In a little town nestled in the Catskill Mountains, the visitor breezed into the downtown deli with her little dog on a leash. This deli is aimed at the new city folk, who come up for a destination wedding or own a second home. They offer a range of sandwiches sourced with local cheeses and a fresh aioli sauce. Across the street, there is a brick oven pizza place where you get can get a white pizza with garlic and fresh ramps. 

In the forests of New York State, this area was always known for flying fishing and hunting. You can drive 40 minutes between towns seeing nothing but rusty trailers and dudes knee deep in babbling brooks looking for trout. Now, you can also see million dollar vacation home peaking through the trees on the peaks of the green mountains. 

This weekend, Steve and I went up to Roscoe, NY for an anniversary weekend away from our adult children who won’t leave our home. We had front row seats watching the awkward relationship between the rich visitors and locals. One night, we sat a bar between a guy who looked a singer from ZZ Top and second homers with jobs in high fashion and real estate. Resentment and privilege is the real culture war that is at the heart of American politics today.

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