A Glimpse at Another Life

Several weekends ago, my friend and former coworker, Crystin and I went out to the Hamptons to stay with Henry’s family.  Crystin also helps Henry with his homework one night a week, so we were both excited to see the whole family since school is not in session and haven’t been over for our regular visits.

We took a 4:00 PM train out of Penn Station and arrived to Southampton around 6:00.  Henry stood anxiously by the tracks waiting for us to arrive, which surprised me since their house is just a five minute walk from the train station.  We all hugged and Connie drove us to their house.  They have a side pebbled driveway that leads to a detached garage in the back of the house.  We took our stuff to the pool house where we would be staying and could smell that Connie already had the grill going.  We put our stuff away and walked back toward the main house where there is an outdoor patio.  Connie offered us margaritas and snacks right away.  How nice is that to get off the train and have a cocktail waiting for you?!  That night we enjoyed steak and various side dishes Connie had concocted.  We sat out on the patio and chatted with the whole family, even big brother Nick, who surprisingly graced us with his presence.

The next morning I got up and went for a run while Crystin did laps in the pool.  Afterward we ate some breakfast and then Jim took us in his convertible for a tour through Southampton.  He drove us through town and pointed out all the shops and the spots where the boys hang out with their friends.  Then he drove us south toward the water and showed us all the beaches, as well as the mansions lining the streets.  It was hard to get a good look at them because they all have large burms out in front for privacy.  As we got closer to the beach, the houses just got bigger.  I could hear the dollar signs clinging in my ears every inch of the way.  Every part of the Hamptons has a few key famous people, including fashion designers.  Montauk as Ralph Lauren and Southampton has Calvin Klein.  Several years back I had seen Calvin Klein’s monstrous estate overlooking the ocean, but he has since torn it completely to the ground.  How could someone hate their house that much that they just said, “Screw it.  We’re just going down to the dirt and starting over.”  Not only that, how could someone have so much money to do so??  Well apparently Mr. Klein has such endeavors and finances.

When we finished our tour through town, we came back and put on our swimming suits.  We decided we would ride bikes to the beach and eat lunch there.  Riding our bikes allowed us to see a lot more houses because we could slow down and peak through the greenery.  We biked about three miles and arrived at the big beach, which also houses a large concession stand.  We went down near the water and laid out for about an hour before deciding we wanted lunch.  We left our towels to hold our spot and walked up to the concession stand.  Amongst the typical burgers and hot dogs listed on the menu was also a lobster roll.  I thought that sounded perfect until I saw the $21.95 price tag.  Considering the quality of the rest of the food, I thought it was about $10.00 overpriced, so instead I settled on a chicken sandwich.  Crystin and I ate our food at the tables on the patio outside the snack bar and then headed back to sand for some more sun. 

As we walked closer to where we had been laying, I was having a hard time locating our stuff.  At first I panicked that someone had taken our towels and shoes, but then I realized the actual tragedy: the tide had come up and covered all of our stuff in sea water and sand.  Luckily we had taken our phones and wallets with us, but now we had nothing to lie on.  Before you call me a complete moron, we were a good 30 ft behind the tide when we got there and over the dune, so we were completely shocked how much the tide had come up.  With our things soaking wet and nowhere to sit, we had no choice but to end our beach trip early.  We rolled up the towels into a ball and strapped them to the back of the bike and headed back home, and instead spent the afternoon at the pool.

That night we enjoyed another home-cooked meal courtesy of Connie.  Nick didn’t hang with us that night, but Henry did, and we enjoyed another relaxing evening out of the city.  Connie even took us into town to pick up some dessert at a local restaurant which is a celebrity locale.  Our celebrity spotting: Billy Joel’s daughter.

The following morning, Crystin went for a swim at a local lake with Connie and her swimming group.  I’m not a swimmer – especially in open water – so I did not join them.  When they returned, Connie made waffles for us.  After cleaning up the kitchen, we headed to the pool for some last rays before heading back to the city that afternoon.  Jim came and swam with us for a while, and then we packed up our stuff and had some lunch before Connie drove us to the bus station.  We ended up taking the Hampton Jitney back to the city instead of the train because Connie had given us two free passes.  We arrived back into the city around 5, feeling completely pampered and rejuvenated.  What a way to spend the weekend.

A picture tells a thousand words

As follow-up to my last post about my grandfather, I wanted to post this photo that came in the last years of his life.  It perfectly captures everything that embodied him and how I remember him.  He always wore a huge toothy grin when he wasn't snoring in the recliner.  He started wearing trucker hats when it was quite unfashionable to do so, which he kept them on the wall of his bathroom.  He was always wearing a polo shirt with khakis and white socks pulled up with tennis shoes (too bad the photo is cut off for that gem!).  And, he was always eating a cookie that most likely my mom had made for him.   This was my Papa: