A big hello to all my readers of this bi-weekly newsletter, The CORNERSTONE

TRAVELER. Available on the web at cornerstonetraveler.com.

mid-Hudson Valley news: I trust and hope everyone had a fun and safe holiday. There’s not much exciting happening in the mid-Hudson Valley. It wasn’t even a white Christmas though Thanksgiving was, white that is.
I was in Maine having Christmas with my son, daughter, son-in law and grandson. There was no snow in Trenton Maine, near Bar Harbor. I did see some snow by the highway (I-95) on my drive there, but alas no snow for Christmas.
The day after Christmas we took a walk in Acadia National Park. Though it was cold and damp, it was a nice and beautiful walk in the forest by the harbor. The stones that were the beach of the harbor were all worn smooth from the constant wave and tidal action.
We all had a great time for Christmas.
The temps in the mid-Hudson Valley are like a pogo stick. They bounce up and drop down almost daily.
I noticed that the Village of New Paltz didn’t put up the usual Christmas decorations on the telephone/power poles up and down Main Street. Actually I didn’t see many Nativity/Creche scenes outside the many churches in New Paltz. I have to wonder why?
There was one Creche that appeared outside the Episcopal Church on Main Street a few years ago that I thought really brought the spirit of Christmas. It was an old pickup truck with a canvas top over the bed with a man and a woman on the bed of the pickup looking down to what I assumed to be a small child. There were tools and odd animals around the pickup. I thought that this creche had the true meaning of Christmas for the modern day.

observations: I like watching MeTv and Antenna TV channels because they show TV series of old such as The BURNS and ALLEN show. There is no beating the comedy of the Burns and Allen show. The commercial breaks of this show are the typical commercials of today, but I have to wonder of the commercials of when the Burns and Allen show was seen in the early or mid 1950’s.
I see the opening credits for the comedy show, Cheers of the early 1970’s. There is colorized photos of old black and white photos of long ago and I can’t help but wonder who these people were and how they lived.
There are other older TV series that I just can’t watch like the MOD Squad. I didn’t like it when it first was shown on TV. Likewise for Hogans Heros. I did like Black Sheep Squadron and still do. Even All in the Family is old for my likes though I did like it when it was first shown on T.V.
What I would like to see again is the Smothers Brothers Show. It was on the Smothers Brothers that the old rock group, The Association, performed -Requiem for the Masses. One of the best anti-war songs ever, I thought.

sports: The Knicks are having a tough start to the basketball season this year with 12 straight
losses as of yesterday, they are 5-32 in the Atlantic division of the Easter Conference and are 20 ½ games back in the division.
The Nets are 16-17 in the same division and are 8 games back.
The Rangers are 21-11-4 in the Metro Division of the Eastern Conference of the NHL and are 18 points back. The Islanders on the other hand are in first place of the same division with a record of 26-11-1.

other: As with all other previous issues of this newsletter everything written here is either copyright protected or copyright pending. The history of P&G’s follows this newsletter from when the building was first constructed in 1900 to about the mid 1930’s. Following this history is a short story I wrote called SPIRIT with RAVEN BLACK HAIR. I hope you like it.

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.

SPIRIT with RAVEN BLACK HAIR

He woke bathed in sweat with his heart thumping wildly. He immediately went to his bathroom and splashed cold water on his face. It was three in the morning. He then went to the kitchen and poured himself a full glass of Johnny Walker Black with no ice. He needed the alcohol undiluted so he could feel the full affect and maybe fall back to sleep.
Bill Parker climbed back into his bed with his glass of Johnny Walker. He remembered the last remnants of his dream.
He was back in Iraq in his final two months of his second tour. While In Iraq everyone in his squad knew him as Wild Bill because he went through the war with the attitude of “Kill or be Killed!” He didn’t consider himself trigger happy because he did what he was ordered to do. And if that meant to shoot and kill, he did it without question. He thought his lieutenant and the upper brass knew what they were doing when they ordered his squad into a firefight. There had to be a reason, he thought.
He was so successful with the firefights, he was promoted to Sargent to lead his squad.
Then it happened at the end of his second tour in Iraq. His lieutenant said there was a Shiite house in a nearby village and the lieutenant ordered him to take out the house and grab or destroy any arms in the house.
The lieutenant brought out a map, placed it on the desk and showed Parker where the house was, precisely in the small village. The lieutenant pointed out exactly on how to find the correct house/ hut and Parker had the location memorized in his brain so there would be no confusion or hesitation when he stormed the house the next day.
Parker and his squad left their base dressed in typical desert fatigues. He ordered his

