Courtesy of Ginger Dowd
One day my friend Deirdre asked me if I was ever lonely.
“Never,” I said.
“I thought so,” she replied.
But then I thought about the time I was living in New York City, when I worked in advertising and saw hundreds of people each day. You would always hear about the energy level in the city and that there was so much to do. But most of the people I knew just went to work and then went straight home. New York City was a lonely place for me.
So, yes, at least I remembered what loneliness felt like. However, when I left the city and settled in Pine Plains, my feelings changed. Here was a small town where people knew you. I loved that feeling. Thirty years later, when I was planning my 70th birthday party at Stissing House, I dashed off a guest list that had 100 names on it. I told the restaurant owners, Patricia and Michel Jean: please, no candles on the cake, and no singing “Happy Birthday.” Because I was celebrating my guests.
I hired my favorite local oldies band from the ‘80s. Another restaurant in town postponed their annual pig roast when they heard about my party, because they wouldn’t have had enough customers. The most fun I had was in planning the seating. A small town is complicated and you have to know how people feel. You have to be aware of all the different relationships and how they played out through the years — and then make sure to seat people where they would be comfortable.
I planned a sit-down dinner, each table set with a bouquet of flowers from Patricia’s garden and appetizers to be passed around family style: fried wild mushrooms, Chaseholm Farm cheese (Barry and Rosey Chase were among the guests), an arugula salad, an oven-roasted beet salad with local Coach Farm cheese and baskets of warm fresh bread. There was a choice of three entrees: hanger steak with mashed potato and red wine shallot sauce, organic poussin with garlic and lemon, and vegetarian risotto.
Wine bottles were set on every table. I had chosen a Viré-Clessé chardonnay and a 2010 Chanson pinot noir, both from Burgundy. There were ice buckets filled with cold beer. The dessert had been baked that morning: a sheet cake with layers of fresh berries and whipped cream.
One guest, a childhood friend from Long Island, reminded me I had taught him to dance when he was 14. We got up and danced to “Back in My Arms Again” by The Supremes. Later on, he asked, “I know your family members, but who are all the other people?” I said, “My friends from town.”
Back to Deirdre. Our favorite dance song is Chuck Berry’s “You Never Can Tell.” Deirdre was out of town that weekend and missed the party. For that reason alone, I have to have another one, my 80th, so she can be there and we can dance. Never lonely.
— Ginger Dowd is the owner of A New Leaf used bookstore.
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As we commemorate the 200th anniversary of the town we all call home, the New Pine Plains Herald wants to hear from you!
Maybe you have a family story that stretches back through generations. Maybe you remember a favorite walk, friendship or pet. It could be the winning run in a baseball game, the birth of a calf or the crunch of autumn leaves. There’s simply no limit to what Pine Plains represents to each of the people who live here.
Throughout the Bicentennial year, the Herald will be publishing your stories, creating a portrait of the town through your memories and images. If you’ve got a story you’d like to share, please send 200 to 500 words and a single photograph to mypineplains@newpineplainsherald.com.
Please include your name, brief biographical details and contact information so we can reach you with any questions or edits.
We look forward to hearing from you!