Hi all and welcome to another exiting and thought provoking issue of this
bi-weekly newsletter, The CORNERSTONE TRAVELER. Available free here at P&G’s and also on line at www.cornerstonetraveler.com.

Mid-Hudson Valley news: There was another unique fair this past Saturday at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds in Rhinebeck. The Beer, Bourbon and Bacon Fair. Though this is the first I heard of it, it was said this fair is a few years old. I wasn’t able to make it to the fair, but according to ads on the radio there were many different types of craft beer and bourbon that fair goers could sample. Also there were many types of bacon for tasting. They also claimed to sell bacon milk shakes, bacon ice cream and even bacon cannoli’s. I don’t know about you, but being of Italian heritage, I would find a cannoli tasting like bacon to be disgusting. I personally like cannoli’s dipped in chocolate.
There was a big Trout Parade in Livingston Manor a couple of weeks ago. Livingston Manor is supposedly the fly fishing capital on America. I personally wouldn’t know, but most fly fishing enthusiasts claim this to be true. Supposedly the trout fishing there is great! When I fish fresh water I use catch and release hooks. I’m not really a fresh water fish consumer. I had lived for 26 years in Newburyport Mass, right on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. The fish I favor is flounder. I have been known to make flounder sandwiches with cheese and tartar sauce.
The other day I was driving on Rte. 209, near Marbletown I saw a deer standing on the side of the road looking at me. It was day time so it wasn’t a deer in the headlights. I slowed down not knowing what t expect from the doe. As I got near, it bolted across the road in front of me, but I didn’t hit because had slowed down enough that could I easily miss it. I think it was a suicide deer hoping to reduce the number of cars on the road hitting and killing deer. Maybe next time Ms. Doe.

observations: On Tuesday, June 16, Donald Trump tossed his hat into the Republican Primary for President. He really didn’t have a lot to say during his forty minute speech only that he was rich (worth about 9 billion dollars) and he is so much smarter than the Democrats and even the Republicans running in the race.
What I noticed was that he is very loose with using terms like stupid and idiot to describe his opponents. He was so loose with these terms that he sounded like the radio and T.V. conservative blowhards. i.e. Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilley, Sean Hannity. And a myriad of others who are not adverse to using the words stupid and idiot (idiotic) to describe those who disagree with them. I firmly believe that psople who are so free and loose with these words are themselves unsure of their mental standing. I don’t know about the parents of those blowhards, but my parents taught me not to call people I disagree with stupid or idiot. I have been trying to live up to the lessons taught me by my parents. But I can’t resist calling blowhards, Limbaugh, O’Reilly and Hannity idiots and stupid ones at that.

sports: It is obvious that my procrastinations of the Stanley Cup were off, way off. I wrote several issues ago that I thought the New York Rangers would go all the way and win the Stanley Cup. Obviously I was wrong when the Lighting beat them. I then wrote I was hoping the lightning would beat the Blackhawks. Again I was wrong. What can I say?
MLB: The Yankees and Mets slipping in their respective divisions of both the American and National Leagues.
The Mets with a record of 36-36 and are 2 games back. While the Yankees have a record of 41-32 and are 1 game back.

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 mid 1930’s to almost the present.
Following this history is pat IV and the final part of the short story called The WOLF PACK. I hope you like it.

Thank-you – Rik McGuire

History of P&G’s continued to the present

From 1925 – 1945 a number of diverse businesses occupied the building. These included Carols Clothing Store, Atkins Drug Store, Schaffert Real Estate Office, Marie Shop and Dicks Bar and Grill among others.
In 1947 Dicks Bar and Grill was purchased by two Lake Mohonk employees, Pat Cafferty and George Jayne. Legend has it that neither told their wives of their intention to purchase the business. They immediately changed the Grills name to Pat and Georges. Among it’s loyal customers it was simply P&G’s.
One of the best things to happen to P&G’s occurred in 1961. An ex Dodger player named Stormer Nickerson became a bartender. Stormy as he was affectionately known became something of a legend. His heart, quiet good humor and generous spirit made P&G’s the one place that welcomed all from the harsher outside world into a refuge for college students, business people, local characters and even for a while, in the 1960’s, bikers. According to one source. “They weren’t as rowdy a crew as you might expect because although he was quiet, Stormy commanded and got respect.” His professional baseball background made him a natural to pitch batting practice for the New Paltz College teams and he did so for a number of seasons. One college fraternity considered P&G’s their private domain. The scene of everything important, news, views, camaraderie and especially humor was always evident at P&G’s.
After the St. Helens volcano erupted and news reports discussed the possibility of ash fall out across the U.S., Stormy came to work to find the staff dressed in garbage bags and metal kitchen colanders on their heads. Since no ash was reported on anyone, Stormy reasoned the
attire had been affective by making everyone laugh their ash off.

