The Long Island Blog

One of the great things about Long Island is its magnificent coast—literally hundreds of miles of it. No matter where you happen to be, you’re only a few minutes drive from the water’s edge.

If you happen to be there at sunset, there’s nothing more beautiful. If you miss the sunset you might catch a moonrise, which occurs at sunset or just after when the moon is full.

A few nights ago I was at the East Islip marina. I had wanted to do some sailing under the full moon, but it was just a little too windy for me.

Instead of taking my boat out, I took pictures of the moon rising over Fire Island. From my vantage point at the west end of the marina the moon appeared to rise over Sunken Forest. You can see a light or two at Heckscher state park to the left.

The moonrise was a beautiful sight. My picture does not do it justice.

I use Picasa, the free photo software from Google to organize and “fix” my pictures. I used it on this moonrise picture to brighten the image somewhat and straighten the horizon.

Photo Specs:

Canon PowerShot A510
ASA 50
1S f5.5
23mm (35mm equiv: 147mm)

Read more about Long Island here.

Yes! This is what I had hoped for.

ABC canceled One Ocean View last week due to lack of interest.

My concern all along had been for the welfare of Fire Island. Myself and many others worried that One Ocean View would bring the wrong kind of attention to the Island and possibly create a huge invasion of tourists.

I don’t think we have to worry about that any longer. Apparently, everyone who watched One Ocean View either hated it, or was bored to tears.

The number of viewers dropped by almost 22% to 2.82 million for the second episode prompting ABC to leave remaining episodes unscheduled.

So what did we miss in the canceled episodes? Not much. Here’s a summary gleaned from some ABC press releases:

• Heather fights with John because he won’t hold her hand in public.

• After a great night in bed Anelka takes Usman on a date. Usman attempts to assert his dominance by ordering her dinner for her.

• Heather and John makeup.

• Heather and John fight again when she accuses him of avoiding her.

• John and Usman drop their current interests when two new girls, Lallie and Carisa show up at One Ocean View.

• John is so interested in Carisa that Heather freaks out and cuts her weekend short.

• Usman and Mary fight when Usman reports seeing Mary’s new boyfriend kissing another women.

As I said, we didn’t miss much.

In my previous post on this topic I worried about One Ocean View ruining Fire Island. After watching the first two episodes I don’t think that’s possible.

One Ocean View is so bad I don’t think anyone is wasting their time watching it. The only interesting thing about this show (from a man’s perspective anyway) are the bikini shots.

But that’s not enough to keep me watching. Nor am I interested in the messed up dynamics of the housemates, Lauren and Zack in particular.

The two of them need a good kick in the @ss. Lauren for manipulating and emasculating Zack, and Zack for allowing it because he doesn’t want to hurt her. Come on!

Usman, on the other hand, is shaping up to be a halfway decent guy. Conceited, yes, but not nearly as self centered as he seemed in the first episode. I think, as One Ocean View plays out, he’ll be the one cast member who keeps his head together when everyone else is losing theirs.

Anelka, a recent addition to the One Ocean View zoo, slept with Usman the first night of her stay. She’s on the bottom of my list along with Lauren the manipulator. Not that Anelka has done anything particularly wrong; I just don’t like her attitude towards romance, relationships and sex.

I’m warming up to the twins, Miki and Radha. They’re cuter than cute, educated and successful, I luv the way they toss a soccer ball around. I could watch them play all day long. So far they’ve kept their act pretty clean on Once Ocean View and I’m hoping they keep it that way.

My personal favorite resident is Mary, a handbag designer. Mary is not overly/artificially attractive and from what I’ve seen so far appears sincere and wholesome. If I was on One Ocean View she’d be my first pick for a summer romance.

I wont pass judgment on the rest of the cast until I’ve seen more of them, although I can tell Heather, the playboy model, will be on my sh!t list real soon.

So why do I watch this show? I’m only watching One Ocean View because it was filmed on Fire Island and I’m concerned about the impact it might have on this beautiful Long Island treasure.

