The Giants

other: As with all previous issues of this newsletter, everything printed here is either copyright protected or copyright pending.
The history of P&G’s follows this newsletter from the year 1900 when the building was first constructed to about the mid 1930’s.
Following this history is the third and final part of my short story called The BOOK.
I hope you like it.
To paraphrase the political candidates “I approved this newsletter.”

Thank-you – Rik McGuire

The History of P&G’s from the Beginning

Travel back more than a century to the spring of 1900 as builder John H. Hasbrouck and his men construct a 50′ by 28′ building on the site of the current P&G’s Restaurant. Look around and begin to imagine.
The first floor features a fountain with water softly falling into a cobblestone basin. The exotic effect is enhanced with darting goldfish and blooming water lilies. Palms set liberally throughout the room, provide an air of privacy for those seated at the groups of small tables. Patrons, dressed in their finest, sit chatting, sometimes courting and enjoying the establishments fine refreshments.
The upper story is a promenade, opened to a full view of sunset over the Shawangunk Mountains. Live music gently eases you from afternoon into evening. Welcome to the ambiance and hospitality of the Casino.
The Casino’s owner, Mr Steen, had correctly envisioned the areas many tourists, summer boarders and trolley passengers stopping to enjoy the unique features of his establishment. The terminal station for the trolley line from Highland is located just across Main Street. It is said that Steen patterned the Casino after the famous Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs.
On June 1, 1900 the Casino was officially opened. That evening “a large number of people enjoyed the ice cream, music and the lovely mountains views.” according to the New Paltz Independent newspaper. Music was provided by a band which included a piano and several other instruments. The Casino soon became famous for Saturday night dances held on the second floor of the open pavilion. It was decorated with flowers and vines suspended from the rafters. The crowds were so large that special late trolley cars were run to accommodate the guests and take the orchestra back to Poughkeepsie.
The electric power shut down at midnight. According to Independent writer Delia Shaw “…the time of closing and the departure of the last trolley (run by electricity) had to be reckoned with, but as was often the case, several folks ‘Missed the Last Trolley’… seems between intermissions the fellows would walk their girls down the street where numerous straw thatched summer houses were located on the banks of the Wallkill River and they were so preoccupied with making love by the light of the silvery moon that they forgot everything.” Shaw continued. “Saturday Nights In New Paltz Became A Legend! There was not a single hitching post available, nor an inch of space under any of the sheds of the five local hotels. The Casino drew people from surrounding towns and they came via hay loads and 4 seated carriages, while some men even walked and carried their dancing shoes. ‘Little Larry,’ the shoeshine fellow, did a landslide business on Sat. Nights! As did all the merchants and the stores open ‘til 9 p.m.”
By 1921 the Casino had changed hands and names, becoming the Blue Crane Inn. Ads of the era read.
The big Night at the Blue Crane Inn
Dancing Every Wednesday and Saturday Evening
In the Chinese Hall-Good Jazzy Music.

The cornerstone of nightlife in New Paltz continued to thrive.
In 1925, after 28 Years of service, the Highland to New Paltz trolley company folded. The demise of the trolley business and the affordability of the automobile meant peoples outings were no longer confined to the trolley’s narrow corridor. They could drive to any village hotel, restaurant, or scenic spot that caught their fancy. Indeed, New Paltz and the Blue Crane Inn lost their captive audience. The Inn, however, continued to accommodate people well into the 1930’s. Other establishments came and went until 1947 when it became Pat and Georges and ultimately was nicknamed the P&G’s that welcomes everybody.