In June 1991, after 30 years, Stormy retired from P&G’s. He died in June of 1994. From his casual humor that lingers, to his Chile recipe that is still served and the kind memories often repeated by his many friends, Stormy is still here.
In 1969 Edwin Beck bought P&G’s. His first weekend as owner was completely successful. The following weekend, however, the place was deserted. A disheartened Beck couldn’t understand what he had done to alienate everyone so quickly. He was relieved to learn it was simply a matter of poor timing. Everyone was away and wallowing in a farm in Bethel NY. A music festival or something.
Ed Beck never spent time worrying. He looked across Main Street and up Platekill Avenue, seeing thousands of thirsty college students who, for the most part remained on campus. Taking a good supply of liquid refreshment, Beck went to the campus and gave the students (all legal in those days) a new place to call home. He transformed P&G’s from a neighborhood bar into a local institution.
The face of Beck’s personality had much to do with the continued success of P&G’s, the place was fun. One oft quoted story about Beck concerns a young P&G’s enthusiast who wanted to be just like Beck when he grew up. It is reported that Beck in all humility replied. “Well you can’t do both.”
The name Pat and Georges was officially changed to P&G’s in the 1980’s by Ed Beck and his son Mike. In 1985, Mike bought out his fathers interest. In 1994, he undertook extensive renovations, making the building exterior appear as it did in 1900, when it was the Casino.

In North America and the Mid-East

Max and Vincent shape shifted themselves into poor, scraggly Russian peasants. They went to the American embassy in Moscow to beg and grovel for permission to immigrate to America.
Though both Max and Vincent could speak both Russian and English fluently, they both spoke to the American embassy official in halting English.
But the embassy official thought they knew enough English to learn it even better when they immigrated to America. And the official knew that America wanted as many Russians to immigrate to America as possible and in this regard they, the Americans, could learn even more of the Russian Communists, America feared.
Max and Vincent promised that they would tell all they knew of the newly born Communist society when they arrived in America.
In reality, Max and Vincent wanted immigrate to America because they felt a disturbance in the balance of the world and its presence was in America. They both knew they had to be free to roam the continent without fear of arrest.
The American embassy put them on a merchant ship to America which wasn’t too bad for them except that they had to gag the food served. Being of the wolf nature they both preferred raw meat.
After arrival at Ellis Island and a thorough physical they were directed to a Russian community in New York City. They went to the Russian community. They learned they could obtain jobs in many of the farms in America. They both knew that their muscular bodies would bode them well in the farm communities. But they first obtained jobs on the waterfront loading and unloading merchant ships because of their muscular bodies.
While they lived in New York City they learned of the Bund that was originally formed by the German peoples at the end of the nineteenth century and in the beginning of the twentieth century had slowly become enamored with Adolph Hitler. The Bund had slowly transformed themselves into a new Nazi party in America with the leadership of Lincoln Rockefeller who was their commander until he was assassinated by another Nazi member. This new Nazi party started to assimilate themselves with the Ku Klux Klan and other white Aryan peoples in America. And Max and Vincent knew that this was the new imbalance in the world.
They both knew they had to get into the rural areas of America for that was where the balance in the world was being thwarted. It was in the southern areas of America where the Ku Klux Klan was having the most influence along with the help of the newly emerged Neo-Nazi party and the Arayan Nation. The Neo-Nazi’s, the Ku Klux Klan and the Aryan Nations thought that all Negroes, Jews and many others who don’t purport to their views had to be eliminated from America.
Max and Vincent would shape shift themselves into mangy dogs or when they thought it necessary to ferocious wolves when needed as they traversed the American continent.
They had gotten as far south as Georgia when they saw a young Negro man being harassed by Ku Klux Klan people in an abandoned field and they knew from seeing a noose hanging from a tree limb that they intended to hang the pour young man.
They shape shifted themselves into their werewolf selves to scare the Ku Klux Klan members to flee in fright. They then untied the poor Negro young man and allowed him to return to his family.
The Negro man didn’t know what to make of the creatures that had saved his life. So he just backed away slowly, with his hands up.
Max and Vincent growled and sped in the opposite direction of the Negro. The young man could only breathe a sigh of relief than ran to his home.
As their werewolf selves they could speed throughout the country side of the realm of the Ku Klux Klan in the southern United States. They used their inbred senses to detect tremors in the balance and would speed their werewolf selves to the source of this imbalance. They would find white robed men wanting to hang, burn or torture poor Negroes.
They then charged at the offending white robed Ku Klux Klan men as their werewolf selves causing the men to lose control of their bladders and bowels as they scrambled to their cars to escape the menace.
Max and Vincent growled their approval when the Negro man sheepishly backed away from their presence with his hands up.
This happened so many times that they heard the whispers from both the white people and the Negroes of the supernatural creatures scaring the Ku Klux Klan into fright. They heard these whispers when they shaped shifted into their human selves and could only smile at what they heard.
They would shape shift themselves into either Rottweiler’s or Bloodhounds to gain entrance into the Ku Klux Klan, Neo Nazi’s or White Aryans to learn more of what their intentions were of others in the community. When they learned of the group’s intentions they would shape shift themselves into werewolves to scare the groups senseless and leave the unprotected alone.
They were very successful with their efforts, but because these hate groups were scattered all over the south of the United States, they couldn’t be as effective as they wished.
They were there when Martin Luther King led the Negro people in the march to Selma. They also were on the bus when Rosa Parks refused to give her seat to a white man. They knew that the actions of Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks were lessening the tremor in the balance in the world.
But Max and Vincent knew that they would have to use their werewolf selves to more scare the white peoples who were intent on disturbing and/or harrassing non white Anglo Saxon Protestants. But they knew they had to be selective when they allowed their werewolf selves to emerge. They knew that they just had to show others that other people can exist without fear of death because of prejudice.
They knew it would be a long and time consuming process. They knew they couldn’t spend too much time in North America because other areas of the world needed their attention.
It was just recently revealed to them that some Arab peoples thought they could dominate the Israeli people. They knew they were needed in the mid-East to correct this imbalance in the world. They knew intuitively it would be a long and time consuming process. But what else could they do?
On their way to the mid-East on a merchant ship where they were hired as hands on board, Max whispered to Vincent. “How much more can we do to keep the balance in the world?”
Vincent just shook his head. “We just do what we were born to do three hundred years ago.”
When they finally got to the mid-East they knew immediately it wasn’t the Israeli people who were causing the imbalance, but just a few Arab people who wanted more power. They were unsure on how to confront these people. They just shape shifted into barely recognizable dogs and learned of the Arab people’s wants and desires in regards the mid-East. They learned that most of the average Arab person could care a whit about the Israeli people. It was their leaders who wanted to show their dominance over everyone much like the kings of the United Kingdom during the Dark Ages.
They would shape shift into Israeli officers and offer their suggestions on how to deal with the Arab people. They had easily learned the Hebrew language. And as it turned out the Israeli commander, Moshe Dyan followed their suggestions and was able to defeat Arab aggressions twice.
They learned that too many of the supposed leaders of the Arab people wanted the respect like that of the late leader Nasser and in particular Yasser Arafat, Saddam Hussein, Mommar Gaddaffi and a host of others in the Arab community. And these peoples thought that the elimination of Israel would give them the power and respect they so craved.
But the Israeli people were not so easily defeated as Moshe Dyan proved. The Israeli MOSSAD hunted these people across the globe. Especially after the Olympics in Germany in 1980.
Max and Vincent would shake their heads in disgust as their wolf selves at the attitudes of these supposed Arab leaders. They both read the Koran written by Mohamed a thousand years earlier and knew that Mohamed stressed that women and children must be spared from death and somehow the Arab leaders dismissed their prophet’s missives about violence against women and children.
They thought they did all they could do in the mid-East. They were disturbed that their efforts had no real affect on the Arab leaders who were causing the tremors in the balance of the world. Never in their three hundred years did they feel so defeated with their efforts.
Because of this they decided to head back to the German forest to the pack lair and report of their success and failures to Von Herrick. They were that disturbed by their failure to bring back balance to the world.