squad to keep their weapons at their sides so as not to alarm the residents of the village. They came to the targeted house and he ordered his men to take up specific positions so as not to let
anyone escape. He then said he would be the first to enter with two soldiers at the door to give him cover fire.
He crashed through the front door and saw three men and a woman sitting at a table eating breakfast. When he crashed through the door he saw the men turn to him and reach below the table.
He didn’t wait to see if they were reaching for weapons or just scratching themselves, so he fired his weapon at the three men and one woman. As he pulled his trigger repeatedly, killing all within his sight, he didn’t see the young girl peer from behind a chair. One of his rounds found the girl in her chest, killing her instantly. He later learned she was only nine years old. His squad entered when they heard the shots and tore the house apart looking for arms and found nothing. They all returned to the base with the thought they had failed to find the hidden cache of weapons.
Bill returned to the base knowing he had killed innocent people and more importantly an innocent nine years old girl. The image of her frightened and stunned face was etched into his mind and no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t get this image out of his head.
He became useless as a soldier in his final two months because the image of that frightened little girl was constantly in his mind.
Every time he slept he saw that little girl with raven black hair smile then scowl, wagging her forefinger at him with disapproval. It happened every night. He was afraid to sleep and see
her image.
When he was finally shipped back to the states, the first thing he did was schedule an
appointment at the local VA hospital. He figured he was suffering from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and hoped the doctors would give him something so he could sleep at night without the painful images of the little girl. He also hoped the doctors would relate his condition to the upper brass and recommend he not be sent over for a third tour. He really didn’t know how effective he would be and he would be a danger to himself and others in his squad because he knew he would be reluctant to pull the trigger when needed. The doctors hemmed and hawed knowing they would be pushed to certify every soldier they could for Iraq.
When he got back to his home town, he spent most of his time at McNulty’s drinking her image away. McNulty’s was only two blocks from his apartment so he could stagger back and collapse in his bed with the hope he could sleep the entire night without a dream of that girl.
He almost lost it the previous night at McNulty’s when three young men entered and after learning he was an Iraq veteran came over to him and bought him drinks while they bragged about how they supported the American military presence in Iraq.
Bill just shook his head. ” Am I to assume all of you will be enlisting into the armed forces to help the military cause?”
The one young man who seemed to talk louder of his support of the American military in Iraq said. “I’m sorry, but I have already promised my father that I would work with him in his real estate business.”
Parker shook his head and looked at the other two men. “And you? You are going to
enlist, right?”
They just shook their heads and said they all had just graduated from a local college and
were preparing for careers that would last them for the rest of their lives.
Bill could only drain the last drink bought for him and slammed the glass down on the
Bar.
“You know.” He shouted. “There are a lot of young men over there who enlisted because they didn’t have the options you all have.” He paused to collect his thoughts and continued his verbal assault. “None of you had to shoot a firearm in defense of yourself or others. And you never had to shoot a young nine year old girl by mistake in an ill conceived house raid.” Tears started to well up in his eyes and he knew he had to leave.
“I will let all of you revel of how you support the American military, but will never put your life on the line for that same military.” He left hearing the three of them calling him an asshole and worse. Not that he cared a whit of their opinions. He just staggered back to his apartment.
Bill went to sleep that night hoping against hope he would be able to sleep without dreaming of that girl. It was not to be. He woke at five in the morning with images of her scowling face in his mind. He went to the bathroom and splashed water on his face. He knew it was too early in the day to partake of alcohol so he just brewed a potent pot of coffee with the hope the caffeine would be enough to last him through the day and into the night when he went to McNulty’s for his night cap.
He knew he had to be careful with his finances because he was due to be either
discharged from the Army or sent back over to Iraq. To be discharged meant he would no longer have a good income and he would have to find a good paying job, but he knew veterans had a problem finding employment after their service to their country. And he definitely did not want to serve another tour in Iraq or Afghanistan for that matter.
His only hope was that the doctors at the VA would recommend he be put on disability because of PTSD, but he knew that was highly unlikely because of his dreams.
His only other option if he wasn’t given disability was suicide which was becoming more and more attractive with each passing day. He had been thinking of this option for several weeks. In fact his last appointment with the Army shrink, he convinced him to proscribe sleeping pills which he didn’t use because he had no problem falling asleep, it was the dream that troubled him.
He thought that if he swallowed the whole bottle of pills he would finally be able to sleep without that dream, though the sleep would be everlasting.
Every morning, after he woke from that disturbing dream, the thought of suicide became more and more appealing.
He didn’t worry that his death/ suicide would disturb anyone close to him because he had no real family. Both of his parents had died when he was in Iraq and he had no other family, not even a girl friend.
He went to b3ed thinking that suicide was a viable option. He fell asleep almost immediately and he dreamed of seeing that pretty little girl with raven black hair and who spoke to him.
I forgive you for taking my life, but you must continue to live. It is important to . She whispered.
“Why?” The dream essence of Bill asked.
She smiled at him and whispered. Because I am ready to ascend to the next level of consciousness and I don’t know if I can if you commit suicide.
“But what of the dreams I have every night of you. They bother me.” He pleaded.
They will end when I ascend to the next level. Trust me.
“And if do try to end it all?”
You will suffer even greater torment for a long, long time. Trust me. She cautioned.
“Okay.” The dream essence of Bill said. “I guess it is time for me to say goodbye and wish you well.”
Be well my friend. As her image floated up, up and away to the next level of consciousness.
Bill woke the following morning with a new sense of purpose in his life. No longer did he feel the need to drink his life away at McNulty’s. He knew he had to find a new direction in life.