The BOOK ( part III – the future)

Cliff and Jessie were married in the Old North Church in Boston a few weeks after Easter. Cliff was only able to get a week off from teaching at the University after Spring Break. During this time he and Jessie went on their honeymoon to the Catskills. It was a beautiful spring weather in the Shawnagunk mount range below the Catskills.
Being the trained archaeologist he was, he spent any available time walking the many miles of trails looking for archaeological findings. He found little, but for a few ancient arrow heads because the trails were stripped clean of archeological remnants by thousands of tourists that walked and combed the trails before him. Plus the local State University of New York schools archeology department most likely spent countless hours searching the trails as he did.
Not finding the archeological remains was not a concern for Cliff because he was happy to be married to Jessie.
After their honeymoon, they spent a few weeks looking for a home to buy near Boston. They found an old Victorian in Salem Mass. that they could barely afford. But they got a good deal because Jessie was an accomplished real estate agent for a major agency in Boston. With their combined incomes they were able to afford the house with taxes, utilities etc. But after the first of each month they were hard pressed to pay for any thing else.
Jessie knew of Cliffs find of The BOOK in the Pyrenees and knew he had to go back just one more time to complete his research.
Cliff still had enough in available grant money to afford the trip to Madrid, but as before it was a twelve hour flight from Boston to Laguardia to London and finally to Madrid. There was even enough left in his grant to take Jessie along with him and he wanted to take her with him. Jessie was more than willing to tag along because she was that curious of what he had discovered in the Pyrenees.
After the long grueling flight and the rough transportation to the Village at the base of the Pyrenees, they were greeted enthusiastically by the villagers who remembered Cliff and were ecstatic seeing his new bride. And again they were given a feast, followed by a private bath where they could wash each other lovingly.
After two days of rest, they took the horse drawn carriage to the mountain peak. It was a harrowing ride for Jessie because like Cliff a year earlier, she was frightened when the wagon wheels became precariously close to a cliff edge.
After they finally got to the castle that encompassed the church, they were met by Marcellus who wasn’t surprised when Jessie climbed out of the carriage with Cliff.
“You act like you were expecting her.” Cliff said to Marcellus.
Marcellus could only smile and nod.
“You were? Weren’t you?” Cliff asked and almost demanded.
And again Marcellus smiled. “It was written in The BOOK that I would meet your new bride. And where else would I meet her, but at the place I haven’t left for over five hundred years.”
After a brief tour of the castle and the grounds surrounding the castle, Cliff took Jessie back inside where they were met by Marcellus.
“Your room is the same as before. The only change is that I had the twin bed replaced with a double bed to better accommodate you and your bride.” He smiled.
“I appreciate it greatly.” Cliff smiled at Jessie as he held her hand.
Marcellus pointed to the stairs. “Prepare yourselves for a feast. In two hours.”

They both grabbed their bags and trudged up the staircase to the room where they would spend the next two months.
When Cliff opened the door for Jessie, she looked in and gasped. “The room is beautiful.” She exclaimed.
Cliff noted the double bed and two easy chairs with a table between them. “Marcellus outdid himself this time.”
“It wasn’t like this before?” Jessie asked.
Cliff shook his head. “No. Just a bed, desk and one easy chair. He definitely knew you would be accompanying me this time.”
Jessie could only smile then ask. “He said ‘where else would he meet me but here in the castle he hasn’t left for over five hundred years. Is he that old? And how?”
Cliff only smiled. “It is the magic of the castle.”
“What happens now?” Jessie asked.
“I have to read The BOOK. I will start to read it in the morning. After we have a good nights rest. But first we will have a feast of a dinner.”
After a short time Marcellus knocked and said. “Dinner is ready to be served.”
They sat down to a feast of lamb and beef with many vegetables. After dinner Cliff and Jessie climbed the stairs to their room where they spent a long time enjoying each others bodies.

Early the next morning, Cliff rose quietly so as not to wake Jessie and padded down the
stairs to the dinning room where he was met by Marcellus with a steaming cup of espresso.
After he finished his espresso, Cliff went directly to the library to finish his reading of The BOOK or so he thought. He went directly to the dais that still held the Ancient leather bound Book and sat on the stool in front of it and turned the cover over to reveal what The BOOK had to say about the future.
On the first page were words that stunned Cliff:

WELCOME Mr. JACOBS – The FUTURE AWAITS YOU.