I hate reality TV and unless ABC decides to film another season, this will be the last reality show I watch.

One Ocean View, ABC’s latest reality TV show premiers tonight. Ugh…

What’s the big deal? Why do I, the one who doesn’t even watch TV, care?

One Ocean View, in case you don’t already know, was filmed this summer in Ocean Beach, Fire Island.

If you know Fire Island at all you know that hosting a reality TV show is the last thing Fire Island would wish upon itself.

If you don’t know Fire Island, let me explain…

Fire Island is Long Island’s best kept secret and most of us would like to keep it that way. Just a few miles across the Great South Bay, Fire Island offers 32 miles of pristine beaches, shops restaurants, summer cottages, small marinas, and a charming old lighthouse.

Local residents, summer renters, and regular visitors all love Fire Island for the tranquil, unpretentious escape it affords us.

Once Ocean View will bring undue attention to Fire Island. While that’s great for the business owners it’s not so good for the rest of us or the Island itself.

I’m not necessarily worried about crowds, but crowds that don’t care. Imagine hordes of people who know nothing about Fire Island coming over and treating it like the mall parking lot. That’s what I’m afraid of.

Once Ocean View will probably misrepresent Fire Island. Fire Island is already victim enough of misunderstanding. “It’s gay” is the most common myth and today’s Newsday article, Ocean View is same old by Verne Gay is case in point.

Writing for “Long Island’s hometown newspaper,” Verne carries on the myth by suggesting that since this is Fire Island there’s a chance of “guy getting guy” on the show.

There are two gay towns on Fire Island, Cherry Grove and Fire Island Pines. Ocean Beach isn’t one of them and the chances of a gay relationship happening in Ocean Beach are the same as anywhere else, not higher because it’s on Fire Island.

But, gay romance is not the misconception I’m concerned about from One Ocean View. One Ocean View is about a bunch of very attractive, very successful twenty-somethings living it up on the beach.

The Fire Island lifestyle? It’s not like that and I don’t want people watching One Ocean View to think that’s what it’s all about. Sure, there are rich people on Fire Island, but they wear old jeans and torn up boat shoes just like the rest of us.

And that’s how I want it to stay. You want fancy, go to the Hamptons, but don’t try to turn Fire Island into the Hamptons. Just leave it alone.

And that’s what I think One Ocean View should have done in the first place—left us alone. Fire Island is a fragile place. And now, it’s not only the beaches that are subject to erosion, but the very essence of Fire Island itself.

Maybe One Ocean View will stink and all this unwanted publicity will just go away.

We’ll know in six weeks.

An incredibly detailed and well written account of Long Island’s commercial fishermen, Men’s Lives is a book that I find hard to put down.

But then again I am a fan of all things nautical and there’s a part of me that wishes I could have been part of that nostalgic era.

I remember back in the late 1970’s when I graduated high school; you could almost walk across the Great South Bay from clam boat to clam boat.

A lot of people I knew then where buying boats and clamming. But I had a “real job” and was trying to build a career in engineering.

How I wish I had taken a year off and spent it on the bay. That experience would have been priceless and now, thirty years later would there be any noticeable difference in my job status?

My teenage son, Joe who has taken several years off (these kids today…) had the privilege of working with one of Long Island’s noted baymen, Frank Sloup.

Frank is unusual in that he is thriving rather than starving. His main fishery, crabs is still viable on Long Island and Frank is a true bayman, working the bay all year long.

Each season brings its own catch and Frank is master of them all.

I’m sure the time Joe spent with Frank will be a treasured memory in later years and, as I said, the experience is priceless.

Interestingly, an unsolicted confirmation of the hardship Matthiessen writes about in Men’s Lives came when Joe told me his new job in construction is easier than working with Frank.

Carrying wood up ladders is not as hard as hauling crab traps by hand for 12 hours a day on a pitching boat. And, 2×4’s don’t bite.

But enough of my rambling…

Read my review of Men’s Lives.