October 2009
[from FB post: May 7, 2010]
I had a GREAT lunch today with my good friend (and local FAMOUS PERSON -- LOL) Lori G. down on the Hudson waterfront in scenic Newburgh! It was a good day!!
[June 5, 2010]
I had my car oil changed and the car checked up at my friend Lori G's family business in Newburgh, NY. And we ate pizza while I waited... is that a full service garage or what???
Visiting Lori G
I was living on the Delaware River literally. However, it was only a short drive on the highway (Interstate 84) up over the Kittatinny Ridge to the Hudson River Valley. About 40 minutes on was the town of Newburgh, NY and one of the major crossings of the Hudson. Newburgh existed in a permanent state of end-of-days post-industrial blight. Any mention of the town sent shudders up and down everyone's spine. Newburgh had shootings all-the-time. It was dangerous. When I visited it was normally limited to the shopping area on the far edge of town or its waterfront.
I love listening to radio in the morning. A local music/talk radio program is my favorite way to wake up to each day when I am living in the US. I listened to a station out of New York State (Milford was on the listening edge) that played adult contemporary music, and the morning show was hosted by Bob O. and Lori G. They often asked listeners to email them requests and questions. I finally did and Lori responded. Lori Grieco was a gregarious Italian-American from Newburgh who was staunchly conservative with some non-congruous liberal streaks. I slowly got to know her via email and then we finally met at an event where the radio team was there on a promotion. We hit it off immediately and I started to take my car for servicing to her family's garage in Newburgh.
While my car was being serviced, Lori and I would head down the riverfront of Newburgh for lunch.
Newburgh might have been a dump, but its sliver of a waterfront, cut off from the rest of the city by railway tracks had been renovated into a series of shops and restaurants with glorious views up and down the Hudson. I couldn't believe that down and dirty Newburgh hosted such a wonderful place. In fact, it became a place I insisted on taking guests when they visited Newburgh. Everyone loved it because the Hudson was very wide at that point with the Catskills and the Taconics defining each bank of the river. I fully understood when I visited why an entire movement of art called "The Hudson River School" had developed. The scenery was glorious.
My parents especially loved Newburgh and when they came to visit for more than a few days, we often drove over to Newburgh for lunch on the water. Many of my own visits were while the car was being serviced where I listened to Lori G. bemoan the decline and near death of Newburgh. She lived in "red" America and was certain the USA was on the verge of collapse. Looking around at Newburgh and everything her family dealt with trying to keep a business running there, I could believe her.
Lori left the radio station to pursue other life opportunities. I remain thankful to her for introducing me to the waterfront of her hometown. Newburgh has everything going for it except itself. Will it ever reclaim its fantastic location and bounce back? The waterfront is a start at least.