I Love New York

We had two choices for Saturday night festivities this past weekend in Phoenicia.  An art opening at the Cabane Gallery in town, or the Penny Social at the Parish Hall to raise money for local Boy Scout Troop 60.  There are only about ten scouts in the troop and they are trying to raise enough money for a trip to Yellowstone National Park this summer.  An adventure that should not be missed.  Since this could be a large expenditure for many families we felt this event to be a very worthwhile cause.  Though I have not been active in the Scouts since high school,  I credit my years with them for instilling in me a love of the outdoors that has informed my entire adult life. 

Phoenicia, like any small town situated within driving distance of a big city yet idyllically located amidst nature's inspirational vistas, attracts a wide variety of people.  And there are in fact, two distinct populations in Phoenicia.  The liberal artsy types, including part timers from New York City and the more conservative rural full timers.  This is a gross over simplification of course, but I think you get my drift.  If you have ever spent any time in a rural tourist town you know there is the bar where the working locals go and then there is the bar where the so called literati go.  Rarely do the two mix.  Phoenicia is in some ways similar, yet in many ways very different.  That is why we love it so much. The hamlet is a microcosm of any large urban area due to the very diverse population but because it is a small town it is not so easy to remain anonymous.  If you spend enough time there you will eventually get to know, at least casually, a lot of the inhabitants and they will get to know you, especially if you have opinions, or write a public blog.

The crowd at the Boy Scout Penny Social was, as one would imagine, mostly local families and full time residents.  I don't know for sure, but I believe Tammy and I may have been the only, or two of a handful, of attendees who are second homeowners.  Yet we were embraced as if we have as much vested in the town as anyone else.  This may have to do with the fact that we have become friends with our full time neighbors across the street and they made all our introductions.  My neighbor was born in Phoenicia and he has lived there all his life.  Through my friendship with him, and other locals (shout out to our WV community association president, and our realtor), I have been lucky enough to become acquainted with a large diversity of residents. Though we stay here only a few days per month this has helped me to feel very welcome in the community.  Our politics and interests may not always line up but since we all share a love of the Catskills we get along great.  And the fact that we all have New York sensibilities doesn't hurt either.  That, I believe, is one of the main reasons Phoenicia works so well as a small town.  New Yorkers are nothing if not openly opinionated.  We may argue as Republicans and Democrats, hunters and tree huggers,  artists and farmers, but you are never in the dark about what your neighbor thinks.  The same tensions exist in small towns throughout rural America but here in New York, we don't sweep anything under the carpet.

I once read that, as John Adams was making his way from Boston to Philadelphia for a meeting of the Continental Congress, he stayed over in New York City for a few nights.  Here is what he had to say about New Yorkers; "They talk very loud, very fast, and all together.  If they ask you a question, before you can utter three words of your answer, they will break out upon you again-and talk away".  That was in 1775!  Those sentiments could have been uttered yesterday.  So if one of the main economic drivers of your community are tourists and part time homeowners from The Big Apple, you had better damn well be tolerant.  And thick skinned.  I have found New Yorkers to be some of the most friendly and open people in the country but if you offer up an opinion, be prepared to defend it.

So while the crowd at the Boy Scout Fundraiser may have been very different than the one that we might have found at the Gallery opening, we could have felt comfortable at either because we all have a few things in common.  An abiding love for the hamlet of Phoenicia and the Catskill Mountains, an open understanding, if not tolerance, of diversity, which is found in few rural areas outside of New York, and the willingness to say so.  And a "Cantina" that attracts both old timers and newcomers, Republicans and Democrats, doesn't hurt either.