An old friend of mine Barry Collum,we were born on the same day so I guess that makes me old too, moved away from our hometown some years ago. Through this thing we call Facebook I have come into contact with his daughter. I do not recall having ever met this lady in person. Time and distance having kept old friends apart. Still I feel a kinship with this lady in an odd sort of way. It is my understanding that she is living in her fathers home on Soakhide road. That is a home I knew well as a child. I went there to play,have birthday parties and listen to music. A very familiar place.
My Aunt and Uncle lived next door. Their home was a mirror image of Barry's home. What I didn't know at the time was that Barry's father and my Uncle were actually related. Cousins I believe. It is a bit ironic but that home is now owned by a cousin of mine. Both homes, as far as I know have remained pretty much unchanged. And it is that knowledge, or belief, that makes me pause and smile. A piece of the past,my past still survives on Soakhide. There has been much change and development in the forty some years since I left there but a small portion remains. Perhaps a pocket of peace exists yet in the turmoil of the " Hamptons. " Soak hide is not in the "Hamptons " however, it is in East Hampton, close to Three Mile Harbor. While others may dream of vacationing in Paris or France I would like to vacation on Soakhide.
Besides those two homes, there are other markers still there. Mary's store down on the corner. It looks a bit different nowadays but it is still there. I went there to buy penny candy and bread for Mom. Bought cigarettes and beer too, for Dad. Mary would put those items in a brown paper bag and tell us, " don't let anyone see you with these " and we ( my sister and I ) would sneak home through the wooded area between Soakhide and Springy Banks Rd. We both felt like fugitives ! We never got caught and in a way are still on the run. There was only one other house on the side of the road with Uncle and Barry and that house belonged to Dave Jacobs. A very congenial man and his wife Sandy. Bought a 25 horsepower Evinrude outboard motor off that man. It ran great and came me good service. Beyond their home was the " dreen ". The dreen, or drain in modern english ran through a wooded area designated as a game sanctuary. That plot of land had been donated to the town by a wealthy person with that stipulation. It remains unchanged to this day. It borders on Springy Banks Rd. Across that road was the dirt lane that I lived on, now called Hunting Lane. Last I knew that road is still unpaved.
Somehow it is a comfort to know all this. Nostalgic in a way. But can it be nostalgia when it is your own past ? Nostalgia just seems like a " Dickens " sort of term. It certainly must refer to times long before me. Time marches on, a phrase often heard in my house. Mom said that a lot and I guess I repeat it. I believe it means to not get stuck in the past. I do have a tendency to go back often. And times does indeed march on. Nothing you can do about that. You do need to guard against carrying too much baggage from the past with you though. That is why I try to only carry the " light " loads and leave the " heavy " in the past. Maybe I will visit Soak Hide again and maybe not. Makes little difference, I know that it is there, so nothing is lost. Time doesn't seem to march quite so fast on Soak Hide, truth is, it never did. I seem to be the one that did the marching ! Soak Hide appears to be stuck in time. That's a good thing as long as there are those that remember. So many memories associated with that road for me. So many stories could be told. Remembrances flood my mind and give me peace. Now that is a " dream vacation. "
My Aunt and Uncle lived next door. Their home was a mirror image of Barry's home. What I didn't know at the time was that Barry's father and my Uncle were actually related. Cousins I believe. It is a bit ironic but that home is now owned by a cousin of mine. Both homes, as far as I know have remained pretty much unchanged. And it is that knowledge, or belief, that makes me pause and smile. A piece of the past,my past still survives on Soakhide. There has been much change and development in the forty some years since I left there but a small portion remains. Perhaps a pocket of peace exists yet in the turmoil of the " Hamptons. " Soak hide is not in the "Hamptons " however, it is in East Hampton, close to Three Mile Harbor. While others may dream of vacationing in Paris or France I would like to vacation on Soakhide.
Besides those two homes, there are other markers still there. Mary's store down on the corner. It looks a bit different nowadays but it is still there. I went there to buy penny candy and bread for Mom. Bought cigarettes and beer too, for Dad. Mary would put those items in a brown paper bag and tell us, " don't let anyone see you with these " and we ( my sister and I ) would sneak home through the wooded area between Soakhide and Springy Banks Rd. We both felt like fugitives ! We never got caught and in a way are still on the run. There was only one other house on the side of the road with Uncle and Barry and that house belonged to Dave Jacobs. A very congenial man and his wife Sandy. Bought a 25 horsepower Evinrude outboard motor off that man. It ran great and came me good service. Beyond their home was the " dreen ". The dreen, or drain in modern english ran through a wooded area designated as a game sanctuary. That plot of land had been donated to the town by a wealthy person with that stipulation. It remains unchanged to this day. It borders on Springy Banks Rd. Across that road was the dirt lane that I lived on, now called Hunting Lane. Last I knew that road is still unpaved.
Somehow it is a comfort to know all this. Nostalgic in a way. But can it be nostalgia when it is your own past ? Nostalgia just seems like a " Dickens " sort of term. It certainly must refer to times long before me. Time marches on, a phrase often heard in my house. Mom said that a lot and I guess I repeat it. I believe it means to not get stuck in the past. I do have a tendency to go back often. And times does indeed march on. Nothing you can do about that. You do need to guard against carrying too much baggage from the past with you though. That is why I try to only carry the " light " loads and leave the " heavy " in the past. Maybe I will visit Soak Hide again and maybe not. Makes little difference, I know that it is there, so nothing is lost. Time doesn't seem to march quite so fast on Soak Hide, truth is, it never did. I seem to be the one that did the marching ! Soak Hide appears to be stuck in time. That's a good thing as long as there are those that remember. So many memories associated with that road for me. So many stories could be told. Remembrances flood my mind and give me peace. Now that is a " dream vacation. "
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| Not sure of the date, probably 1958 at Barry's birthday bash. Yup it is on Soak Hide Rd. I am on the extreme left. Not sure who is next, Barry is in front with the guns on and next to him is Tom Corbey. The Brill girls are there, Leslie and Shelly. That's about all I remember. The day would be July the twentieth. |
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