F. P. Dorchak

Speculative Fiction Author

To Be Human

Saint Patrick Cemetery, Chateaugay, New York

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Saint Patrick Cemetery, Chateaugay, NY, July 16, 2015
Saint Patrick Cemetery, Chateaugay, NY, July 16, 2015

After having visited High Falls Park, my stepmom and I briefly stopped by the Saint Patrick Cemetery, which is just off the appropriately named  Cemetery Road. I’d noticed it when we drove in to visit the falls, as we hooked a left off Route 11.

Saint Patrick’s was a good-sized cemetery, and I didn’t spend too much time there, since we had other things to do and a whirl-wind schedule-of-our-own-making to meet, but my stepmom did indulge me and stop, and I did walk among the dead for a bit under an utterly gorgeous blue North Country sky with barely a cloud. Upon our return to Malone, we also stopped at the Morningside Cemetery, which will be in another post.

 

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High Falls Park, Chateaugay, New York

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High Falls on the Chateaugay River, Chateaugay, New York, July 16, 2015
High Falls on the Chateaugay River, Chateaugay, New York, July 16, 2015

I never realized how close to my folk’s place a beautiful set of waterfalls existed! On July 16th of my upstate New York vacation, my stepmother and I visited High Falls Park, where the High Falls on Chateaugay River roars. It’s 120 feet high, and is defined as a “ribbon falls,” which means a waterfall whose height is notably higher than the crest width. I.e. (let’s get mathematical here), the height divided by 2 is equal or greater than the crest width. Note that there is no international standard in defining waterfalls, but the definition I took was developed by members of the Western New York Waterfall Survey of 1994, which is based on visual appearances. I found this definition in the book, Waterfalls of New York State, published by Firefly Books, which is a beautiful book!

High Falls' 200+ Steps Down
High Falls’ 200+ Steps Down

To get here, first you have to be in up-upstate New York. Then you drive to High Falls Park (click here for directions), go inside the camp store, pay your $2 (yes, it’s just $2 for adults, $1 for students and seniors), and proceed through the building and out into the back, where the trail begins. The trial is open 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., summer hours. The park is open May 1st through October 15th.

The trail is a well-maintained dirt path, where the last 350 feet is, well, um, near straight down over 200 wooden (and some stone) steps through thick New York vegetation. It’s quite the cool hike, as my pictures show!

The Chateaugay River is one of the smaller, and most northerly rivers in upstate NY. Its source is just a few miles upstream, in Clinton County, but the Waterfalls of New York State says the river officially begins in Franklin Country, where the waterfall resides. The river heads north after the falls and enters Quebec, where it is known as the Rivière Châteauguay. I love that name: “Chât-eau-guay“! This waterfall is the closest NYS waterfall to Canada.

Dragonfly on My Hand, High Falls Park Trail, NY, July 16, 2015
Dragonfly on My Hand, High Falls Park Trail, NY, July 16, 2015

My stepmom and I made our way down the 200+ steps and came out at the base of the falls, which was a rocky shore that also boasted a park bench atop one of its boulders. Out in the water of the falls (and visible in some of the pictures) was a guy fishing. As I explored the shore, I found tons of minnows in the shallows (I know “minnow” refers to a specific fish type…but I saw tons of “small fish” in the water, is my point). We spent some time there enjoying the view.

On the way out, one could proceed back up the steps, but my stepmom said there was another trail that looped back, and most likely wasn’t as steep. She’d been here before, years ago, and didn’t remember those steps we came down on…but did remember the trail we took back, which was more level—except for the last so-many yards. We did have to return to the top of the chasm! On our way there, along the Chateaugay, a dragonfly lit upon my hand. How cool! I love dragonflies!

If your knees and legs are up to it, this is a great short hike to see some spectacular North Country waterfalls! For such a stunning view, you just can’t go wrong at $2 a head!

 

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Long Live The Suicide King, by Aaron Michael Ritchey

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Long Live The Suicide King, © Aaron Michael Ritchey
Long Live The Suicide King, © Aaron Michael Ritchey

A book about suicide can be a touchy thing.

This brooding novel is about a teenager going through the throes of suicidal tendencies. It puts you in the head of 17-year old JD Dillenger, as he contemplates the taking of his own life. It puts you in the head of all the high school drama and angst…of all the misguided and overconfident certainty that only comes with adolescence…but, here you’re not quite sure if it is all just high school drama and angst or the real thing. You know…for a novel.

What isn’t so misguided in this conversation is the sense of despair and what’s-the-point that seems so prevalent in today’s society—and with good reason. Look at this Forever War we’re in. The state of the world…well, at least as the media portrays it. Then throw in all the usual teenage angst to boot: messed-up friends…lack of direction…lack of self-esteem…confusing religious ideas…parents that are never around and have their own issues. School. I can see why the youth of today (hell, anyone!) feel so out of control. So hopeless.

Suicidal.

Yeah, then throw some drug use into the mix.

