Coming Attractions & Detractions

CATSKILLIANS and visitors thereto this weekend will have plenty of diversions. They can start Saturday (9/23) at mid-morning with the Farmers & Artisans’ Market at The Point, move up to Cedar Grove (the Thomas Cole National Historic Site off Spring St) for a look at the Jasper Cropsey exhibition, or go over to the Elks Lodge to watch the kids’ soccer shoot-out, then take advantage from mid-afternoon of the “Fall Walk-About” on Main Street. Shops and galleries open, taste treats available. Of special viewing interest are early-evening openings of new shows at the M Gallery (paintings by Latina artist Ximena Hormaza D., and yes, D. is part of her nom de canvas) and at the BRIK (“Couples” or works by pairs of artistic partners). In the municipal parking lot, meanwhile, of special viewing as well as listening interest will be live entertainment by Lex Grey and the Urban Pioneers (and Lex is about as live as live ever gets). As for Sunday, the novel Catskill treat is a concert by a trio of Juillard School of Music stars at, again, the BRIK .

ELSEWHERE in GreeneLand, meanwhile, the Blackthorne Resort will host a gathering of Mustang devotees (Ford Mustang, that is), while Hunter Mountain hosts a regional beer and wine tasting party (noon to 5 each day; $15 for a round of slurping and a souvenir glass; not recommended for the drivers, as distinct from passengers, of vintage Mustangs). On Sunday the Catskill Mountain Beekeepers Club will conduct a tour of exemplary hives (check it out via www.catskillbees.org ) while Windham Golf Club hosts a tournament for seniors.

WHO’S ON THE MAP? Latest (10/06) issue of National Geographic includes a big map of the United States. The New York State portion shows Catskill, along with Saugerties and Hudson and Ravena, but not Kingston.

PILLOW TALK. If prospective visitors were to ask you where to lodge comfortably in GreeneLand, what advice would you give? One approach to finding an answer is to check the Web site called Trip Advisor. It is a repository of notes that patrons have chosen to contribute. But most transients do not write such reports. Consequently, many places do not get written up, and the representativeness and reliability of what does get said can be doubted. At any rate, we can report that Catskill Motor Court, B & B Lounge, and the Red Ranch Motel, have been commended in recent months by visitors, and have not been faulted by other visitors. And then there are the warnings. In a December 2004 issue of Seeing Greene, we cited excerpts from Trip Advisor comments on the Friar Tuck, which is self-billed as a “full service luxury resort” and as our region’s “foremost resort.” Commentators said “Dirty, dangerous, and smelly.” “Unsafe.” “Horrendous.” “Travesty of hospitality.” “Reminded me of ‘The Shining.’ The only way I could sleep in the room that was deemed newly renovated was to get totally intoxicated. This way, I did not care about the flies..., the mildew covered walls, the noisy bathroom and what was under the sheets.” In more recent months, some Advisors have said the place “isn’t as bad as some of these reviews suggest”; “Could have been worse”; and “pleasantly surprised.” Those are the positive comments. The latest one strikes a familiar note. It was voiced last fortnight by an Eastchester patron, who said “My husband and I were…expecting a 3 star hotel but got a 1 star hotel. We spent the first hour of our stay searching for an appropriate room because the one we were initially assigned smelled so badly of mildew we couldn't stand it.” That reaction is dismally consistent with what most of the Trip Advisors have voiced. Thus: “We had a terrace…but I was afraid to stand on it after I saw gangs of wasps flying in and out of the rafters above our room.” “…big patches of blue mold….” “The place was under construction--destruction comes more to mind.... so bad [that] accepting reservations "bordered on the criminal." "Dirty, Lousy, Smelly, Disgusting, Run Down, and Did I mention BUGS." “Graffiti on the doors, blood in the bathroom.” “Our kids feet were black from the dirt on the floors, I mean BLACK. The hotel manager…told us that the other condos were in worse shape and that ours was the cleanest of them all. The blankets smelled… like they were taken from a homeless person….The couch had stains all over it….” “I actually wonder about the food safety preparation as several of our group were sick after meals. The glasses and silverware were so dirty at each meal that we used the plastic provided for soda on the buffet. The glasses had mostly food residue, but one meal the glass actually had lip marks! I am not a picky eater, but it was seriously hard to find something that tasted good. The carpets are dusty and dirty and patio doors may not lock or screens are broken.” “This inn needs a major renovation and the idea of it as a resort is laughable.” “The best part of our trip to this resort was leaving…. A public outhouse is cleaner and safer….”

WHODUNIT. “Hey,” exclaims a no-name Seeing Greene commentator, “I like the way Dick perpetuates [sic.] a hypocrite! Attack Joe for a few minor mistakes while his own editorial [sic.] wreaks [sic.] of misspelled words and/or unedited spell check corrections!”

QUEERIES CORNER. What disease did cured ham actually have? Why is bra singular and panties plural? Can a hearse carrying a corpse drive in the carpool lane? If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, what is baby oil made from? Once you're in heaven, do you get stuck wearing the clothes you were buried in for eternity?