Montauk Pioneer - September 5, 2008

It was the night before Labor Day and all through the town not a light wasn't on, all were around. At the beach there were fires, children and sounds of summer ending, no one was down. In the glittered homes there was music, wine, cokes and beer, and everyone was singing, they had not a care.

Why? Because it was graduation night for the Montauk Summer Class of 2008. The weather had been super, not all that much rain, so no one was complaining about rents, mortgages or gas prices. The hurricane news on television was a reminder of other places not so blessed this Labor Day.

As I walk my beagle down DeForest Road in Ditch Plains, every light in every room of every home was on. I was invited into about four homes and might have joined those parties, except I was walking my dog. As I turned towards the beach at Ditch Plains there were the remnants of lots of huge late night family BBQ's. There were also small groups of teens sitting around smaller fires talking about the summer that was, the big tomorrow, and of course, about school. Their parents were sipping wine or stronger stuff, not even thinking of the end of the summer pack-up that awaited them the next day. All that was in their vision were the stars, the dogs, their loved ones, their good friends, cool strangers and the reveling of being so alive in this Montauk moment. Perhaps some talked about the end of other summers, like 2005 or even 1987. The talk seemed to get louder as the parties went deeper into the night.

Music from the homes just got louder and louder until one home on DeForest Road had at least ten people singing "It's a Beautiful Day" by U-2. Dogs throughout the neighborhood were barking, not the annoying one but one of approval of what was going on around them. There were no cars moving on this often busy road, everybody was staying where they were on the special night. I myself can remember once when I was heading to Washington to be a freshman at college. Little did I know that my lifelong friends with me that night would never have the same innocence and level of tightness as we had that night as we drank beer. It was legal then for eighteen year olds, and we talked about our future conquests in life and all the money we were gong to make and all the cars we were going to buy. Yes the night before Labor Day usually is the last night of summer as we know it. Afterwards, the next week may have warmer weather but it just doesn't feel the same.

This Labor Day, the waves happened and the surfing was huge. The beach was filled, it was a gorgeous day. Friends from my past came to Ditch to check out the surf and say goodbye to the summer. They all looked out at the amazing surf rides and shook their heads. Finally someone who usually rides me about living in Montauk just looked at me and sincerely said, "You really have it nice." And everyone who lives in Montauk full time knew both what he was saying and how I was feeling. Yes we have the great sunrises and sunsets with views galore. Yes for most of the year we have a small town Alaskan feel. And yes at times it's a bit, well, isolated, but it is so worth it. So as I point my compass east as most of them have gone west I look to the rising sun of the day after Labor Day and I get ready for what's next. Next is the most relaxing six weeks there is in Montauk. Motel and other business owners are now going to relax and have a glass of wine, tally up their profits, plan their improvements, and reap the bounties of all the work they did this season, most of them working long hours seven days a week. The restaurants will have tables, the IGA parking spaces will be nearby the entrance and the beaches will be semi-private only for those who are left. It's not too early to look around and say Merry Christmas, but there is a lot of Montauk left before that.