After the intensity of the 4th, a slower-paced weekend was welcome. The Flower Lady sales of posies, sponsored by Phyllis and Artie Schiller, were stretched out over several ferries, giving the Ladies and their Laddies a chance to enjoy their margaritas during a spectacular early evening. Rudy arrived around 6 to make his delivery to the Dusty Ann (part of a post-Auction settlement). Last week’s snag couldn’t happen again, right? Well, not exactly. After handing over the flowers to the McKeehans early Friday, the flower vendor discovered she’d included the brides’ Stephanotis in the Kismet order. After a series of frantic phone calls, the M’s pulled into Captree to meet the wholesaler.
The Xanadu gang was out to meet the 6 p.m. boat on Friday, but back in camp when Joyce came in on the 6:40. Mickey’s moving real fast in his walker now, hoping to shed it soon. Newlyweds (October) Ellen and Kirk made their first appearance, Buddy and Linda and Jules and Marion are back, Andre & Susan are on their way and the Licaris are gone (for two weeks.) It was good to see our EMT tootling around in his medic-mobile. Heard he’s already answered a call on Seabay.
The note of most interest (and that moved me) about Kismet bagpipers John Ripnick and his nine-year old son, Jake was somehow lost in last week’s parade article. John, a New Jersey firefighter, took up the instrument – a difficult one that requires serious motivation -- because he learned there were not enough bagpipers to cover all the service funerals after 9/11. Jake decided to join his dad shortly after that and is currently preparing for his first compitition. Just learned, with mixed feelings, that Sam Wood will be building a new house on the post-fire lot next door. On the one hand, the view will definitely be improved. On the other, I’ll lose a view like the six buck deer I saw cavorting with one another in the lot early on a spring morning. Hope they don’t build a fence.

The newly formed Fire Island Contractors Association is trying to educate residents on the effects of limited vehicle access that will take effect when the permanent driving rules go into effect. Sam Wood pointed out that there are 2000 houses between here and Atlantique and only 2 Electricians, 2 Plumbers and 1 Appliance Repairman to service them, largely as a consequence of the difficulty in obtaining travel permits and the limited time to use them. After threatening an island-wide strike and road closure, the Association succeeded in extending the April 15 cutoff date this spring, but that was only a stop-gap measure. According to Wood, it’s a small number of people represented by a small number of members of the Regulatory Negotiations Committee (Reg-Neg) that has pushed for contractor limitations. It is human nature to miss “the good old days” – I wouldn’t go so far as to pine for the gas lighting I never knew, but it’s tempting to memorialize a time, say, when scooters were not motorized. Although I once ran a group house with no TV or telephone, I’m glad I could offer recent guests the European Soccer match on pay-for-view satellite and I pine for a high-speed internet connection. I love my cozy one-story house nestled in what feels like my own little forest, but would I build up to see the bay if I won a lottery? Would I install a hot tub? (Look for the article on the FI Contractor’s Association in the upcoming News’ Real Estate Issue.)
What great weather for the BLT party at Cozy A – especially considering all the Kismet nights that do not invite walking around the streets in underwear. It was a fabulous party. (The BLT [Black Tie, Lingerie or Toga] party is a tamer offshoot of the 80’s Hooker’s Ball which died with its originator, Larry Katz). Got there just as the hosts finished posing for a house picture - Freaky, Gil, Punk Rock Pete, Mike, Terrance and “too many names, too much evil in one house,” Terrance told me. I immediately saw Joe & Ray Beck, Kunkel, D.R. Peter, Brown Sugar’s Kelly & Jeff, Merry-Go-Round’s Kathy and Gail and Jay Smith & Linda. Jay was dressed in semi-drag (stuffed strappy top and heeled thongs—(“can you imagine, people laughed at me walking down here!”) Kristen and pals came and left, promising to be back as did Myrna, Terry, Tom and Barbara. The Bananas bunch – Bob, Patty, Kim, Matt, Mickey, Lauren, et al—in white togas and black lingerie stuck together long enough to ask landlord Dennis to take a group shot. Speaking of landlords, Cozy A owner Kenny was out Sunday. Considering how good the house looked, he was amazed there’d been a party the night before. “Good for them – they’re “carrying on a tradition,” he told me. The party group moved to the Out around twelvish, where judges Jay, P.R. Pete and Terrance first singled out 10 top finalists, including fellow journalist Jeannie, and eventually the winner, Emma from Blue Vue Terrace. She seemed surprised, but as the guys said to her, “in that red lingerie, you are IT.”
Upcoming events: Cartoon Alley will be formally feting their new and most marvelously spacious deck with a Black and White themed party on July 31 – time to be announced. The Fire/Book Ladies are seeking donations for the July 24 sale at the Firehouse (10-2). Bring books, movies and music (in good condition – no textbooks) to their homes (81 Oak, Lemon Tree or Michelle at Camelot). Bakery items should be brought to the firehouse on Friday July 23 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Also, check flyers for information about the afternoon’s art crawl. Dorothea will be tour guide at three by the market or you can go directly to any one of the seven houses listed on the flyer.