I have lived on Long Island for all my life, short
four months, as I was born in Fort Benning, Georgia in 1951 just before my Dad
was shipped off to Korea, the Forgotten War. I was born in May and my Dad was
deployed in September.
When I came back to Long Island, my Mom settled near her
parents in Ozone Park, Queens, a thriving Italian-American community, which if
you look at a map, is actually on Long Island. From there, after
my Dad returned, we moved to Howard Beach, a deep-rooted Irish and German
community, also in Queens and also on Long Island. In 1955, we once
again moved, this time to Corona. You guessed it – Queens, Long Island.
Finally, in the summer of 1957, we moved to suburban Floral
Park, located in Nassau County, which most Americans, and most New Yorkers,
consider one of the two counties which make up Long island, the other being Suffolk.
But once again, that pesky thing, called a map, will show you that Long
Island actually comprises four counties: Kings (or Brooklyn),
Queens, Nassau and Suffolk. And maybe, someday, Peconic will be created on the
twin forks beginning with Riverhead. And, someday, Long Island, with a
population of over eight million people, more than thirty-eight other states,
may someday become the fifty-something state, too.
Long Island is comprised of four interstates, three cities
plus part of New York City, several major, highly trafficked highways and parkways,
three commercial airports, three private airports, countless bagel and bakery
shops, various ethnic foods, of which you will find hundreds of pizza, Chinese and
Latin takeouts in just about every strip mall from Coney Island to Montauk
Point. We have the largest commuter railroad in the country to take us to work
every day to that little town to our west.
Plus we have two minor league baseball teams, a major
league team and both a professional hockey team and basketball team. And
countless theatres for off-Broadway shows, concerts and other means of
entertainment.
Finally, we are surrounded by water, with some of the
greatest and most famous beaches in the world, including the Rockaways,
Jones Beach, The Hamptons and the exclusive north shore.
But, as usual, I digress. I share all of this with you
because after seventy-one years of calling this Island home, I am finally
starting a new chapter in my life, leaving all of this behind to take on the
easy living in the Free State of Florida. I have wanted to go for many
years and finally I have made my decision that the time is now. I am tired of being
told I must do this or I must do that by people who have forgotten that this is
The Land of the Free because of The Brave. And who are proving that they are dumber
than a box of rocks. Plus I get to live in warm weather, sunshine, longer
days and true peaceful contentment for my weary soul.
And through the magic of television, the internet and so
many other modern conveniences and technology, I can still watch my Mets and
Jets, or grill a burger, or drive to a strip mall for some pizza or Chinese or Latin
food. Or go to a beach, in December. On Christmas. Which is something I can’t
do now unless I want to freeze my buns off.
And, I can go to a Spring Training game in February
and March, and not be cold in the stands like I was in April, sitting in
Citifield. In the sun. With the wind blowing right through me.
So, in all fairness, I will tell you that I will always
be a New Yorker at heart, a Long Islander in my soul, and of
course, a free spirit doing what I want. And what I want now is
to enjoy my remaining years living the dream. In warm, sunny climes,
maybe sipping on a frosty alcohol-free pina colada, on my lanai, in my lounge chair.
And knowing that the life I left behind on Long Island is
filled with fond memories that I can recall with a smile and a song, about
all the wonderful people who crossed through my life. And made a
difference.
Cya, Long Island! Hello, Florida!!
