Mat Zucker

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Hello, my fellow Cloverakians.
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Welcome to the Cloverick Podcast.
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My name is Jeff Kiplinger.
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I hope that if you're here for the first time, you enjoy this and that you come back, you subscribe.
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We're on all the major platforms.
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You can find us by Googling the Cloverick Podcast because we are the only podcast with the word Cloverick in the title.
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I talk to people on this podcast who are neighbors here in Cloverick, who are neighbors in the surrounding towns in Columbia County.
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And what I'm interested in is what brings people here, what people who have been here all their lives do and why they stay.
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The people that I talk to are people that care about the future of our little town.
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The people that I talk to are people that have ideas about how we might preserve what we have and ultimately make this better than what we have now.
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We live in a little town in upstate New York in the Hudson River Valley that we all care about very much.
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And the people that I talk to on this podcast have ideas for how to make Clobrick something that they can care about for the rest of their lives and for their children's lives and for their grandchildren's lives.
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So enjoy the Cloberick podcast.
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Thank you for being here.
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Look for a new episode approximately every month.
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All right, let's do the show.
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Hey, this one's kind of an interesting one.
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Today I talk with Matt Zucker.
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He's a neighbor of mine.
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We are not very far apart from each other in Clobrick, are we?
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So I guess we're all neighbors.
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But the interesting thing about Matt is that he's a podcaster as well, and he reached out to me when he discovered the Cloberk podcast online.
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And I've known about his podcast, which is called Sidioit.
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That's C-I-D-I-O-T, in case you haven't heard it.
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Matt's podcast, Siddiot, has been around for I think about eight years from the time that he used to live down in the Rhinebeck area.
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And he moved to Hudson and then to Claverick with his partner about a year and a half ago.
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And he's been getting to know people in the area.
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But what we found interesting about each other was this experience of podcasting.
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So we talked quite a bit about that.
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We talked about the word Sidioot and how he's trying to reclaim it from what's essentially a joke.
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And I'll I'll digress a minute here.
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You'll probably remember a few years ago when Hudson area was getting discovered by the New York Times and people started coming up here in droves on the train, and that had already been going on the other side of the river with people coming up the Thruway and further south with people coming up to Rhinebeck and places like that.
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But City is a sort of pejorative term for somebody that really only knows how to live in the city and doesn't really get how to live in the country.
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And as I remember New York Times articles kind of poking fun at this, people would say things like, Yeah, I thought I saw a bear in my yard, and then my neighbor finally told me that it was just a raccoon.
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I think Matt started out thinking that he could find these stories in virtually everyone that had moved to the area from someplace urban.
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And what he really latched on to in a similar way to me was what do people do here that is interesting, right?
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Because we come up here for specific reasons.
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And those reasons may include something to do with agriculture, they may include the scenic beauty of the area, they may include retirement, they may include writing, they may include being a weekender.
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There's lots of reasons why people are up here, but we are both of the same mind in that we want to talk to the people that are up here for interesting reasons, not people that just come up here to vacation.
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So we have a long conversation about that, and it ultimately gets into what Matt and his partner have been doing with his house that they bought a couple of years ago, and what we are doing with our property.
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And I think he was fascinated with the fact that I've got things like a tractor and a couple of chainsaws, and I hunt deer.
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So we ended up doing each other's podcasts.
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The recording you'll hear today is me asking Matt questions.
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And if you go to Matt's City at podcast, you'll hear Matt asking me questions, which are to a large extent about deer hunting, which was what he really wanted to know something about.
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We have a little different style, we have a little bit of different approach, but we both like to talk and we both like to have conversations with people that that we like.
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So enjoy today's podcast, Matt Zucker of the City It Podcast.
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And I usually start with white people ended up in Claverick because it is the Claverick podcast.
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And you're here in Claverick, and we met because your neighbors down the road, at least for the last what, nine months, a year, something like that.
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Yeah, I think so.
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I think we've been in the house for about a year and a quarter.
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And how are you liking Claverick?
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I like a lot.
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And every time you say claveric, I wonder, can I say it correctly?
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I'm so nervous.
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It's two syllable.
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It's two syllables, right?
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Claverick.
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Yeah.
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It took us a little bit of time to get it because we came here like everybody else saying claverak and and vality and I think I should do an episode just on pronouncing things correctly for people to come up and stuff.
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But no, I think.
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Well, I think it's just an entertaining way for people to determine whether we're insiders or outsiders.
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I know, but I try so hard to be an insider and it doesn't work.
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I did an episode for the Columbia Tourism Board and they had me re-record a few locations because I even mispronounced my hometown.
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So you're here in Claverick.
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The reason that we're talking is partly because you reached out to me because you have this podcast that's been around for a lot longer than the Claverick podcast is called I know you have another podcast.
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We can talk about that as well, but but City was the one that that first intrigues me because it's a it's such a common word that you hear around here.
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Yeah, I know.
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It's the word I think came out of Mon Talk.
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I think that's where I heard of it.
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My friend Victor had told me about it.
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But it was used up here a lot.
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And obviously it's a pejorative, it's a negative.
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And for me, it's all about taking it back.
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Taking it back and trying to make fun of it, being self-mocking on Facebook.
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I've got the nastiest comments, always on Facebook.
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Really?
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Well, people are just like, they don't realize I'm trying to not be a city and I'm trying to help listeners not be one, but they're so angry to just lash out about Go.
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Because they think that all it is is making fun of people from the city moving up, or what?
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I guess so.
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I don't know.
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I think that, or they just are angry about people coming up, but I think it's a very small amount, I find everyone really gets a kick out of it.
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It's pretty welcoming.
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People that come up find it valuable.
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I've tried to make it like a guide to moving up here.
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Yeah.
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Actually, a champion to move up here.
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First of all, you should do it because it's great.
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It's a great place to come.
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And you started this before the pandemic when the real wave of people kind of started.
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Yeah, I did.
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I started it back, and when we first moved up, we were weekenders before we were full-time.
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And I was using it as like a journal.
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And I was kind of keep tracking the experience of moving up from the city and having a house and all the challenges versus an apartment and not having a super.
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And I'm kind of a moron, so not can't do handy things around the house.
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Or what the difference is between a sheep and a goat, differences in flowers, what's the blue one versus the red one?
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So, really getting to know what it means to live outside the city and having a new chapter and encouraging other people to do it.
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So it just started as an audio journal and then it evolved into more of a series of conversations with people across the Hudson Valley trying to find out more stuff that I'm interested in.
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Yeah.
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It's still like a newcomer's guide in many ways.
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It's just, I think it attracts people that are weekenders, it attracts full-timers or recent people that move up.
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I probably need more of a local voice on it as well.
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But it's still the mission, it's still about getting acclimated and what it's like to live here.
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And I guess even though I've been up here for 10 years or more, we moved from Red Hook and Tivoli to Claverick.
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Did I do it right?
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Yeah, Claverick.
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Claverick.
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Claverick is good.
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I think as long as you condense it into two syllables, like as soon as we moved to this town, it was like being a city again, actually.
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Getting to know a new area, a new place, new farms, new places to go.
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So I think it's uh a rebirth of it for me.
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So you find yourself interviewing more people now that are not from the city but are already up here.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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Most things are about natives.
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Yeah.
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Even though the listeners are often from the city or recent people that moved over last 10 years, increasingly I'm interviewing people that have established a business or organization or something I'm interested in.