Their wolven heads were held low when they reported to Von Herrick.
“We’re sorry.” They growled. “We couldn’t bring the world more into balance.”
“But you tried your best.” Von Herrick growled back. Von Herrick had grown with his position as the Alpha leader of the pack. It was that obvious to both Max and Vincent.
“We don’t know what more we can do.” Max growled. “Never in our three hundred years have we been so defeated. And we don’t know what more we can do.”
Von Herrick nodded. “Yes. It is unclear how much you can do or even should do. It is your decision on what more you can do.”
“We don’t know.” Both Max and Vincent growled as they backed out of Von Herrick’s lair. “But we will let you know of what we have decided to do.”
They padded down a tunnel to their private lair and rested on the soft sand and grasses. They slept for close to ten hours then raised themselves to nourish their bodies with raw meat.
An hour after they ate they crept out of the wolf lair and into the forest to do what wolves of their kind do, roam and explore. They ran for over two hours, not seeing a soul, either animal or human. They finally rested on a ridge over Hitler’s old Wolf Lair and just starred at the activity before them.
Finally Vincent turned to Max and growled. “I’m tired of trying to bring balance into the world. What of you?”
Max turned to him and growled. “I too am tired. Maybe it’s time for us to mate.”
“I agree.” Vincent growled. “But we know it is not definite we will sire shape shifters.”
“But we can only try.” Max growled. “For three hundred years we have battled the imbalance in the world. Now I am very tired. As you must be also.” Vincent growled.
Max growled. “Yes I am. I think it is time we find suitable mates to maybe bring more shape shifters into the world.”
Vincent nodded. “I have been sniffing around Yolanda. She seems to be receptive. And you?”
“Zelda! She has been very receptive to me also. So? What should we do? Just give up?”
Vincent growled. “No. Let’s just hope our offspring can shape shift as we can. Then it might be, we just let the human people decide their own fate.”
“They might be able to do this, considering they established a United Nations. Where they can confront and debate the need for war to solve conflicts.” Max growled.
“Unfortunately this United Nations has become too political. They are unable to agree on almost any solutions of the grave matters before them.”
“A least the humans are trying. It is a start in the right direction.”
“Yes. I suppose you’re right. But do we have a right not to try and direct these people”
“I don’t know, nor do you. I guess only the spirit of God knows for certain.”
“I agree.”
9:31
6/9/15
@P&G’s