Riding The Rails

Hello World, Happy Memorial Day weekend! I hope that you have a star-spangled, rootin'-tootin', red-white-and-blue humdinger of a holiday, with all the parades, fireworks, barbecues and all-American revelry that you could ever hope for. Memorial Day (observed) is a bit early this year on the 26th, with almost a whole week after it still in May, before June finally puts in an appearance next Saturday. Of course, you didn't have this problem with traditional Decoration Day of the past, which stood firmly fixed and proudly rooted on the 30th, come what may, and no cavorting around back and forth like a puppy with a new toy, so you never know where to find the darned thing when you're looking for it. It also adds another complication to the job of the beleaguered Flag Brigade (who certainly don't need any added complexity in their lives, heaven knows) taking the patriotic high ground by flying the colors, upstairs and downstairs, on both the 26th and the 30th, weather permitting. Most of the time, putting the flags out is not the hit-or-miss part of the operation, but rather, remembering to take them back in again after dinner that turns out to be the proverbial Francis Scott fly in the Betsy Ross ointment, and that's not just a lot of Yankee Doodle Dandy, believe me. Speaking of high flyers, I regret to report that the scrappy Knicks were eliminated by the Pacers in 6 games, but giving credit where it's due, they played them tough throughout, and lost the final contest by a mere 7 points. As for Indiana, frankly, they're welcome to take on the juggernaut that is Miami, and try their luck at unseating King James and his court - although the sports prognosticators will tell you that the Pacers already beat the Heat twice during the regular season, so their long-suffering fans have reason to believe that their optimism is not entirely misplaced after all. Faring only slightly better than their arena-mates, the plucky Rangers just barely staved off being swept out of their series with the Bruins, winning the fourth game in overtime to force a fifth game in Boston. The winner of the series goes on to face Pittsburgh, who handily knocked off Ottawa in the previous round, which I suppose qualifies as the ice hockey equivalent of "out of the frying pan and into the fire" for the opposing teams. Of course, anything can happen in the playoffs, where the only sure thing is that there is no sure thing. You can just ask the Flag Brigade if you don't believe me. In other sports news, and here I am resolutely NOT saying, "I told you so," but it didn't take long for the evil spirit of Affirmed to prevent Derby winner Orb from becoming a potential Triple Crown winner, when no last-minute heroics could snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in the 138th running of the Preakness Stakes last week. The 15-to-1 long-shot, Oxbow, ran wire-to-wire in a small field (less than half of the seething mob at the Derby) on a fast track, with no real competition from start to finish - and certainly no drama like the Derby's heart-pounding wind-up, to make it memorable in any way, even among the Pimlico loyalists. And poor bewitched Orb, the 3-5 favorite after his pyrotechnics at Churchill Downs, carrying the extra weight of Affirmed's diabolical curse, was never a factor, finishing a distant fourth out of 9 horses. So once again, there will be no Triple Crown in horse racing this year, which really takes the wind out of the sails for the luckless Belmont Stakes in another few weeks, with no media circus to look forward to, and promises to be a rather humdrum affair. So it remains to be seen if Orb or Oxbow can achieve a personal "Double Crown" by winning a second race of the triumvirate, or whether this will be another one of those years that the separate races are won by three different horses instead. Heck, I say bring back I'll Have Another from last year, and give him another shot at it - we could invent a whole new "Trip-Flip Crown" for a horse that wins all three races, but in different years, and really give the odds makers something to think about. Not to mention, the long departed Affirmed, who would probably have to break out a whole second book of hexes to thwart this new threat to his supremacy, I shouldn't wonder. Last weekend, we prevailed upon our retired friends to carve some time out of their busy schedules and join us for an adventurous day of discovery at the Trolley Museum of New York in historic Kingston in the upstate Ulster county region. (Please feel free to go right ahead and visit their web site at http://www.TMNY.org and see for yourself.) We met first for brunch at the Broadway Lights Diner, a mere hop, skip and a jump from the museum, where their voluminous menu would prove the undoing of any indecisive types of your acquaintance, and you would have no choice but to leave them there still dithering, and get on with your life. I can tell you that their potato pancakes were divine, and Bill was equally rhapsodic about their stuffed French toast, which was all the sustenance we needed for a busy day of exploration. The Kingston historic district is a sight to behold, with many stately old buildings and charming attractions from days gone by. East Strand is off the main thoroughfare, right next to the Rondout Creek, along with The Hudson River Maritime Museum, and the launching pad for Hudson River Cruises, among other interesting diversions, so it's quite the happening spot in its own right. Since the museum was celebrating its 30th anniversary, everyone was invited to enjoy plenty of live music and refreshments in the hospitality tent, and even better, they were offering their famous trolley rides for free, all the live-long day, Casey Jones. Their beautifully restored 1925 trolley car takes a leisurely but enchanting ride for 1-1/2 miles, from Gallo Park at the beginning of the street, all the way to Kingston Point Park, where the majestic Hudson laps at the very shore. Here, they let you get out and look around for a few moments, and take pictures if you like, while the hard-working crew readies the trolley for the return trip. (There's no room to turn it around, so they have to shift control of the driving functions from one end of the car to the other.) The current museum building is on the foundation of the old Ulster & Delaware Railroad engine house from the 1900's, and the upper level features a viewing area where visitors can observe the restoration shop below, where up to 8 trolley cars are being housed and renovated - including four that are over 100 years old. Of course, there's also a gift shop, and don't think that I don't have the souvenirs to prove it, by golly. Besides the rolling stock of trolleys, subway cars and assorted train equipment, their dedicated volunteers also service and upgrade the tracks themselves, and their Herculean efforts can be seen and admired in every inch of rail along the way. The fact that they can still run a trolley along tracks embedded in the streets from distant decades ago, is in itself an eloquent testimony to their diligence and determination in the face of daunting obstacles. We found the whole trip very interesting and informative, and we were glad we decided to hop aboard. After a busy day of new experiences, we relaxed for a while at Boice's Dairy, locally famous for their wide variety of ice cream and other sweet treats, which did not disappoint, I can assure you. By then, it was starting to get late, so we bid our fond farewells, and lit out in opposite directions. We were going right through Newburgh in any case, so we stopped at Denny's for dinner on the way home, which like a scrumptious dessert, is always the perfect ending to a memorable day, and it goes without saying, on the right track all the way. Elle