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Like I interviewed a scientist at the Carrie Institute about why do leaves change color or a nonprofit, or I'll go explore the Columbia County and report back what I find.
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So I think it's also I'm really interviewing people up here to give a view for others to take advantage of it and make the most out of it.
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Yeah.
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I guess my my rationale for my podcast has been similar in that I'm trying to find people who are involved in the town or the county in such a way that it's moving forward.
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It may be moving forward in bad directions, it may be good directions.
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A lot of times we just don't know.
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But but I want to talk to people who are thinking about what this area may become.
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And a lot of times that's about preserving the reasons that we moved here in the first place or came here in the first place because it's beautiful, because it's it's it's got wonderful people, it's got wonderful roadways, it's got wonderful little businesses, it's got farms, it's got produce that is to die for good.
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And and that's the that's the type of thing worth preserving.
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But you can't just put things in a jar and let them decay over time.
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You have to look at how you're going to achieve that by preserving what's good and to some extent keeping out what's bad.
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And we don't want data centers, we don't want we don't want everything to be highways, we don't want everything to be massive solar fields.
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I agree.
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Yeah, there's a middle, yeah, and I try to encourage people to to participate too.
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And I think you do that too.
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Trying to contribute.
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Don't complain.
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Yeah.
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Get out of your cabin and start to participate in the community around you and see how you can figure it out.
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I think podcasting's been a great vehicle to meet people.
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People enjoy, I think, the conversation type environment.
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There is a gap in local media, so I'm very attracted to all these local podcasts and different regional media brands like yours and mine, because I think they're kind of filling a gap too that's there.
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Yeah, I think you know that world better than I do.
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I I just did this kind of ad hoc.
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It seemed like a good idea at the time, and now I'm in it and it's fun.
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Yeah, no, I like to cover all the different local newspapers in different towns and villages and hamlets and as well as all the local podcasts.
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I try to keep a list of them.
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There aren't that many.
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Yeah.
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A lot of them start and then they kind of fade out.
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It's a really hard upstream, so you found to keep it going.
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Yeah, I think at times it has been.
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Summer's always a struggle, right?
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Because you've got so much else going on.
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And my listeners know I had me surgery this year.
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So that made it a little bit crazy.
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You have to be super regular, which I have not been.
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Yeah, I'm not sure where I stumbled across your show.
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I think I was looking up.
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We had moved to this town, and I wanted to get to know it, and I wanted to find out everything about it and understand the history.
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I recently joined the Claverick Historical Society.
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I just said it wrong.
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Claverick Historical Society.
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Yeah, I interviewed Gary Davis, who's mover and shaker.
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Yeah, a friend of mine who's a listening well, she had me join.
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And so I like to find out the history.
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Our town has such interesting history with Hudson as the original name of the town.
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We were it's Claverick Landing, right?
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Was the history.
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And Hudson has a fascinating history.
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So it's an unusual it's like this farm suburb thing outside the town, and it's different than all the other towns around it.
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And then it's funny, I lived 15 minutes south for 10 years in Red Hook and Tivoli, and it's a completely different world.
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It is, yeah.
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Even though it's just down the road.
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Yeah, we noticed this when we first came here, that you'd come up on the train, you'd stop at Rhinelcliffe, and all the people from the city would get off, and then there'd be nobody left in the train riding into Hudson.
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Of course, that's changed.
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And I remember going back to this this city, an idea that you originally had.
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I remember an article in the Times, probably in early COVID, maybe 2020, when they were talking about people that had moved to the country outside of the city in order to get away with the mess that was going on down in the city during early COVID.
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They had humorous stories of people misidentifying a raccoon as a bear and things like that.
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I would do that.
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So, you know, it's yeah, I think you can push that idea to an extreme, and they were doing it for humor, but it doesn't seem to me that you podcast the use of the word city, it doesn't make fun of people so much.
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Yeah, I think it makes fun of the situation, like the situation you're in.
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And also the questions.
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There's some sincere questions about being new that are different when you haven't owned a house before.
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And you've got a winterize for what does winterize mean?
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That's a thing to discover.
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Yeah, pouring out a freeze in your toilet.
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We put in a wood-burning stove in the new house because we had one in the old house.
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We had to install it, and we didn't know to buy the right size wood.
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So winter came and we had no wood for our fireplace.
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So we went to Lowe's and we got it there, but that was like not the right way to do it.
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We had to order it much earlier.
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Got to order much your firewood much earlier or figure out a source.
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So I just think there's a lot of more learned to use a chainsaw.
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Yes, that's a certain level.
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I interviewed a guy, Dairo, on my show many years ago, and he learned how to use a chainsaw because that was his he felt local once he he did that.
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Maybe that's a question for you.
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I've asked different people, when do you feel like you're from here?
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What do you think the turning point is?
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That's an absolutely great question.
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I feel like for me, it was when I began to get involved with local organizations or local groups that that had been invested here for a long time that included maybe a mix of people that had moved here from outside, but also people that had been here for all of their lives.
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So when I became part of those organizations, I felt like part of the area.
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I did I because you mentioned we started on this thread with chainsaws, right?
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And I've got a couple of chainsaws of maintaining actors of property here.
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I've got a tractor, and I've I guess I could say that all of those things made me feel a little bit more connected to the farming aspects of this country.
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But what really made me connected to Columbia County and to Claverick was to join things, to become part of it.
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Yeah, we we joined the CSA for many years, including the one down the road.
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And I think that it's yeah, I think being a part of the fabric of the community, or being recognized on the street, yeah, I would say would be a sign.
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Yeah, as a celebrity.
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I think just going to church and likely one's easier.
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But uh it's Matt Soccer.
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Actually, people never recognize me physically, they recognize my voice.
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Yeah.
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Oh, that's good.
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That's actually a good thing.
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Yeah, it's fun.
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So you came here, you c you came up to Red Hook area for you said 10 years?
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Yeah, we came up in about 2014 versus weekenders, and we liked it so much, we kept staying longer and going to the city less and less.
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And then we decided to make the move full-time before the pandemic.
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And I think it was just a new chapter.
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I think we were just done with the city thing was great.
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Yeah.
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That was 25 years, and I think this is a new chapter.
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Were you part of the early wave of people that were working from home, digital nomads, whatever we want to call ourselves?
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I was I work for a consulting company and I do marketing.
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So I was going back and forth to the city every other week.
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And we were staying in hotels for a while.
00:15:57.440 --> 00:16:01.679
And then we move full time, and now I just go down every now and then and I do hotels.
00:16:02.159 --> 00:16:04.960
But the yeah, I could work mostly remote.
00:16:05.120 --> 00:16:07.519
And then if I have to travel, you just kind of work it out in advance.
00:16:07.679 --> 00:16:08.159
It's tricky.
00:16:08.240 --> 00:16:11.519
I never schedule a meeting somewhere else in the country on a Monday.
00:16:11.679 --> 00:16:12.639
I always do a Tuesday.
00:16:12.799 --> 00:16:14.480
Otherwise, you ruin your weekend trying to get out.
00:16:14.639 --> 00:16:19.360
Because I love Albany Airport, and I think it's a great solution to the world's problems.
00:16:19.919 --> 00:16:21.440
You can show up 10 minutes before.
00:16:21.759 --> 00:16:22.720
Yeah, it's amazing.
