Fire Island 2011: End of an Era

Hurricane Irene certainly made her presence known on Fire Island last weekend, but she could not spoil the unofficial last days of season for those who are fortunate enough to summer on the beach.

This past weekend also marked the end of an era for this reporter. After six seasons with the Fire Island News, it is highly unlikely that I will return to the beach for a seventh. I am not a person who particularly enjoys long and drawn out goodbyes, but it was certainly emotional to leave Ocean Beach earlier this morning. Memories, anecdotes and people from the past six years who come to mind are simply too numerous to list. That said, however, the beach and those who define it will remain with me forever.

Here is my last official correspondence that ran in this season's last edition of the Fire Island News that hit the beach last Thursday, Sept. 1.

I have never been one for long, drawn-out goodbyes, so I hope that our loyal readers will understand my desire to keep this final official correspondence of sorts short and to the point.

This issue could very well prove my last as managing editor of the Fire Island News. I am moving to Washington, D.C, at the end of this month. While I am certainly looking forward to living in the nation’s capital with my beloved partner Andrés, it is profoundly bittersweet to think that I may very well not return to the beach in the spring.

It is impossible to list all of the anecdotes, memories and mishaps that come to mind when I think back on the six seasons I have worked on Fire Island, but a handful deserve some sort of honorable mention. These include watching the sun rise while dancing among thousands of revelers at the Pines Party, climbing to the top of the Lighthouse, covering the Invasion in something that resembles full drag while wearing six-inch heels, knocking on the door of an Atlantique hostel on a rainy early May afternoon wearing a shredded trash bag looking for Ocean Beach after I had just walked through the village on Midway, dancing the night away at Cherry’s or simply enjoying a leisurely hour on the beach in Robbins Rest.

Fire Island can certainly prove a difficult and treacherous place to live, work and play as Hurricane just proved to us all. This truly unique place and those who define it, however, have allowed this humble journalist from New Hampshire to come of age amid the backdrop of one of the world’s most spectacular natural settings.

In closing, I think back to a phrase that repeatedly popped into my mind a couple of weeks ago ahead of Ascension weekend in the Pines: You belong on Fire Island if you feel you belong on Fire Island. The beach and those who continue to define it will remain with me forever.

Fire Island 2011: Cherry Grove Welcomes FIBO

Started writing at 8:24 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 14, while cooking dinner in Ocean Beach.

The torrential rains that inundated the area throughout the day have finally relented—at least temporarily, but I remain sore after slipping and nearly falling into the bay as I walked to catch a water taxi from Ocean Beach to Fire Island Pines earlier in the day. That said, the weekend largely went well until the downpours commenced and I nearly spurred an amphibious rescue.

Thousands of LGBT people of color (and their admirers) packed the beach in Cherry Grove for the ninth annual Fire Island Black Out. FIBO organizers presented the Cherry Grove Fire Department with an $800 check at the Belvedere Guest House on Saturday, Aug. 13, while the Ice Palace hosted the Bump and Dip Dance and Pool Party later that night. Revelry aside, one of my favorite moments of the summer is spending an hour on the beach among FIBO participants and their elaborate tents and soaking up the positive energy, camaraderie and abundant eye candy. This year certainly did not disappoint!

With umbrella and wounded pride in hand, I trudged over to the Pines earlier today to interview Lt. Dan Choi at a fundraiser for possible New York City Council candidate Yetta Kurland. I also sat in on a conversation between Gawker's Brian Moylan and Steven Petrow, author of "Steven Petrow's Complete Gay and Lesbian Manners," at the Blue Whale before heading back to Ocean Beach.

On a somber note, long-time Grove resident Michael Guerette died on Friday, Aug. 12, while hiking in Maine. News of the former Garden Grove owner’s tragic death spread quickly throughout the tight-knit hamlet and put a damper on the weekend long before the rain arrived. I extend my deepest condolences to those in the Grove and elsewhere who knew and loved Michael. He will surely be missed.



This sign on Surf Road in Ocean Beach reminded Fire Islanders that the impact of the ongoing Verizon strike continues to be felt on the beach.