That is the point of Aaron Michael Ritchey’s intense and darkly humorous novel. That there is a reason to live, and we each have to find it. We have to find the parts of life that make it worth living…but we can’t always do that alone. We have to find what it is that makes life beautiful to each of us, and sometimes we need a helping hand. That there are missteps along the way…and there are definite consequences to our actions, as Ritchey points out…but we can course-correct and still make it.

In the back matter of this novel, Aaron has suicide prevention information. Aaron himself also talks about his own brush with the suicidal, so he definitely knows whereof he speaks. I know Aaron—okay, just a little bit (you see, once you meet him, everyone wants to feel they intimately know “Aaron-Michael-Ritchey“)—but what I know about him is that he is an outgoing, fun and funny—sometimes overly caffeinated?—dude. He’s a great conversationalist and just a blast to hang around and bullshit with, so, you’d never know he had such a deep, dark problem earlier in his life…which is the thing about suicidal tendencies: you can’t always know just by looking at somebody. I worked with three people who ended up taking their own lives, and I never saw “this” in any of them.

Long Live The Suicide King gives a teenager’s perspective on a dark topic, and Aaron does it quite well..so much so that I felt I was back in high school. It shows that if you have teenagers—or anyone, for that matter—with behavior like JD’s, don’t dismiss it and think it minor. Don’t chalk it up to teenage drama and ignore it. Confront it immediately. Seek professional help.

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A Walk on the W!ld Side!

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The W!ld Center, Tupper Lake, New York, July 14, 2015
The W!ld Center, Tupper Lake, New York, July 14, 2015

On July 14, 2015, during my vacation to upstate New York, I made a trip to Tupper Lake, New York’s The W!ld Center, which is a natural history museum of upstate New York. Here are directions to the place. Their mission is to “Ignite an enduring passion for the Adirondacks where people and nature can thrive together and set an example for the world.” This is a really cool place that details life in the Adirondacks, from past to present. It is comprised of inside-naturalist-museum-stuff and an outside walk-through-the-woods stuff. At the museum there’s even a cafe that abuts a pond at sitting level, which is really cool! I’d wanted to visit this place for the past couple of years (it opened in 2004), but what really got my interest, was a new exhibit, called the “W!ld Walk.”

The W!ld Walk is an elevated platform, as high as 25 feet above the forest floor. It has various informative and kid-fun “stations” to visit that highlight various aspects of the Adirondack woodlands (see gallery, below). It’s a different perspective on the whole naturalist walk. My stepmom and I had fun visiting all the stations and gazing out over the forest below us. It was quite busy, and I heartily recommend a visit here!

 

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Full Voice Cover!

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Voice Cover (© 2015, F. P. Dorchak and Lon Kirschner)
Voice Cover (© 2015, F. P. Dorchak and Lon Kirschner)

Here is the full, front-to-back cover for Voice, which I’m expecting to release August 14th…if everything goes smoothly.

This cover just stabs into my soul.

I absolutely love the design! I give Lon words, and it’s like…when he works his magic…the whole really is greater than the sum of its parts! His choice of color and font and layout all add incredible dimension to the words themselves. They take on more power…a greater enormity. It’s really cool how graphic artistry does that.

The cover is as intense and mysterious as the story itself.

I can’t wait to print out a copy and actually hold it in my hands!

I’m simply antsy with anticipation—and I hope you all are, too!

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Donnelly’s Corners 2015

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Donnelly's Corners, July 14, 2015
Donnelly’s Corners, July 14, 2015

The first stop on my trip to upstate New York, the week of July 13th, 2015 was Donnelly’s Corners Soft ice Cream, at the corner of State Route 86 and 186, between Saranac Lake and Lake Clear (the address is 1564 State Route 86, Saranac Lake, New York). No trip to upstate New York is complete without a stop here! I wrote about Donnelly’s on my trip last year, so see that post for more in-depth information.

Know it. Love it. Donnelly's Corners Soft Ice Cream Flavor Schedule, 2015
Know it. Love it. Donnelly’s Corners Soft Ice Cream Flavor Schedule, 2015

Last year I arrived at Donnelly’s on a Tuesday, and this year turned out to be no exception! Tuesday means the two-flavor twister is vanilla and either red or black raspberry. Black raspberry and vanilla are my favorite Donnelly’s flavors! This was not planned, but worked out beautifully!

Donnelly’s consistently gets great reviews. Check out the Yelp pages.

Donnelly's Corners is a Very Special Place. Upstate New York Registry of Very Special Places, July, 2015.
Donnelly’s Corners is a Very Special Place. Upstate New York Registry of Very Special Places, July, 2015.

They’re open 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. The shack closes down after Labor Day weekend.

Donnelly’s Corners is also on the registry of “Very Special Places” in upstate New York.

So, you have the rest of the summer! Make at least one stop at this iconic upstate New York landmark! I’ve been going to it since the 1960s! There is no better ice cream!

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