00:16:23.279 --> 00:16:24.639
It's still very small.
00:16:24.960 --> 00:16:25.840
Yeah, but reliable.
00:16:26.000 --> 00:16:26.320
Yeah.
00:16:26.559 --> 00:16:26.720
Yeah.
00:16:26.879 --> 00:16:28.000
If you can find a flight.
00:16:28.080 --> 00:16:30.159
But I I think the Hudson Valley is so special.
00:16:30.240 --> 00:16:30.799
It's so big.
00:16:30.960 --> 00:16:36.480
So it's really what surprised me was that each county is very different of these 10 counties.
00:16:36.639 --> 00:16:37.519
It's a different world.
00:16:37.679 --> 00:16:41.759
I don't know why I try to have a Hudson Valley podcast because it's just too diverse to be able to do.
00:16:42.399 --> 00:16:43.360
I should probably just pick something.
00:16:47.679 --> 00:16:49.440
Yeah, we consider ourselves the twin counties.
00:16:51.039 --> 00:16:53.120
So there's our share some shared services too.
00:16:53.200 --> 00:17:06.079
But even then within the county, there's the Columbia County is pretty interesting because it's so it's Hudson centralized in terms of government and a lot of resources, but it's not Hudson centralized in terms of people and movement.
00:17:06.480 --> 00:17:08.720
The east side of the county is very different from over here.
00:17:09.440 --> 00:17:12.319
And I drove up to New Lebanon and stuff just to check it out and stuff.
00:17:12.400 --> 00:17:16.640
And it was just in a kind of an amazing different world near Massachusetts than down here.
00:17:16.720 --> 00:17:17.759
It just was so refreshing.
00:17:17.839 --> 00:17:18.480
But it's so big.
00:17:24.880 --> 00:17:31.519
Everybody that I talked to that's not from Hudson really doesn't think very much about what goes on in Hudson.
00:17:31.759 --> 00:17:41.519
And but you're right, it is the the the it's the place where state money flows into in the largest way in the county.
00:17:41.759 --> 00:17:41.920
Yeah.
00:17:42.079 --> 00:17:47.519
So yeah, every county seat is very much where the money comes in and then gets distributed to the communities through the county seat.
00:17:47.759 --> 00:17:54.480
So but yeah, but if you don't use it that much, I think Dutchess County, we didn't we were so far north, we were closer to Hudson than to Poughkeepsie.
00:17:54.880 --> 00:17:57.039
So I didn't really affiliate with Poughkeepsie.
00:17:57.599 --> 00:18:07.759
I think that when we moved up here, one thing that surprised me was how much we we expected to want to live in town.
00:18:08.319 --> 00:18:10.000
And we went in Hudson.
00:18:10.240 --> 00:18:10.640
In Hudson.
00:18:10.880 --> 00:18:13.759
And we rented while we were looking for a house, we sold our house in Red Hook.
00:18:13.839 --> 00:18:17.279
We moved to a sublet on Warren Street right at Fourth and Warren.
00:18:17.359 --> 00:18:18.240
It was a great location.
00:18:18.640 --> 00:18:26.960
And I think our assumption was we were gonna look for a place to live in town, and then we would walk around in town, and that's like a thing you people do, like in Rhinebeck or whatever.
00:18:27.119 --> 00:18:31.039
And we really realized after six or nine months, we're like, yeah, we're not doing this.
00:18:31.200 --> 00:18:35.680
We want to move back to the house on a creek just like we did, and we found everybody recommended Laverick.
00:18:35.920 --> 00:18:37.039
It was like highly recommended.
00:18:37.279 --> 00:18:40.000
We knew a lot of people out here, and it's 15 minutes out.
00:18:40.160 --> 00:18:43.920
And I think if you live in town, you're in the bubble, and maybe you don't leave as much.
00:18:44.079 --> 00:18:45.279
You know, you don't explore much.
00:18:45.599 --> 00:18:49.039
And by we go to Great Barrington, we go to I go to Chatham all the time.
00:18:49.119 --> 00:18:49.920
I love Chatham.
00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:51.680
I just really take advantage of the county.
00:18:52.160 --> 00:18:52.960
Yeah, but you're right.
00:18:53.039 --> 00:18:54.240
If you're in Hudson itself.
00:18:54.720 --> 00:18:59.440
When we came here, we first bought our place in 2013.
00:18:59.599 --> 00:19:04.160
We renovated it and we began to use it in 2014.
00:19:04.640 --> 00:19:12.160
And at that time, going into Hudson, it was I would say it was more local people than outsiders.
00:19:12.559 --> 00:19:16.400
There were still traffic coming up on the train, but not very much.
00:19:16.720 --> 00:19:20.799
And really only on weekends and good weather weekends for the most part.
00:19:20.960 --> 00:19:31.680
And you didn't see a lot of people from the city, and the businesses were more focused on supporting local people at the restaurants, that kind of thing.
00:19:32.000 --> 00:19:34.240
And so we spent a lot of time in Hudson.
00:19:35.200 --> 00:19:44.640
That was one of our qualifications for moving here to Clover, was that we wanted to be within reach of Hudson, a lot of bars that had music, the restaurants, quality, etc.
00:19:45.279 --> 00:19:49.440
But it's changed over time, and Hudson is now its own little thing.
00:19:49.759 --> 00:19:51.839
Yeah, there's a whole different world of people there.
00:19:52.000 --> 00:19:53.920
Hopefully there'll be more housing soon, too.
00:19:54.079 --> 00:19:59.359
And I work at a barn fox at the Kenniball Factory, so I have a desk there, so I'm in almost every single day.
00:19:59.519 --> 00:20:00.880
And I like the commute.
00:20:02.240 --> 00:20:03.279
I like working in town.
00:20:03.759 --> 00:20:05.039
It's eight minutes away.
00:20:05.279 --> 00:20:05.680
I know.
00:20:05.759 --> 00:20:09.920
I like working in town, and I come home by four, four thirty, and I'm out sitting by my creek.
00:20:10.319 --> 00:20:12.000
And I just think it's great too.
00:20:12.079 --> 00:20:15.039
And we're by two beautiful orchards, so I got gorgeous views out here.
00:20:15.200 --> 00:20:19.200
And I just think the farm the farmland is something to protect and to enjoy.
00:20:19.519 --> 00:20:20.799
And I like to visit animals.
00:20:20.880 --> 00:20:24.640
I visit the little baby goats at Meisner's farm and stuff.
00:20:24.799 --> 00:20:25.839
I go visit them in the back.
00:20:25.920 --> 00:20:28.319
I'm probably the only buddy person that does it.
00:20:29.119 --> 00:20:30.240
No, I don't think you are.
00:20:30.480 --> 00:20:35.200
We got we have good friends that raise goats and and they call us whenever the babies are being born.
00:20:35.519 --> 00:20:35.920
Oh, really?
00:20:36.240 --> 00:20:36.559
Let me know.
00:20:37.200 --> 00:20:38.720
Oh, God, it's so cute.
00:20:39.200 --> 00:20:41.440
My logo for my podcast is a baby goat.
00:20:41.680 --> 00:20:48.160
The designer who lives in in Red Hug is a gorgeous graphic designer, and he I said, Listen, I want an animal.
00:20:48.240 --> 00:20:48.960
I don't care what it is.