Saturday, Aug. 13, proved the perfect beach day for thousands who flocked to the Grove for the ninth annual Fire Island Black Out.



Some eye candy on the beach in the Grove during FIBO.



From the Belvedere shortly after sunset on Saturday, Aug. 13.



The torrential downpours on Sunday, Aug. 14, spurred a mass exodus from Ocean Beach and other Fire Island communities.

Video: Thunderstorms Brush Fire Island

It was certainly a dramatic early evening on Fire Island on Monday, Aug. 1, as a series of thunderstorms brushed the beach.

A downpour drenched Fire Island earlier in the afternoon--dark clouds were quickly gathering as I was walking back to the cottage in Ocean Beach from the beach between Fire Island Summer Club and Robbins Rest around 1:45 p.m. The same storm system produced torrential downpours, gusty winds and even hail as they passed through the Hudson Valley, Queens and Long Island.

Fire Island 2011: A Magical Night in the Pines

Started writing at 8:49 p.m. on Sunday, July 31, after dinner at the cottage in Ocean Beach.

Always a bridesmaid, but never a bride?

Well I was able to finally pretend to be one at the Pines Party in Fire Island Pines over the weekend. My wedding veil certainly proved popular among the Smurfs, Princess Beatrice, the Playboy cocktail waiter, devils, unicorns and other fairy tale-inspired revelers who took to the sand off Coast Guard Walk. Lady Luck was also on my side: I won $17 at the Arts Project of Cherry Grove’s Casino at Whyte Hall and the sunrise that Mother Nature bestowed upon the beach was nothing short of magical. A post-Pines Party breakfast at Floyd’s in Cherry Grove capped off what can only be described as an amazing night with a wonderfully positive energy.

I continue to come back to life after a very long post-Pines Party walk to Ocean Beach amid a nearly continuous onslaught of sand flies. Some will unfortunately find something about the Pines Party to knit-pick, but this reporter certainly had a thoroughly good time.

Now only if someone would put a ring on it…



Roses in Fire Island Summer Club on Friday, July 29.



A fire gong in Saltaire.



Some beach art near the Fire Island Lighthouse.



Miss Coco Love at the Pines Party Casino at Whyte Hall on Saturday, July 30.



Downtown Cherry Grove shortly before 8 a.m. on Sunday, July 31.



Early morning on the beach near the Sunken Forest on Sunday, July 31.



The mass exodus from the Grove continues with the arrival of the 7:50 p.m. ferry on Sunday, July 31.

Fire Island 2011: Eye Candy Amid a Calamity of Errors

Started writing in Marble Hill at 4:48 p.m. on Tuesday, July 26.

The eye candy proved particularly sweet in Cherry Grove and Fire Island Pines on Saturday, July 23. A combination of Calcutta-like weather, mosquitoes, an incompetent water taxi dispatcher and a laptop malfunction, however, conspired to create a less than ideal weekend on the beach for this increasingly exacerbated reporter.

Now that I have that rant out of my system, it’s on to the things that actually went well over the weekend. These included welcoming wounded veterans to a sultry Ocean Beach on Friday, July 22, attending the Hetrick-Martin Institute’s annual Pines pool party and Dancing on the Bay on Saturday, July 23. I rounded out the day with Jonny Mack at the Ice Palace in the Grove.

News that Amy Winehouse had been found dead in her London apartment spread like wildfire across Fire Island on Saturday afternoon. Porsche paid homage to the troubled British chanteuse at her Saturday night show at the Ice Palace. “Back to Black” and “Rehab” provided an appropriate, if not tragically ironic, soundtrack for the post-Dancing on the Bay walk between the Pines and the Grove.

In far more positive news, the state’s marriage equality law took effect on Sunday, July 24. I was standing on the dock in the Grove at the stroke of midnight—and I learned that Kitty Lambert and Cheryle Rudd had successfully become the first same-sex couple to legally marry in New York when I saw pictures of their wedding at Niagara Falls streaming on Facebook and Twitter while I was on a Seaview-bound water taxi. Two gay couples from Fire Island exchanged vows later on Sunday after they obtained marriage licenses at Brookhaven Town Hall in Farmingville. The New York Times posted a picture on their website of newlyweds Jim Kelly-Evans and Dan Evans from the top of the ferry as they returned from the mainland.

