It would have been the summer of 65 when I first noticed them, we called them man-o-wars but that probably isn't accurate. They were a large jellyfish with four red circles on their top and long tentacles hanging down. Those jellyfish would sting quite severely if you came into contact with those tentacles. My brother Harold found that out while scuba diving off of Sammis beach. He surfaced right in the center of one, had to go to the clinic and get treated.
We went clamming a lot down to Hands creek. Hands creek was across from the head of the harbor. A small creek emptied into the bay there. About six or eight feet across I would say and a couple feet deep. The current wasn't very powerful and the banks were lined with mussels. Blue crabs could be found in the creek too. For a young kid with an inner tube it was a great place to play. At various times it was the Amazon river infested with crocodiles, the mighty Mississippi and the raging Colorado. Those jellyfish didn't go in the creek and so it was a safe place to swim, splash and just horse around.
My parents had made some friends that lived up the island. These friends would come to East Hampton for the weekends. They had a mobile home down on Soakhide road across from my Uncles house. The father, Mr. Conelly drove a Volvo. Now that was the only Volvo I had ever seen. It was exotic back then. Figured these folks had a lot of money. A vacation home on Soakhide and a Volvo ! Well, Mr. Conelly and family would go clamming with us. I can still picture him singing out on the clam flats. He sang very loudly and very poorly, Wooly Bully ! That was a hit song on the radio at the time. A band called Sam the Sham and the Pharohs took it to number one. He would sing away and scoop up those jellyfish and sling them away from himself. We kids thought he was what Mom called, a little touched. I don't remember him ever getting stung though.
The summer of 65 was a great year. I have many fond memories of that time and place. We had friends that were " city folks " but didn't act that way. We had many cookouts at their home. Mr. Conelly loved to build a fire and we would roast marshmallows and cook hot dogs. He was a funny guy. He was always singing, dancing or just acting silly. Looking back maybe it was the beer. There was a lot of beer drinking going on. The years have passed now and the trailer is gone. No one remains on Soakhide that would remember that time. I think about Mr. Conelly every now and again, especially should Wooly Bully come on the radio but that doesn't happen very often. Old memories are the best and bittersweet. We couldn't have known how much things would change. It's alright though, I make new memories every day, and one day they will be old as well.
We went clamming a lot down to Hands creek. Hands creek was across from the head of the harbor. A small creek emptied into the bay there. About six or eight feet across I would say and a couple feet deep. The current wasn't very powerful and the banks were lined with mussels. Blue crabs could be found in the creek too. For a young kid with an inner tube it was a great place to play. At various times it was the Amazon river infested with crocodiles, the mighty Mississippi and the raging Colorado. Those jellyfish didn't go in the creek and so it was a safe place to swim, splash and just horse around.
My parents had made some friends that lived up the island. These friends would come to East Hampton for the weekends. They had a mobile home down on Soakhide road across from my Uncles house. The father, Mr. Conelly drove a Volvo. Now that was the only Volvo I had ever seen. It was exotic back then. Figured these folks had a lot of money. A vacation home on Soakhide and a Volvo ! Well, Mr. Conelly and family would go clamming with us. I can still picture him singing out on the clam flats. He sang very loudly and very poorly, Wooly Bully ! That was a hit song on the radio at the time. A band called Sam the Sham and the Pharohs took it to number one. He would sing away and scoop up those jellyfish and sling them away from himself. We kids thought he was what Mom called, a little touched. I don't remember him ever getting stung though.
The summer of 65 was a great year. I have many fond memories of that time and place. We had friends that were " city folks " but didn't act that way. We had many cookouts at their home. Mr. Conelly loved to build a fire and we would roast marshmallows and cook hot dogs. He was a funny guy. He was always singing, dancing or just acting silly. Looking back maybe it was the beer. There was a lot of beer drinking going on. The years have passed now and the trailer is gone. No one remains on Soakhide that would remember that time. I think about Mr. Conelly every now and again, especially should Wooly Bully come on the radio but that doesn't happen very often. Old memories are the best and bittersweet. We couldn't have known how much things would change. It's alright though, I make new memories every day, and one day they will be old as well.
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