Stopping at the John Wolcott Sign Over the Thruway

Riding back over the Thruway Bridge, as marked by the John Wolcott Pine Bush Hikers’ Underpass, I had to stop and look at the sign. In part to grab another picture, as if it was something I needed preserve in photo, but also to contemplate further. It seems odd to see a prominent highway sign noting the name of a person I knew so well, but at same time didn’t know very well.

I was thinking about driving with John out to the Pine Bush during a snow storm for a Pine Bush Hike. Over that very bridge. John was such an enigma to me, he knew all this complicated Dutch history I struggled to understand but I was mostly interested in his stories about Erastus Corning and the Albany machine and the early days of Save the Pine Bush which of course he would never talk about. I learned more about it from looking through his files but alas towards the end there was less and less he could remember about those days a long time ago.

Often it’s hard to ask and learn about other people’s lives before it’s too late. I think many people don’t necessarily want to reflect on the days gone by, the successes and failures. Even when the story is quite fascinating people both forget and also don’t necessarily want to brought back up their younger years. Indeed, I think if one asked about things in my life 10, 20 or even 30 years ago I would struggle to put together a comphrensive story in part because things were different back then. We lived in a different world, it was not always obvious what is obvious now. We learn and grow.