00:20:49.119 --> 00:20:54.319
It could be a chicken, it could be a cow, it can be a goat, but I want an animal from my podcast.
00:20:54.799 --> 00:20:57.839
And so he comes back and he shows me this goat, and it's beautiful.
00:20:57.920 --> 00:21:01.599
And I'm like, oh, just out of curiosity, why did you pick a goat?
00:21:01.839 --> 00:21:03.519
He's like, actually, it's a baby goat, man.
00:21:03.759 --> 00:21:04.640
And I go, Oh, why?
00:21:04.720 --> 00:21:06.640
Like, why'd you choose that versus a chicken?
00:21:06.960 --> 00:21:08.799
And he said that the name is Ryan.
00:21:09.359 --> 00:21:15.039
He said, Matt, you're just getting your wobbly legs here in the Hudson Valley.
00:21:15.200 --> 00:21:15.839
You're new.
00:21:16.160 --> 00:21:18.000
And that's what a baby goat goes through.
00:21:18.319 --> 00:21:20.000
And I'm like, I'm a baby goat.
00:21:20.079 --> 00:21:21.279
He's like, You're a baby goat.
00:21:22.240 --> 00:21:22.799
It's amazing.
00:21:22.960 --> 00:21:27.759
Different animals, they don't have these personalities, but we attribute them to the animals.
00:21:28.000 --> 00:21:37.440
But baby goats I always identify with being wide open to the big world, and this is amazing, and so forth, just by the look on their face and the way that they stand.
00:21:37.680 --> 00:21:41.039
And chickens just look surprised by everything.
00:21:41.359 --> 00:21:41.519
Yeah.
00:21:41.680 --> 00:21:41.920
Yeah.
00:21:42.079 --> 00:21:48.720
Oh, I had this funny moment at the Columbia County Fair, which I love going to, and I did not wear my City at t-shirt because I haven't.
00:21:49.119 --> 00:21:54.079
But I'm walking around and I go to I go visit the animals and the auction's going on.
00:21:54.160 --> 00:21:54.559
Yeah.
00:21:54.799 --> 00:21:59.759
And there's a baby goat gonna be auction who was adorable who won a prize earlier in the fair.
00:22:00.559 --> 00:22:06.240
And then there were some cows and some giant steer, giant cows, cow pluses.
00:22:06.640 --> 00:22:10.079
And so I'm watching the auction happen, which I've never seen, you know, never seen.
00:22:10.160 --> 00:22:11.839
Except I've just counting sheep.
00:22:11.920 --> 00:22:14.000
I've seen sheep auctions, but not cow auctions.
00:22:14.319 --> 00:22:21.599
And they're they're rattling off, and people are bidding on this 1200-pound giant cow.
00:22:22.640 --> 00:22:29.759
And it goes for four four seventy-five or eighty-five, it's numbers like that.
00:22:29.839 --> 00:22:32.400
And I'm like, okay, that's hundreds or maybe it's thousands.
00:22:32.480 --> 00:22:34.000
I have no idea what it goes for.
00:22:34.160 --> 00:22:39.759
And then at the end, they're like, and for four dollars and seventy-five cents, this cow.
00:22:39.920 --> 00:22:44.720
And I look at the so I look at the people next to me and I'm like, you get all that for$4.75.
00:22:45.119 --> 00:22:47.359
Then they're like, it's per pound.
00:22:50.319 --> 00:22:53.279
It's just but it means I'm still that.
00:22:53.440 --> 00:22:56.559
I'm still more than 10 years and I'm still learning.
00:22:56.960 --> 00:22:58.720
But were you tempted to buy the baby goat?
00:22:58.960 --> 00:22:59.200
Yeah.
00:22:59.440 --> 00:23:00.160
Yeah, very much too.
00:23:00.319 --> 00:23:04.240
But I think they're a little messy, and I think you need you want to get more than one, or maybe that's donkeys.
00:23:04.480 --> 00:23:05.039
Yeah, I don't think.
00:23:05.279 --> 00:23:06.240
Some things you should get in pairs.
00:23:06.319 --> 00:23:06.480
I think.
00:23:06.640 --> 00:23:06.960
I don't know.
00:23:07.039 --> 00:23:17.039
I our friends that have goats, they don't keep the male goats because they when the females come into season, the males get extremely smelly and extremely aggressive.
00:23:17.200 --> 00:23:17.440
Yeah.
00:23:17.680 --> 00:23:21.519
And they make goat cheese and other goat milk products.
00:23:21.680 --> 00:23:24.799
And so they don't want that smell and so forth.
00:23:24.880 --> 00:23:26.079
And they don't want the disruption.
00:23:26.400 --> 00:23:31.599
But you still have to, in order to get milk from a goat, you have to the goat has to have baby goats.
00:23:31.920 --> 00:23:45.519
So they I guess they bring in or they take the their doe goats out to a place where there are male goats and they're impregnated there.
00:23:45.759 --> 00:23:51.039
They bring them back home and then they don't have to mess with the messy aspects of the male goat.
00:23:51.359 --> 00:23:54.160
But the females are like tremendously entertaining.
00:23:54.480 --> 00:23:54.640
Yeah.
00:23:54.720 --> 00:23:56.960
And they get they're funny, they get into trouble, they have personalities.
00:23:57.359 --> 00:23:57.599
Exactly.
00:23:57.839 --> 00:24:02.319
We lived across from a goat farm in in in Red Hook and they would escape every now and then and come over.
00:24:04.400 --> 00:24:07.039
Do your friends name their goats or do they name Oh yeah, absolutely.
00:24:07.359 --> 00:24:08.720
So you name the goats, but you don't name the goats.
00:24:08.880 --> 00:24:10.640
Well they're gonna they're gonna own them for a long time.
00:24:11.680 --> 00:24:15.839
These are not goats that they keep for meat, they're goats that they keep for milk.
00:24:16.240 --> 00:24:22.559
So I guess some some goats are bred for meat, some goats for milk, some goats for their own.
00:24:22.720 --> 00:24:23.519
I've never had goat.
00:24:23.839 --> 00:24:24.799
Have you had goat meat?
00:24:25.200 --> 00:24:27.119
I have in Caribbean and African dishes.
00:24:27.359 --> 00:24:27.920
Yeah, yeah, sure.
00:24:28.319 --> 00:24:33.359
I we spent a lot of time in Mexico a few years ago, and they make biria out of out of goats sometimes.
00:24:33.759 --> 00:24:34.400
What does it taste like?
00:24:35.039 --> 00:24:41.359
Biria is just a long stewed uh meat with chilies and fat and makes this big broth.
00:24:41.920 --> 00:24:44.880
It's like the Mexican version of a French dip sandwich, right?
00:24:45.039 --> 00:24:48.160
You put beria in a taco and then you dip it into the juice.
00:24:49.920 --> 00:24:50.960
Goat dip.
00:24:51.279 --> 00:24:52.000
Exactly.
00:24:52.960 --> 00:24:53.599
It's good.
00:24:53.759 --> 00:24:54.640
It's super good.
00:24:56.880 --> 00:24:58.079
Not available at Philly's.
00:24:58.480 --> 00:24:59.359
No, not yet.
00:24:59.839 --> 00:25:00.640
It's coming.
00:25:02.079 --> 00:25:02.559
All right.
00:25:02.799 --> 00:25:05.920
So we kind of covered why you love Claverick.
