There is a place on the NY Thruway, between exits 18 and 19, where the road turns to the right and offers a first glimpse of the Catskill Mountains. Every time I see it, I feel my blood pressure going down and my joy increasing. It feels like a homecoming.
When I was a kid, my parents had a business that transported people to and from the Catskill mountain resorts; places like The Concord, Grossinger’s, and Nevele. I remember the ride up, and the majesty outside the car’s windows. I loved the mountains! I still do…
My recent Hudson Valley tour brought back those old memories, and created wonderful new ones. I loved meeting the kind people at my gigs, and folks like the photographer who owns an art gallery in Red Hook, dedicated to images of horses. I am still thinking about the gourmet chocolate I wish I had bought at a fabulous Kitchen Market.
I was grateful for the opportunity to introduce my songs to new people, and am happy to report that they made new friends. It was thrilling to reconnect with an old friend whom I hadn’t seen in forty years, and was fun to make a Facebook friend into a real flesh-and-blood person.
There were also scary times in cars! My friends and I broke down on a dark road after my first gig. I was deeply grateful to have them with me. We were stranded without tow or taxi, and it worried me to think what could have happened if I had been alone there on the side of the road.
There was also a bad choice of route home that led me onto five-lane-high-speed roads that scared me. I had listened to Siri when I knew better. I will try not to do that again…
Whenever I leave the Hudson Valley, I feel like I am leaving home. I look forward to my next visit. I just wish that I could beam myself there, Star Trek style.
It seems there is always fear mixed in with joy. Is that true for you too? 