When it comes to the “art of conversation,” I’m rarely at a loss for words. That doesn’t mean that they’re good words, or smart words or even knowledgeable words—but I do know a lot of words. 

My mother used to say that I was “in love with the sound of my own voice,” and that I would do well to give others a chance to speak, because I might “learn something.” As was often (but not always) the case, Barbara Fox was right. 

To be clear: I’m not in love with anything about me, but that’s fodder for another column/another day.

Still, I always learn more when I keep my trap shut, turn on my tape recorder and let you all do the talking. A recent online invitation from Ratty Books in Jeffersonville, NY sounded like a perfect opportunity to hone my listening skills.

“Our very own Maya Shari is debuting her first fine art exposition right here at Ratty,” the Facebook page proclaimed. “Maya’s works are full of magic, imagination and whimsy—as is she.” 

In an effort to exercise brevity, I kept my questions to a few words.

Me: Talk to me. What is this exhibit all about? 

Maya: “I’m creating these whimsical fantasy paintings that represent a different universe, and yes, they’re very tiny. They are all watercolor with pen and ink.” 

Me: They are absolutely enchanting, as promised. I love that you’ve provided magnifying glasses for visitors. Otherwise, we might miss some of the fantastical teensy details.

Maya: Thank you. When I’m painting them, I’m basically in that world for hours and hours. I’m curled up over the paintings and extremely close to them, and I realized that I know about all of the details because I’m [huddled over] them, so it occurred to me that the little magnifying glasses would be fun.

Me: Why Ratty Books?

Maya: I love children’s books and I work here! I studied children’s literature in college and even today, children’s books inspire me. In my mind, each one of these illustrations has an entire back-story. 

Me: So when does your own book come out?

Maya: I’m working on it. This [the enthusiastic reception to her paintings] is really encouraging me. I am floored by the community support shown today. It’s amazing.

Ratty Books is (IMHO) incredibly charming, and Maya Shari’s “Enchanted Worlds” exhibit is adorning the walls through 9/30. There are plenty of magnifying glasses to go around. And I let her do most of the talking, so there’s that.

Another online blurb that caught my attention last week was in conjunction with the anniversary of the 1969 Woodstock Music Festival held in Bethel, NY.

“Join the Borscht Belt Historical Marker Project at Gazebo Park [in Bethel] with a groovy musical backdrop,” the invitation read. “Bethel Woods Center for the Arts will be there, recording oral histories and ‘Peace of Stage’ will be on site with an authenticated piece of the Woodstock stage!”

I went and snapped pics, but more importantly, I listened as the Marker Project’s Marisa Scheinfeld introduced Town of Bethel Supervisor Dan Sturm, followed by guest speakers Leo Glass, the project’s Isaac Jeffreys and world-famous photographer Elliott Landy.

“Bethel is quite unique.” Scheinfeld told the sizable crowd. “The sandy shores of White and Kauneonga Lake combined with the area’s scenic views and rolling hills have beckoned people for hundreds of years. The local Lenape Indian tribe called Kauneonga ‘Kau-na-ong-ga,’ a word which literally means “lake with two wings” because the figure-eight shape of the lake resembles wings.”

“Who knew?” I whispered to the dog as Scheinfeld continued.  

“How fitting, then, that some years later, a bird would grace the cover of the poster for the Woodstock Music and Arts Fair—a festival that would, in its own way, echo the spirit of the Lenape’s ‘lake with two wings.’ When Max Yasgur opened his Bethel farm to the world, he unknowingly set the stage for a historic moment that would forever be associated with peace, love and the hope for a better world.”

Connecting the dots between Woodstock and the Borscht Belt Marker Project, Scheinfeld elaborated.

“Born from humble beginnings—the Borscht Belt was created in the early 1900s, when anti-Semitism was rampant and when the exclusion of Jews from many spaces in America was commonplace. In a revolutionary action of sorts, the Jewish community [created] their own space in the Catskills. For Jews, the Catskills were a promised land, a place where they were free to be themselves… viewed through the lens of time, the legacy of Woodstock serves as a potent reminder of the collective yearning for peace and connection—a hope that transcends generations.”

Photographer Landy (“Woodstock Dream,” “Jimi Hendrix,” “The Band Photographs”) was equally eloquent and his introspective words still hang in the air. 

Referring to Scheinfeld’s introduction regarding the freedom that the Jewish people felt finding a home in the Catskills, Landy had this to say: “I learned something today, and this is precisely what the Woodstock Festival has done. In spiritual energy belief systems, we talk about vortexes on the planet. Sedona [AZ] is one, the Town of Woodstock is another and this [place] is also a vortex in that way, expressing an inner life by way of an outward means. It’s not just that Woodstock happened here. It’s the land that brings it. You can feel that if you’re sensitive to it.”

Espousing the thought process behind “the hippie culture,” Landy elaborated by explaining that the Woodstock Festival celebrated the idea that people could “live wherever they wanted to live,” among other philosophies, embraced by the spirit of the Sixties and the “dawning of the age of Aquarius.”

There’s more, but I don’t have room to quote it all here, so my recommendation is to find a copy of Landy’s newest book, titled “Woodstock—a Spiritual Moment in Time.” 

I’m sure I’ve said too much, so my brief words of advice would be to find more about this ‘n that at www.rattybooks.com, www.elliottlandy.com and www.borschtbelthistoricalmarkerproject.org/. Yes, you can quote me, because I recorded it all. 

For more photos of both events, visit the River Reporter Facebook page and follow us on Instagram.