00:25:06.079 --> 00:25:14.960
What do you see happening with you and your established presence in Claverick in the long term?
00:25:15.759 --> 00:25:16.480
Are you gonna stay?
00:25:16.640 --> 00:25:18.160
You're gonna build something new?
00:25:18.799 --> 00:25:19.440
Yeah, this could be it.
00:25:19.519 --> 00:25:25.759
Part of the goal of leaving Red Hook was let's find someplace we want to stay and settle and eventually retire.
00:25:25.920 --> 00:25:27.279
And we think this could be it.
00:25:27.359 --> 00:25:31.599
And so it now it's about roots and about You're a long way from retirement, Matt.
00:25:32.640 --> 00:25:33.599
I just look it.
00:25:34.559 --> 00:25:36.559
Yeah, you've maintained yourself well.
00:25:36.960 --> 00:25:38.079
Sunscreen, right?
00:25:38.400 --> 00:25:39.279
No children.
00:25:41.359 --> 00:25:45.039
No, I think that it's about joining and participating and figuring out the right way to contribute.
00:25:45.119 --> 00:25:49.440
So I've been looking at different things to get involved in and how to make friends.
00:25:49.599 --> 00:26:04.880
We are surprised, and I don't know what's in the air, but we've met more people on this road in this neighborhood, much less in the town and in Hudson in our year and a half than we did in Red Hook in 10 years.
00:26:05.359 --> 00:26:08.000
I feel like something is changing post.
00:26:08.319 --> 00:26:12.400
I'm like, I'm like looking at the art arc from pre-pandemic.
00:26:12.559 --> 00:26:16.799
As I mentioned, we were here as a very different town and a very different world in those days.
00:26:17.039 --> 00:26:24.319
And then during the pandemic, and then the pressure that's been on this area with everybody moving in to here post-pandemic.
00:26:24.559 --> 00:26:31.519
And I see now another change happening where people are looking for come kind of bonding into little communities.
00:26:31.839 --> 00:26:34.799
I don't exactly know how to describe it, but you're right.
00:26:34.960 --> 00:26:36.079
Just our road here.
00:26:36.240 --> 00:26:40.799
I've had people you're now the third neighbor that I've had on the podcast.
00:26:41.119 --> 00:26:42.160
Yeah, it's incredible right now.
00:26:42.799 --> 00:26:44.240
And we moved in and we met.
00:26:44.480 --> 00:26:52.640
When we moved in, I left cards or notes in the mailboxes of the people on either side of us and across across the road.
00:26:52.960 --> 00:26:53.519
That's nice.
00:26:53.759 --> 00:26:58.880
And we within a couple days, two neighbors left presents on the door on the doorstep.
00:26:59.200 --> 00:27:01.359
Wow, like in the like it was welcome.
00:27:01.759 --> 00:27:05.359
I think maybe that's the biggest need here is maybe we should create a welcome wagon.
00:27:05.680 --> 00:27:10.319
Because I think institutional welcome gets really special and missing.
00:27:10.400 --> 00:27:12.400
And I think people would really value it.
00:27:12.559 --> 00:27:13.519
It's hard to move somewhere new.
00:27:13.759 --> 00:27:15.680
You don't know anyone, you don't know what to expect.
00:27:15.920 --> 00:27:17.920
If you screw something up, you're really dead.
00:27:18.000 --> 00:27:20.319
So neighbor relationships are I think really important.
00:27:20.480 --> 00:27:20.799
Yeah.
00:27:21.039 --> 00:27:25.119
And we've been able to meet so many people on this road and around the corner.
00:27:25.359 --> 00:27:32.559
And we keep doing we also joined the I joined the Winterwalk Committee in Hudson, which I knew is very Hudson-based, but it'll I think it'll be interesting.
00:27:32.640 --> 00:27:35.599
I'll be interested to see what kind of businesses I meet, what kind of people I meet.
00:27:35.680 --> 00:27:38.079
And a lot of people live here that work there.
00:27:38.960 --> 00:27:42.079
So this is uh so it'll be, I think, a good a good way to meet people too.
00:27:42.400 --> 00:27:44.640
It's been phenomenally successful for Hudson.
00:27:44.799 --> 00:27:55.680
I've heard they get crowds as big as 20 to 25,000 people coming in from outside the area, obviously, because Hudson's only about 5,000, I think, still within the city limits.
00:27:56.000 --> 00:27:57.440
Yeah, it's the big winter event, too.
00:27:57.519 --> 00:27:59.920
And there's other things throughout the year too, which are really big.
00:28:00.079 --> 00:28:02.000
I thought the county fair was hysterical.
00:28:02.400 --> 00:28:04.079
Oh, I love the county fair.
00:28:05.200 --> 00:28:07.039
Have you been to the demolition derby?
00:28:07.279 --> 00:28:07.920
No, I missed that.
00:28:08.000 --> 00:28:08.559
I'm really upset.
00:28:08.799 --> 00:28:15.039
That was on Friday night, and I wanted to go, but we had my sister-in-law and the kids up, and they didn't want to go, so we had dinner.
00:28:15.200 --> 00:28:17.200
But I did get up for pig racing.
00:28:17.440 --> 00:28:20.720
And I did get up for the chainsaw sculpture, which was a work of art.
00:28:20.799 --> 00:28:20.960
Aaron Powell, Jr.
00:28:21.039 --> 00:28:27.359
They had something with the dogs doing these aerial things too, where dogs would dive off of this platform into this big balloon.
00:28:27.759 --> 00:28:29.359
Yes, there was dog platform diving.
00:28:29.440 --> 00:28:30.559
I did not see that too.
00:28:30.799 --> 00:28:34.240
I was surprised by pig racing that it wasn't just pigs.
00:28:34.400 --> 00:28:36.960
In between the pig, it was first of all, it was packed.
00:28:37.039 --> 00:28:37.119
Yeah.
00:28:37.279 --> 00:28:41.119
I went to like two o'clock on Monday, and this the stadium was packed.
00:28:41.359 --> 00:28:43.759
And they raced some pigs and it was fun.
00:28:43.839 --> 00:28:46.160
And then they raced some dogs dressed as hot dogs.
00:28:49.599 --> 00:28:52.559
I was a little flabbergasted by this because I'm a dog fanatic.
00:28:52.640 --> 00:28:54.480
Seeing dogs race was but everyone else loved it.
00:28:54.880 --> 00:28:58.000
And then they raised some more pigs, and then they raised some more dogs, and that was it.
00:28:58.240 --> 00:28:58.880
Yeah.
00:29:00.880 --> 00:29:02.240
It was so exciting.
00:29:02.799 --> 00:29:04.079
It's just a great event.
00:29:04.160 --> 00:29:05.119
And everybody goes.
00:29:05.359 --> 00:29:05.519
Yeah.
00:29:05.680 --> 00:29:10.240
You get people from all over Western Mass and it'll down from three counties around.
00:29:10.319 --> 00:29:11.039
It's yeah.
00:29:11.119 --> 00:29:17.119
And my my next door neighbor who we become friends with, on one side, she messaged me and she says, Can you find me six foot licorice?
00:29:18.079 --> 00:29:18.799
And I'm like, Okay.
00:29:18.960 --> 00:29:21.839
So I spent half the day looking for and I finally found it on the way out.
00:29:22.000 --> 00:29:24.480
I finally found one stand that had this giant licorice.
00:29:26.640 --> 00:29:29.839
If you have to go on a quest for the phone, I was on a quest and I found her a bunch.
00:29:29.920 --> 00:29:30.640
It was hysterical.
00:29:30.720 --> 00:29:33.599
And it was only three feet, so I had to buy many strands of it.
00:29:33.920 --> 00:29:34.079
Yeah.
00:29:34.400 --> 00:29:40.559
But I think you touched on something that's important to me too, is uh this idea of you have to join stuff.
00:29:40.720 --> 00:29:46.240
And I'm just really not interested in talking to people who come up here and never leave their cabin as well.
00:29:46.400 --> 00:29:46.720
Me too.
00:29:47.680 --> 00:29:51.119
So building a new life someplace is a challenge.
00:29:51.359 --> 00:29:59.759
And the only way it works is if you can find people with uh a like-minded attitude and join things.
00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:00.160
Yeah.
00:30:00.480 --> 00:30:00.640
Yeah.
00:30:00.799 --> 00:30:04.319
Maybe they're not completely like-minded, and that changes your attitude too.
00:30:04.720 --> 00:30:06.720
Yeah, and I it's a little bit different.
00:30:06.880 --> 00:30:16.640
The stereotype of city life is I found in New York, New York was about going out to dinner and drinking and eating theater.
00:30:16.880 --> 00:30:20.000
So you would you could do things together, but it was a different type of environment.
00:30:20.160 --> 00:30:25.680
While in a town like San Francisco or other like Portland, Oregon, like you go on a hike, like you'd activities you do.
00:30:25.759 --> 00:30:26.960
And up here, that's the same too.
00:30:27.039 --> 00:30:30.880
You do go for a walk or you go for a hike or you join something and you participate together.
00:30:31.039 --> 00:30:36.880
So I think the social fabric is tied together more than the conventional city, the meal.
00:30:37.119 --> 00:30:38.720
You can go for a nice dinner here too, that's fine.
00:30:38.799 --> 00:30:38.880
Yeah.
00:30:39.039 --> 00:30:41.839
But like that's not the I think the main way people socialize.
00:30:42.079 --> 00:30:42.480
Yeah.
00:30:42.640 --> 00:30:43.279
Yeah.
00:30:43.680 --> 00:30:45.119
It's it it is different.
00:30:45.279 --> 00:30:51.359
And and of course, unlike New York, especially before the pandemic, we're not exactly the city that never sleeps here.
00:30:51.680 --> 00:30:53.440
Yeah, forget Monday, Tuesdays, or Wednesdays.
00:30:54.400 --> 00:30:58.799
So, what is your all-time favorite thing then about the year or so that you've been up here?
00:30:59.039 --> 00:31:00.720
I guess call it more than that, right?
00:31:00.960 --> 00:31:03.200
Two years counting your time in Hudson.
00:31:03.920 --> 00:31:09.759
I think that I think the the water is amazing.
00:31:09.920 --> 00:31:14.720
I just love I love going to the river and going to that park and staring out at the river.
00:31:14.799 --> 00:31:20.000
We've gone out on the sailboat on the river, like before he passed away, actually, the guy that ran the sailing company.
00:31:20.319 --> 00:31:25.200
More recently, for July 4th, we rented uh a boat on Copac Lake, which I had never done.
00:31:25.359 --> 00:31:26.559
You can rent a pontoon.
00:31:26.720 --> 00:31:26.960
Oh, okay.
00:31:27.200 --> 00:31:28.480
And you can go out for the afternoon.
00:31:28.559 --> 00:31:30.240
So on what was it, Labor Day?
00:31:30.720 --> 00:31:35.440
The day before Labor Day on Sunday, we went out for the afternoon and just were like just out there.
00:31:35.759 --> 00:31:39.200
But the thing I like the most is the Columbia Land Conservancy.
00:31:39.279 --> 00:31:42.880
I'm on this quest to explore all of their pins.
00:31:43.279 --> 00:31:43.920
They have a lot.
00:31:44.400 --> 00:31:45.599
I didn't realize how many they have.
00:31:45.680 --> 00:31:45.839
Yeah.
00:31:46.079 --> 00:31:50.160
Because I've been going to the Greenport one, and then I just found the Tacanic Community Forest one.
00:31:50.240 --> 00:31:51.039
That's the newer one.
00:31:51.359 --> 00:31:53.119
Yeah, that's that's gonna be amazing, I think.
00:31:53.279 --> 00:31:53.519
Yeah.
00:31:53.680 --> 00:31:53.839
Yeah.
00:31:54.000 --> 00:31:54.720
I've walked it.
00:31:54.880 --> 00:31:59.839
I walked it once before our dog died, and just and I went back by myself, and it's amazing.
00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:03.279
And so there's all these great places hidden in plain sight.
00:32:03.440 --> 00:32:05.519
The one outside Chatham Village is also great.
00:32:05.680 --> 00:32:05.839
Yeah.
00:32:06.079 --> 00:32:07.599
Called Gold Golden Borden.
00:32:07.920 --> 00:32:08.079
Borden.
00:32:08.559 --> 00:32:09.200
Borden, that's it.
00:32:09.279 --> 00:32:10.960
So these have you been to High Falls?
00:32:11.200 --> 00:32:12.400
Yes, I love High Falls.
00:32:12.480 --> 00:32:12.880
That's fun.
00:32:12.960 --> 00:32:15.359
And they just rebuilt the view view stand.
00:32:15.680 --> 00:32:16.000
Yeah.
00:32:16.319 --> 00:32:18.160
And they're actually paving the road.
00:32:18.400 --> 00:32:22.400
Sorry, they're paving part of the path, which I think will be good and muddy in winter.
00:32:22.480 --> 00:32:24.720
So it's not fully paved, but it's a little more durable.
00:32:25.039 --> 00:32:27.119
We'll give it a little bit better accessibility.
00:32:27.519 --> 00:32:33.200
Yeah, more accessibility, so more people could use it because it is a little dicey, unless you're like a you can work on even paths.
00:32:33.359 --> 00:32:34.319
So that's really nice too.
00:32:34.400 --> 00:32:36.559
But I think that's a very special place, and that's 15 minutes away.
00:32:36.799 --> 00:32:37.519
Yeah, it is.
00:32:38.000 --> 00:32:38.160
Crazy.
00:32:38.720 --> 00:32:41.119
Fantastic natural area right here in Claver.
00:32:41.359 --> 00:32:41.519
Yeah.
00:32:41.599 --> 00:32:42.079
And it's good.
00:32:42.160 --> 00:32:48.559
I like the mix of places where I can walk in the sun, like Wandarma, and places where I can walk in the shade, like High Falls.
00:32:48.880 --> 00:32:49.119
All right.
00:32:49.200 --> 00:32:50.480
So the natural area around.
00:32:50.720 --> 00:32:50.880
Yeah.
00:32:50.960 --> 00:32:51.759
What are your favorite?
00:32:52.240 --> 00:32:53.200
I think it's similar.
00:32:53.519 --> 00:32:58.240
What I really like is the community of people that are working on those natural areas.
00:32:58.400 --> 00:33:04.240
So I know a lot of those people that are involved in establishing and running the community forest, for example.
00:33:04.480 --> 00:33:15.039
And I've done things like I'm a hunter ed instructor and I've worked with Troy Weldie, who's also a hunter ed instructor, and is the president of CLC, the Columbia Land Conservancy.
