The Catskills, a place called home for a while

Found these old photos which brought back an array of emotions and wonderful memories.

The Catskills is diverse in topography -- farmland (an hour to the south was Woodstock--my most favorite place on earth), mountains for skiing, traces of native american and cowboy ancestry (an hour to the north was Oneonta), and the people who lived along that line couldn't have been more different, yet so vital.  Eventually, I'd start an employment agency, which would serve that radius.

 

       

Catskills, 1983

Early 80's Woodstock was alive with hippies, yuppies, and Hells Angels gathered on the square to reminisce and bask in the glory each group vied to offer. And at no time were there problems.  All went about their business as if 1969 remained frozen in time, war free. With hemp clothing and candle stores cattycornered, artisans of every genre along the main street, and food that catered to the most discriminating, it is a remarkably eclectic and inspiring town, surrounded by the good earth.

 

 

Catskills, 1983

Although Oneonta's nickname is "City of the Hills," the word "oneonta" is of undetermined origin, but popularly believed to mean "place of open rocks" in the Iroquois language. This refers to a prominent geological formation known as "Tablerocks" at the western end of the city and is home to the State University of New York at Oneonta. 

 

And between the two is a string of farms; some large, some small, some dairy, some cattle, along with large homes of those who moved up from the Metropolitan area to live; those who craved the quiet and verdance of the Catskills but close enough to work and play in the City--New York City, that is.

 

Honky-tonks catered to the local cowboys and cowgirls, where my mother felt at home listening and singing to her favorite country artists along with the locals.  And Native Americans sold and shared their wares and culture with those of us who'd hope to help resurrect their past into the present.

 

 Back at the farm, however, when my parents, other family members, or friends visited, there was plenty to do on the Old MacDonald's, so called for no shortage of animals (and space). To the right of the driveway was a pond, home to several white Peking ducks; chickens and geese clucked and honked a visitor into the house; Angel and Chestnut, quarter horses, grazed alongside some cows and two goats; and there were dogs and cats, enough to fill a small animal shelter. It truly was a slice of heaven on earth.

 

My father and nephews feeding Angel & Chestnut
Catskills, 1983



 All, a little piece of heaven on earth!

The Nurse





The Nurse

While I lived in Edinburgh, Scotland from 1985-1986, I learned much about its people and made many friends who, like most, worked 9-5 every day.  Although I traveled extensively throughout Scotland, England, Wales, and Ireland, I found myself with plenty of time left to pursue hobbies, including charcoal sketching.  Hence, The Nurse, I fondly call her, was born. 

When I returned to the United States, my sketches, including The Nurse, were buried away.  Some time later I met a woman who believed in psychics. She's not the first acquaintance or friend who believes; quite a number take their professional horoscopes quite seriously.  I, on the other hand, was skeptical although I kept an opened mind.  I've heard numerous proclamations made by my peers that their professional, love, and everyday lives were directly affected by psychics or horoscopes.  I'd listen without judgment, but still, somewhat skeptically.

As I mentioned earlier, soon after my return to the United States a friend met with a psychic every week.  During our occasional lunch, she told me that I came up as a new friend, and asked the psychic what it meant.  She truly believed that every person who entered her life had a reason for doing so.   

This was the result of my introduction; not physically, but spiritually, to her psychic.  That during WWII, I had been a nurse living in London, and killed during a Nazi air raid.  "Wasn't it obvious?" she'd remark.

1)  That I would be reborn in Germany due to the union of a man, my father, who served in the British army while stationed in Germany and a woman, my mother, who was German. Really? 

2)  Then there was my burning desire to become a doctor, a Pediatrition to be exact, from the first moment I held my baby sister, Janie. Obviously, this never came to pass.  To the psychic, it was part of a master plan in that I secretly desired to be a doctor while I was a nurse during WWII but was cut short due to my death.  Okay.

All quite fascinating and without the knowledge of the existence of The Nurse.  But to quote a line from the film, The Big Chill, that "rationalizations are more important than sex..." seems plausible in situations such as these.  Because without them, how do we try to understand the incronguous, the unexplainable, the coincidences, everything?  Here, I agree with Iris Dement, "Let the mystery be..."

Yet, over 25 years later, I sometimes wonder, why, out of the blue, did I sketch a portrait of a woman I've dubbed, The Nurse?  Perhaps, this is a case for John Edward, after all.

Edinburgh and Me!

Well, I found them! Whew! These are just a few of hundreds I'd taken while I lived in Edinburgh! I hope you enjoy them as much as I treasure them!

1. This photo is an overhead view of Edinburgh from Edinburgh Castle.

2. Edinburgh Castle

3. Traveling from Learmonth Court, my residence, onto Princess Street, one of the main streets in Edinburgh.

4. Learmonth Court, once owned by a Duke, was converted into hundreds of flats (apartments). It's in the above background of photo.

5. And here I am donning an 80's perm! Ugh! Never before and never since! ;)

I and my companions from Australia and Japan were at Loch Ness in search of Nessie, but instead, to our delight, were visited by lovely swans.

A lovely trip down memory lane for me! I hope you enjoyed a wee bit of Bonnie Edinburgh!

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