To say that Cliff was shocked by what he had read would seriously undermine his reaction. He was opened mouth as he turned the page to the writings of the future.

Mr. Jacobs. The future is not that difficult to read if you understand the past and present properly. As you probably are already aware the future is totally dependent on the past and the present. Just as the present is totally dependent on the past. You cannot understand the present if you don’t understand the past . The same is true for the future. You cannot understand the future if you do not truly understand the present and the past. The past, present and the future are all intricaly intertwined. In other words you can’t know the future if you don‘t know the past and the present. But all too often you will confuse the past as you wish it to be and not what actually had occurred. This is especially prevalent with religious fanatics who refuse to believe that what they think they know is refuted by observation and direct evidence. This is counter to the will of God.
“What do you want from me?” Cliff thought and was surprised to see an answer almost immediately scrawl itself on the page.
We only want you to teach the people of the earth of how they are a disappointment to God. They have fallen to the worship of Lucifer and his greed and this is wrong.
“I don’t know if anyone would listen to my thoughts much less believe that I have received instruction from this ancient Book that know one knows who wrote. Even my colleagues would be hesitant to believe what I had learned.” Cliff almost said aloud.
What you will learn as you read further is that the future is not set in stone and there can be unknown consequences if the people of the earth do not learn the proper way of knowing.
“Did the ancient Nephilim write this Book??” Cliff asked out loud and he thought he heard a chuckle.
The Nephilim existed as you thought as a First Civilization before man. We intermarried with man and tried to teach mankind our knowledge. But unfortunately too many religious leaders believed God created man in the image of God. God did not create man. God only created the process where man could evolve to be where man is today.
“So you did write this Book.” Cliff said.
And again he heard a chuckle. No. We didn’t write it as ourselves. But we will continue to write as the world changes.
“I’m not sure I understand.” Cliff almost complained. “Do you still exist?”
Only as a collective consciousness. The BOOK explained.
“A collective consciousness? You mean the conscious minds of those who have died or passed on?” Cliff asked.
Precisely. The BOOK explained with further writing in the Book. The conscious mind is a powerful organ, whether human or Nephilim. And it can transcend death to merge with an ultimate being.
“God?” Cliff asked almost automatically.
Of course not. But an ultimate being that bodes to Gods will and I can assure you that God is not happy so many people worship greed. Even those supposedly God knowing people or evangelists.
“I have been arguing about this for I don’t know how many years.” Cliff said and continued. “In fact I seriously believe that many if not all evangelists would reject Jesus if Jesus were to appear before us today because Jesus taught his followers not to follow the path of greed. And in fact is considered an early Marxist or Socialist. But my thoughts on this subject are vigorously lambasted by these same evangelists.”
Cliff heard a chuckle yet again. We know. That is why you were chosen to find this Book. We thought you to be the ideal candidate to explain our thoughts to the ignorant masses.
“Why would anyone believe what I have to say about the existence of this Book and what you reveal?” Cliff asked sheepishly.
They won’t if you don’t at least try.
Cliff rubbed his eyes and looked at his watch. He had been conversing with The BOOK for over two hours and was dead tired because he had woken early to read The BOOK. At least
his eyes were because the words before him were starting to blur and he had to stare that much harder to read what ever was written in The BOOK. “I think I need to sleep and rest my eyes.” He said to The BOOK.
Yes. The BOOK agreed. Go to your bride and love each other and rest. She needs you beside her. And come back tomorrow morning where you will learn more from the Nephilim or the First Civilization.
Cliff closed The BOOK reluctantly and left the room to climb the stairs to Jessie, He gently stripped off his clothes and cuddled against Jessie with his arm over her body. She murmured softly like she appreciated his embrace.