00:33:15.200 --> 00:33:16.319
I know those people well.
00:33:16.480 --> 00:33:27.200
But I also love our neighbors that are working on rehabilitating an old orchard, and I love our neighbors that are working on replanting a creek.
00:33:27.359 --> 00:33:39.440
And just being involved in this network of people that are looking at the biodiversity that already exists here and how do we preserve it?
00:33:39.839 --> 00:33:49.200
Because as we have to build solar fields or or whatever, if the state's going to require us to build a battery field or something like that.
00:33:49.519 --> 00:33:50.960
Yeah, I know, but reading about the battery fields.
00:33:53.759 --> 00:34:07.599
And so what do you do with the existing land that you still have that keeps birds and butterflies and the trees and the the green space and the fresh air that we all love?
00:34:07.759 --> 00:34:08.400
That's what I like.
00:34:08.880 --> 00:34:16.000
Maybe that's when you become from here, when you your posture changes from appreciating it to protecting it, or appreciating it to engaging with it.
00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:33.199
And it's not like everybody can get out there with a an excavator and create a pond or or make a stream meander instead of go down a single channel or modify the landscape.
00:34:33.679 --> 00:34:35.440
But those things do need to be done.
00:34:35.760 --> 00:34:36.000
Yeah.
00:34:36.159 --> 00:34:36.320
Yeah.
00:34:36.400 --> 00:34:37.920
And I think water is pretty precious too.
00:34:38.159 --> 00:34:40.880
We live on Loomis Creek, which I really love.
00:34:41.039 --> 00:34:41.280
Yeah.
00:34:41.440 --> 00:34:44.719
And we were on a creek before too, but this one is first of all, it's a little safer.
00:34:44.800 --> 00:34:46.079
We're a little further back from the house.
00:34:46.320 --> 00:34:49.599
But also it's really precious, and it's a water source for the town as well.
00:34:49.760 --> 00:34:51.199
So it's I guess it's man-made.
00:34:51.280 --> 00:34:52.559
It was Dutch building.
00:34:52.800 --> 00:35:03.599
I think it's I think it's a drainage for a lot of the farmland around here, and parts of it have probably been channeled in order to make it more convenient to farm.
00:35:03.920 --> 00:35:04.880
Yeah, so connected or something.
00:35:05.199 --> 00:35:08.559
Yeah, but I don't think that's quite the same as saying it's man-made.
00:35:09.440 --> 00:35:09.599
Yeah.
00:35:09.840 --> 00:35:10.480
Facilitated.
00:35:11.280 --> 00:35:11.840
Facilitated.
00:35:12.079 --> 00:35:13.119
That's a good word.
00:35:14.000 --> 00:35:15.679
But I can't just put down a dock in a boat.
00:35:15.840 --> 00:35:17.119
I can't just put down a dock in a boat.
00:35:17.360 --> 00:35:22.960
So where do you guys see yourselves going with this experiment with living in Clark?
00:35:23.119 --> 00:35:26.239
It's not really an experiment, but what do you see for your future?
00:35:26.400 --> 00:35:28.960
And what do you see for well immediately we have to get a new dog.
00:35:29.039 --> 00:35:30.159
So that's job one.
00:35:30.239 --> 00:35:32.960
We don't we have a we only have an acre, so so animals.
00:35:34.800 --> 00:35:35.039
I know.
00:35:35.119 --> 00:35:35.280
I know.
00:35:36.960 --> 00:35:40.639
So I think we would we if we had more land, maybe we would be more ambitious.
00:35:40.880 --> 00:35:41.039
Yeah.
00:35:41.199 --> 00:35:42.000
But we like to think about it.
00:35:42.239 --> 00:35:44.159
We probably just can't have one baby goat anyway.
00:35:44.320 --> 00:35:45.039
They'd be lonely.
00:35:45.280 --> 00:35:45.519
I know.
00:35:45.760 --> 00:35:46.559
Same thing with donkeys.
00:35:46.639 --> 00:35:47.519
They got to have a friend.
00:35:47.760 --> 00:35:48.880
That's a thing.
00:35:49.199 --> 00:35:51.440
But so yeah, I don't know if we have a big plan.
00:35:51.599 --> 00:35:57.440
I think we're trying to build careers and friends here and routes and find the right things to join and be a part of.
00:35:57.519 --> 00:35:59.280
I guess it's figuring out our contribution.
00:35:59.519 --> 00:35:59.679
Yeah.
00:35:59.840 --> 00:36:03.840
Like I know nothing about landing conservancy, so like I don't know how much I could help except marketing.
00:36:03.920 --> 00:36:04.960
I can market the conservancy.
00:36:05.199 --> 00:36:06.639
That's important too, I'm true.
00:36:07.199 --> 00:36:10.480
And I think it's about probably getting into something.
00:36:10.559 --> 00:36:11.840
Yeah, what do you want to protect, right?
00:36:12.000 --> 00:36:15.840
Is it about the rough traffic on 9H?
00:36:16.000 --> 00:36:19.760
Is it about helping our downtown?
00:36:19.840 --> 00:36:23.760
I think is challenging and an opportunity because it's like it's great.
00:36:23.840 --> 00:36:28.079
It's like a proper four corners, you know, light, yet commercially it's bizarre.
00:36:28.239 --> 00:36:31.360
That that parking lot by the post office is like terrifying.
00:36:31.599 --> 00:36:31.840
Yeah.
00:36:32.320 --> 00:36:34.880
I just I want to repave the whole thing.
00:36:34.960 --> 00:36:37.199
And that used to be the road.
00:36:37.360 --> 00:36:40.159
And then the state came in and decided no, the road should go over here.
00:36:40.639 --> 00:36:41.039
Oh, really?
00:36:41.119 --> 00:36:41.280
Yeah.
00:36:41.440 --> 00:36:42.320
Um, I didn't even know that.
00:36:42.559 --> 00:36:45.119
I guess I gotta learn, probably have to learn more for choosing.
00:36:45.199 --> 00:36:47.599
Maybe the historical society will help me about it.
00:36:47.840 --> 00:36:48.880
The library's terrific.
00:36:48.960 --> 00:36:49.599
It's a real star.
00:36:49.760 --> 00:36:54.159
I went on that Mid-Hudson Library tour earlier this summer, or last summer.
00:36:54.400 --> 00:37:05.679
And when I went around this, the county and I was getting on my map, getting my stamps and stuff and going to all the libraries in Duchess, Columbia, and Green, two libraries kept coming up as the best ones in the area.
00:37:05.840 --> 00:37:09.599
And one was the Hillsdale Copac one, the Rogan library.
00:37:09.679 --> 00:37:09.760
Yeah.
00:37:09.920 --> 00:37:11.119
And the other was Claverick.
00:37:11.199 --> 00:37:11.599
Yeah.
00:37:11.840 --> 00:37:14.159
And as the two the two the two stars up here.
00:37:14.239 --> 00:37:15.199
And I think that's really true.
00:37:15.519 --> 00:37:17.199
Yeah, and the whole system is fantastic.
00:37:17.360 --> 00:37:28.239
I've been really surprised because I think a lot of people, I thought, with all of the media that we can access online, libraries are going to be increasingly small.
