Living on the eastern end of Long Island I had access to the bay as well as the ocean. I took that for granted. There is a lake in Montauk and I had seen it a few times, but wasn't impressed. The closet thing to a river I saw was down to Hands creek ( pronounced crik ) where it emptied into the bay, or more properly, the harbor. Being born there I didn't give much thought to living on an Island. I knew about Gardiners Island out in the bay and Shelter Island. Somehow they seemed more like Islands than the one I was living on. Isn't that strange ? I had been to both of those Islands and they sure felt like islands should feel, isolated. That was probably because you couldn't just drive to either one. To get to Shelter Island you had to take a ferry. Sure, you could take a car on that ferry, but if the ferry boat doesn't run, you aren't going anywhere. Gardiners Island was different. It was a private Island only accessible by boat. In the distant past Captain Kidd himself had been on that piece of real estate. Now you don't get much more of an Island than one used by a pirate !
My home was closer to the bay than it was to the Ocean. The ocean was a good three miles away. The bay is where I usually went swimming and fishing. We had boats and played on the bay but always keeping in mind just how dangerous it really was. Many a life was lost on Gardiners bay. More than one of them ancestors of mine. I had been told tales about that and was leery. The Ocean was a different thing altogether. The Ocean was where you went to sit in the sand and try to meet girls. It was not a place to go swimming ! Sure, like everyone else I was macho enough to go splashing around in the waves and bounce up and down in the surf, but I didn't like it. Still don't. The surf is no place to be clowning around. It's a good place to catch some stripers in the fall but that's about it, as far as I am concerned. No surfing for me ! The upstreet kids went there and the wealthy. Yeah, all the "cool " people and tourists go there. Some of those upstreet kids even had there own bathouse lockers. I had heard about changing rooms and stuff but was never in there. I may have bought a soda from the concession stand, but don't remember doing so. Again, that was for the rich kids. Like I said, I didn't go there very often. The only time I really enjoy the ocean is walking along the shoreline in the off season when it is quiet and uncrowded. I like to hear the sound of the surf and gaze out across that great expanse of water. The ocean has many moods and I enjoy them all.
Since those days I have seen just about every body of water you can think of. I've been on the oceans and seas of the world. I have traveled the Mississippi river, been on the Great Lakes and sailed Lake Pontchatrain. Now I live on the Delmarva Peninsula. The Delaware bay is to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. The Choptank River runs right through the middle of Greensboro. It takes a little while to get to the bay or the ocean so I seldom go. I sometimes wish I could live a lot closer to either one. I have to tell you the river just isn't the same. Well, they say you never know what you have until it is gone. There is truth in that. On the plus side the river does have catfish. I love catfish. Would rather have a catfish than a striper. I don't have to put on waders and brace against the cold to catch catfish. I can just sit in the shade on the riverbank. Not a bad thing.
The bay will always be in my blood. It is just my heritage and there is no escaping that. I do miss the clamming and scalloping and fishing from a boat. It is alright though, I'll always have the memories and often memories are better than the real thing ! Not quite as cold or uncomfortable. Also not as tiring. Yes, sitting on the bank and catching catfish just might be the best thing. I'm nothing, if not adaptable.
My home was closer to the bay than it was to the Ocean. The ocean was a good three miles away. The bay is where I usually went swimming and fishing. We had boats and played on the bay but always keeping in mind just how dangerous it really was. Many a life was lost on Gardiners bay. More than one of them ancestors of mine. I had been told tales about that and was leery. The Ocean was a different thing altogether. The Ocean was where you went to sit in the sand and try to meet girls. It was not a place to go swimming ! Sure, like everyone else I was macho enough to go splashing around in the waves and bounce up and down in the surf, but I didn't like it. Still don't. The surf is no place to be clowning around. It's a good place to catch some stripers in the fall but that's about it, as far as I am concerned. No surfing for me ! The upstreet kids went there and the wealthy. Yeah, all the "cool " people and tourists go there. Some of those upstreet kids even had there own bathouse lockers. I had heard about changing rooms and stuff but was never in there. I may have bought a soda from the concession stand, but don't remember doing so. Again, that was for the rich kids. Like I said, I didn't go there very often. The only time I really enjoy the ocean is walking along the shoreline in the off season when it is quiet and uncrowded. I like to hear the sound of the surf and gaze out across that great expanse of water. The ocean has many moods and I enjoy them all.
Since those days I have seen just about every body of water you can think of. I've been on the oceans and seas of the world. I have traveled the Mississippi river, been on the Great Lakes and sailed Lake Pontchatrain. Now I live on the Delmarva Peninsula. The Delaware bay is to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. The Choptank River runs right through the middle of Greensboro. It takes a little while to get to the bay or the ocean so I seldom go. I sometimes wish I could live a lot closer to either one. I have to tell you the river just isn't the same. Well, they say you never know what you have until it is gone. There is truth in that. On the plus side the river does have catfish. I love catfish. Would rather have a catfish than a striper. I don't have to put on waders and brace against the cold to catch catfish. I can just sit in the shade on the riverbank. Not a bad thing.
The bay will always be in my blood. It is just my heritage and there is no escaping that. I do miss the clamming and scalloping and fishing from a boat. It is alright though, I'll always have the memories and often memories are better than the real thing ! Not quite as cold or uncomfortable. Also not as tiring. Yes, sitting on the bank and catching catfish just might be the best thing. I'm nothing, if not adaptable.
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