Dan's Papers - September 14, 2007 - Some North Fork Records

There was an awful lot of attention given a few weeks back to a guy who did something 756 times - now even more. What he did, what Barry Bonds did, was hit a little ball in a big way. Home runs in a game we love, baseball.

Bonds, out there on that other coast, broke records for sure, and probably broke some hearts, too. But hearts, like everything else, heal. Mostly. And Bonds' accomplishment is applauded. Mostly.

Now 756 of anything seems pretty impressive. Like if I had $756 in my wallet or 756 pairs of shoes in my closet. Or even if I grew 756 tomatoes in one season.

But would North Forkers applaud such accomplishments? I wonder just what our home fork people would cheer when it comes to 756 or more. What number would make North Forkers proud? Do we have, on the North Fork, record-makers, record-breakers?

I suspect so. Now Barry Bonds is many things, though I've never heard him called beautiful. But Riverhead's Michel Burgazzoli is another story. She walks in beauty and brings beauty wherever she walks. Michel is a landscaper, a one-woman organization whose jobs are mainly in the Riverhead-Flanders area. She'll cut your lawn, of course, and trim your hedges. But more than that, much more.

Michel's flowers, in a month, maybe even a week, are planted 756 times. Over the years? Thousands and thousands of roses, marigolds, mums. Lilacs, lavender and lilies. Daffodils are her favorite. The colors, the golds, reds, blues, white. And the fragrance that seems to drift from Riverhead to Orient.

One of Michel's special gardens is in Flanders. Eleven years ago she planted about 150 hydrangeas in that garden and they're all big and blooming now. There's a rose arbor and stone paths put in by Michel's husband. Almost paradise.

So Michel, take a bow. If numbers mean anything, you're more than a contender.

The numbers on this next North Fork guy are impressive. He fixes cars, thousands of them, and has been doing so for more than 24 years. While I truly wish there were fewer cars on North Fork roads, I'm pleased Tony Antongeorgi of Tony's Complete Auto Repair is there to keep our cars and trucks running.

Tony's is a two-man business on Main Road in Mattituck. I confess I don't mind waiting for a quick repair by Tony because he's right next door to my favorite-in-the-whole-world ice cream place. So when Tony says my car will be ready in an hour and tells me to chill out, I do. Usually with two scoops.

Tony's is a small place, two lifts only in a pre-WWII building. But that building and courtesy are the only old fashioned things about the shop. They've got everything modern to fix up the latest Lexus (probably visiting from the other fork) to my husband's Chevy pick-up. Tony and numbers? Why, he passed 756 years and years ago!

Drive to Aquebogue in a car Tony just repaired and meet Jean Troyan Simmons. Jean's been making North Forkers look great for 42 years. Women mostly, but men and children, too.

Jean cuts hair, styles hair, trims hair, perms hair - and does whatever else makes hair look good. A graduate of Riverhead High School, Jean attended Patchogue Beauty School, carpooling from the North Fork with a few friends.

Think about it. Even if Jean "worked" on only 20 heads a week, that's over 1,000 heads a year. Times 42 years. Way to go, Jean.

Jean has cut toddlers' hair, permed great-grandmas' hair, styled the hair of nervous brides, trimmed the sideburns of bald guys, gone to the homes of those unable to come to her. Over the years she's helped thousands of North Forkers feel good about themselves.

A favorite customer? That would be Laura, Jean's 7-year-old grandchild. Twice little Laura has donated her hair to Locks of Love, an organization providing hair for wigs for children who have long-term medical hair loss. Jean's proud of that.

Guess you get the picture. A pretty paltry number is baseball's 756. The North Fork's flowers, smooth-running cars and happy hair rack up the really amazing stats. Why, this fork should have its very own hall of fame with the folks we've just met in it as charter members. That's for the record.