00:37:28.480 --> 00:37:42.639
They've figured out not only how to be important resources and growing of growing importance to the communities that they're in, but as a network with the Hudson library system, there's nothing like it.
00:37:43.039 --> 00:37:44.400
Yeah, they even have things you can rent.
00:37:44.639 --> 00:37:46.880
You can you can rent kits, like gardening kits.
00:37:46.960 --> 00:37:49.039
There's things you can rent to do, not just read.
00:37:49.440 --> 00:37:50.480
Yeah, it's astounding.
00:37:50.639 --> 00:37:55.360
And that the number of meetings that take place at the library, the the some of them are social.
00:37:55.519 --> 00:37:58.719
There's a group of people that get together and play ukulele.
00:37:58.960 --> 00:37:59.440
Oh, really?
00:37:59.679 --> 00:38:00.239
That's hilarious.
00:38:00.320 --> 00:38:00.559
That's great.
00:38:00.800 --> 00:38:03.039
Because there are four different musical groups that meet over there.
00:38:03.119 --> 00:38:05.920
I think there's some knitting groups and other things like that.
00:38:06.079 --> 00:38:11.840
But but there's also whenever the planning board is facing any kind of big issue, they have to meet at the library.
00:38:12.079 --> 00:38:15.920
Whenever the town board is facing any kind of big issue, they meet at the library.
00:38:16.000 --> 00:38:25.199
So if we didn't have this space, if we didn't have this resource, we wouldn't have any center to the community almost.
00:38:25.440 --> 00:38:26.239
Yeah, yeah, it's true.
00:38:26.480 --> 00:38:30.239
Also, our town is spread out because the town hall, like they're in two different locations.
00:38:30.639 --> 00:38:31.760
If there's multiple hamlets, yeah.
00:38:32.000 --> 00:38:35.760
Yeah, there are there's a lot of people that would love to see things brought more closely together.
00:38:36.000 --> 00:38:36.639
Consolidated, yeah.
00:38:36.960 --> 00:38:39.360
Difficult to do with the way that the roads are laid out.
00:38:39.440 --> 00:38:39.519
Yeah.
00:38:39.760 --> 00:38:39.920
Yeah.
00:38:40.239 --> 00:38:41.760
Maybe we'll have a podcasters meetup.
00:38:41.840 --> 00:38:45.519
We can find other podcasters in town besides us.
00:38:45.920 --> 00:38:47.119
We become an association of the colour.
00:38:47.280 --> 00:38:48.480
There's Malcolm powerful podcast.
00:38:48.559 --> 00:38:49.280
Malcolm Gladwell.
00:38:49.760 --> 00:38:50.719
Yeah, that's true.
00:38:50.800 --> 00:38:51.440
Yeah.
00:38:52.880 --> 00:38:54.079
I did meet him once.
00:38:54.320 --> 00:38:57.119
He seemed a little bit amused that anybody would want to talk to him.
00:39:01.679 --> 00:39:03.599
Anything else we want to cover?
00:39:04.320 --> 00:39:08.800
No, I guess what do you have any advice for someone that moved recently to Claverick?
00:39:09.119 --> 00:39:10.639
Said correctly, almost.
00:39:10.960 --> 00:39:12.960
What is your newcomer advice for City Its?
00:39:13.360 --> 00:39:20.239
I'd say basically you have to look for ways, like you're doing now, you have to look for ways to find little communities within the community.
00:39:20.639 --> 00:39:27.679
Because just trying to be part of Claverick and show up for, I don't know, is there a Claverick parade or something like that?
00:39:27.840 --> 00:39:28.880
I don't think there is.
00:39:30.159 --> 00:39:31.440
There's no way to do that.
00:39:31.760 --> 00:39:33.360
We're talking about small communities.
00:39:33.519 --> 00:39:33.599
Yeah.
00:39:33.760 --> 00:39:35.360
And they're getting stronger.
00:39:35.760 --> 00:39:45.519
And the little church that I belong to and the uh political activity I've been involved with, the town board, and I just joined the Fish and Game Club here in Hudson.
00:39:46.079 --> 00:39:48.480
And oh, I'm gonna ask you all about hunting on my show.
00:39:49.280 --> 00:39:50.400
I have a lot of questions.
00:39:51.199 --> 00:39:52.800
Yeah, happy to talk about that.
00:39:52.960 --> 00:39:59.039
But these kinds of small communities, and I talked to uh you're just around the corner, like we are, from Stickle Cinema.
00:39:59.119 --> 00:39:59.360
Yeah.
00:39:59.519 --> 00:40:04.159
And Brian and Peggy have put together just a fantastic small micro community.
00:40:04.559 --> 00:40:05.280
Oh, I need to go.
00:40:05.360 --> 00:40:05.840
I need to go.
00:40:06.559 --> 00:40:08.159
Those are the kind of things that I'm looking for.
00:40:08.320 --> 00:40:12.320
Like you said, if we you've gotten to know just your neighbors on this road.
00:40:12.559 --> 00:40:16.960
It's a mini community, our microcommunity, a nano community, whatever you want to call it.
00:40:17.199 --> 00:40:17.519
Yeah.
00:40:17.679 --> 00:40:17.920
Yeah.
00:40:18.079 --> 00:40:19.440
No, I think it's really special.
00:40:19.679 --> 00:40:20.000
Yeah.
00:40:20.800 --> 00:40:21.119
All right.
00:40:21.360 --> 00:40:22.320
Great talking with you, Matt.
00:40:22.559 --> 00:40:23.360
Thank you for having me on.
00:40:23.599 --> 00:40:24.960
This is wonderful.
00:40:28.320 --> 00:40:30.079
Okay, thank you, Matt Zucker.
00:40:30.320 --> 00:40:31.599
That was a great conversation.
00:40:31.840 --> 00:40:33.519
I really enjoyed talking to Matt.
00:40:33.760 --> 00:40:40.079
We drilled into the City idea a little bit, and it ended up being something slightly different than what I thought it was going to be.
00:40:40.400 --> 00:40:57.039
Matt does really, in the way that I do, try and dig into the rationale and the thinking and the dreams and the hopes and the ways that people that live here in the Hudson River Valley hope to influence our future.
00:40:57.280 --> 00:40:58.079
I love it.
00:40:58.400 --> 00:41:00.239
People that I talk to love it.
00:41:00.480 --> 00:41:04.480
And I think if you're listening to this podcast, you love it too.
00:41:04.800 --> 00:41:21.519
Matt's podcast, and he's got a couple actually, but the only one that we talked about, and the one that's been around for quite a long time, is Sidiot, C-I-D-I-O-T, and that can be found at cityit.com or again on all the major podcasting platforms.
00:41:21.679 --> 00:41:30.480
So subscribe to the Cloberic Podcast, subscribe to City It, and listen to your neighbors on the radio.
00:41:30.719 --> 00:41:36.079
Oh, and while you're at it, catch me on Matt's podcast, City It Podcast.
00:41:36.320 --> 00:41:42.480
We're launching these the same week, the week of October 19th, so you should be able to find both of them now.
00:41:42.639 --> 00:41:46.400
They're the current conversations up on my website and up on Matt's.
00:41:46.559 --> 00:41:49.360
And I hope you enjoy both the conversations.
00:41:49.599 --> 00:41:50.800
Thanks for being here.
00:41:50.960 --> 00:41:53.440
We'll have another episode pretty soon.