Last Saturday we went up to Harriman State Park, the second largest state park in New York, named for the politician, businessman, horse racer, and rich dude of yore Averell Harriman. There are 31 lakes in Harriman State Park.It's only 30 miles North of the city but parts of it may as well be 300 miles away.During the Revolutionary War, the Americans put a bunch of chains across the Hudson to stop British boats from coming up the river. It didn't work very well—the British captured the two forts you can sort of see in this picture, and terrorized the Hudson valley with their guns and funny talk and pretty red jackets.Evidence of beavers.Evidence of jerks.

"When I was a kid...." No, but seriously, when I was a kid, it was not cool to litter. Kids would actually tell other kids not to do it. I remember this one dude actually caught kind of a severe beat down on the playground for throwing his corndog stick on the ground—and it was made of wood. This manner of cleanliness and stewardship of the land (or...playground) was clearly not observed by many in the Northeast, as it often seems the city and the countryside around it are like a gigantic spread-out landfill. I once saw a family in Park Slope—a mom, a dad, and two boys—walking along the sidewalk, all drinking Big Gulps. When they got near their car, the dad said "Everyone get rid of your drinks, no drinks in the car." All four people in this dirty dirty family threw their Big Gulps on the ground, got in the car, and left. That is gross and it's just bad manners.

That's all I have to say about that.