A few hours later they woke to the sound of Marcellus knocking on their door. “Breakfast is ready.” He said.
They both quickly washed and prepared themselves for the day. And they were met by Marcellus with two steaming mugs in his hands. An espresso for Cliff and a cup of Earl Grey tea for Jessie.
“How did you know I like Earl Grey tea??” She asked Marcellus
He winked and smiled . “I have my sources.”
She looked questionably at Cliff and he smiled. “It’s The BOOK. Trust us.”
“You always talk about this mysterious book you discovered, but never say much more
than it actually it exists. Why?’ She asked.
Cliff took her hands and pressed them to his lips. “You will learn all there is about this
Book when I have completed my reading and I am ready to reveal what The BOOK taught.”
“You sound like you just discovered a new interpretation of the Bible.” Jessie said.
Cliff laughed. “You don’t know. And you will be surprised when I reveal what The BOOK taught me to teach to the world. Trust me. It is that significant.”
“I can hardly wait.” Jessie almost pouted.
Thus it went for several weeks where Cliff would wake by four or five in the morning and read what The BOOK had to teach. And after three or four hours of reading he would retreat back to the bed he shared with Jessie. Then after they both rose from sleep, they would walk down the stairs to the dinning room for breakfast. In fact Cliff had become accustomed to even having more than toast for breakfast. The reading of The BOOK took that much out of him and he had to refresh his biological engine with something more than espresso and toast.
So was the routine for several weeks. Cliff would read what The BOOK had to reveal then go back to his room and compile his many pages of notes. Cliff and The BOOK conversed on a daily basis of what to expect of the future. Much of what Cliff learned was not surprising to him because he knew the world at large was commanded by greed and nothing more. The BOOK assured him this would change.
“When?” Cliff had to ask.
Winter Solstice 2012. The BOOK explained.
“That is the date everyone from the Mayans to Nostradamus could not see beyond.
There is a reason for that. The unseen voice wrote in The BOOK.
“And that is??” Cliff asked.
It will be the dawn of a new age realized by your God. The voice wrote in The BOOK.
“It won’t be an apocalyptic end of the world as many have speculated?” Cliff asked.
No. An apolypitic change in the values of the human race as dictated by God.
“I thought as much for many years. I just couldn’t believe that God would end life on earth and start over. There had to be a better way.” Cliff explained to the unseen voice.
You are right of course. The BOOK wrote on the blank page. You looked into yourself to understand the world around you,
“I tried.” Cliff professed.

A few years after they returned to Boston, Cliff and Jessie became the proud parents of two children. First a daughter, Samantha, who would follow in her falters footsteps and become an accomplished archeologist/anthropologist. She would marry and bear Cliff and Jessie two grandchildren.
Their son, Jake, born two years after Samantha, would turn to the sea and become an
undersea biologist and engineer and he also would marry and give his parents two more grandchildren.
Much to his surprise, Cliff learned he would become the chairman of the Archaeology department and in part of what he had discovered from The BOOK. He and Jessie would then
retire to a small cottage on the Cape where they would live until the end of their days.
Marcellus had the peasants of the village at the base of the Pyrenees bring him every newspaper, periodical or book they could find written by or about Cliff Jacobs.
He was extremely happy with Cliffs success when he published his findings of The BOOK. There were many who criticized Cliff and his finding of The BOOK and what was taught, but over time they became a very small minority.
It was Winter Solstice, 2012 that proved what Cliff had written that he was taught by The BOOK. It was definitely the dawn a new age.
Marcellus died a year after the Winter Solstice, 2012. The peasants of the village found his body in the garden he cared for tenderly each year.
Naturally Cliff and Jessie flew immediately to Spain to attend his funeral. After the funeral, Cliff had to look at The BOOK one more time. And what was written on the first page after he opened the cover were the words;
Welcome back, Mr. Jacobs. Marcellus is with us in our collective consciousness and he wants you to know that he is extremely proud of what you accomplished in revealing The BOOK and us.
“Should I tell people where to find this Book?” Cliff asked.
Not yet. The unseen voice wrote on the page of The BOOK. Not until we think the human being is ready.
9:27 p.m.
3/1/10
@P&G’s