A TRIP TO BEACON

August 28, 2016

By Arthur H. Gunther III
ahgunther@hotmail.com

If you go up the Hudson River a bit from my area in Rockland County, N.Y., say about 30 miles to Beacon, there remains a quiet that has largely left the busy suburbs, parts of which have become hybrid urban and have taken on that rhythm, loud at times. Just as coming closer to the sea brings whiffs of salt air, moving north here connects you to a fresh breeze, a more rural New York. And with fall approaching, however far off it seems in now oppressive heat and high humidity, a car ride to Beacon and thereabouts gives you hope that the door is opening on a more pleasant time and slower pace. The suburbs seem more civilized absent the high temperatures.
When I was a young fellow, Beacon and that part of the Hudson River Valley were a frequent draw. I seemed to be riding in my car in endless fashion, and sometimes a companion and I would have long conversations as we took the car ferry to Newburgh or stopped to travel the inclined railway to the top of Mt. Beacon.

Cursed with an elephant-like memory and a penchant for observing so many insignificant things, I recall most conversations with most people, to the point I can detail even clothing (a red and white gingham blouse and green culotte skirt, for example). An almost useless ability.
What was not without merit, though, was the breadth and depth of talk, even on seemingly meaningless subjects. Words are never lost between people — they go into the subconscious, and they are pulled out for reference, in other relationships, perhaps as fond memory, as regret, maybe as thanks that growth and experience and happiness followed beyond a certain time.
Yes, the quiet of Beacon, which exists but is a metaphor for anyone’s experience, anywhere, in whatever time.

The writer is a retired newspaperman who can be reached via ahgunther@hotmail.com

42 thoughts on “A TRIP TO BEACON”

  1. John P Carsten

    Thanks, Art
    Yes, you can never go “home” but as you stated in the metaphor you can go back to visit for a short time. Then the memories come- some good some not so much but the memories are all of days as we were younger!

  40. GeorgeHoofe

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