Congratulations Jim and Dan and other same-sex couples on Fire Island who either married on Sunday or plan to tie the knot in the near future.



Passing south of West Island on the 12:45 p.m. ferry to Ocean Beach from Bay Shore on Friday, July 22.



At the Grove Hotel pool on Saturday, July 23.



Looking towards the bay from inside the Belvedere Guest House in the Grove on Saturday, July 23.



Sunset from Dancing on the Bay in the Pines on Saturday, July 23.



Porsche pays tribute to Amy Winehouse at the Ice Palace in the Grove on Sunday, July 23.

Fire Island 2011: All About the Dance

Started writing at 1:04 p.m. on Sunday, July 17, while lying on the Grove Hotel’s pool deck.

Mother Nature has once again blessed the beach with beautiful weather—a deep blue sky with low humidity and a refreshing ocean breeze. In other words, it is the perfect time for this reporter to write by the pool between the Cherry Grove Community Association’s July meeting and the Fire Island Dance Festival in neighboring Fire Island Pines.

This weekend’s busy schedule included Larry Kramer’s talk at the Blue Whale in the Pines, a late night moonlit walk from the Grove to Ocean Beach after Daniel Nardicio’s underwear party at the Ice Palace on Friday, July 15, the Fire Island Pines Fire Department’s annual block party and Gay Men’s Health Crisis’ reception at Whyte Hall in the Pines on Saturday, July 16. The day’s schedule ended with SAGE’s annual Grove fundraiser.

On this busy mid-July weekend, it seems appropriate to acknowledge some of the characters whom I observed and/or encountered since I arrived on the beach early Friday afternoon. These include the two-year-old boy who was holding court in downtown Cherry Grove on Friday night who will become a future mayor of the hamlet one day, the long-time Grove archivist who remains proud of his community’s history, the sexy Complexions Contemporary Ballet dancer who wowed this reporter and other FIDF supporters at Whyte Hall on Friday night and the “A-List” crew members who were shooting scenes around the Pines harbor on Saturday morning. Five drag queens—Ariel Sinclair, Jason Cosmo, Dallas Dubois, Logan Hardcore and Sabel Scities—also boarded my Ocean Beach-bound water taxi in the Grove while I was on my way home from FIDF. They were scheduled to perform at the Island Mermaid at 9 p.m.

Welcome to summer on Fire Island!



Moon over Point O' Woods around 3:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 16.



Grove beach scene on Sunday, July 17.



Some gusty winds in the Grove!



At the Fire Island Dance Festival in the Pines on Sunday, July 17.



Members of the Complexions Contemporary Ballet at Whyte Hall on Friday, July 15.

Fire Island 2011, part 7

Started writing at 8:48 p.m. on Saturday, June 11, while waiting for a Babylon-bound train at the Bay Shore train station.

A fine mist has once again begun to fall. And while the weather on Fire Island was certainly less than ideal today, it was still good to be on the beach after a particularly tumultuous week.

Today's agenda included attending a memorial service in Fire Island Pines and interviewing two long-time Cherry Grove residents about the 30th anniversary of the first reported cases of what became known as AIDS. I went inside the Woodhull School in Corneille Estates for the first time. And I even became an Ocean Beach scofflaw by eating a handful of pistachios on a public walk outside the village's commercial district.

Here are three notes and observations from the previous day.
1) I had never interviewed anyone while wearing only my underwear until I sat down with two lesbians in the Grove earlier this afternoon. My jeans became wet after I walked to their house during a downpour, and they were in the dryer during our interview.
2) Perhaps Congressman Anthony Weiner will seek refuge on Fire Island during his leave of absence from the House.
3) Inside voices should apply to any place where other people are not interested in hearing about someone else's cocktail ring or quirky parents. The loud woman on the 8:05 p.m. ferry to Bay Shore should take particular note.





The Land of No means business!



A Fire Island school bus parked outside the Woodhull School.



Roses outside Cielo E Mar in Cherry Grove.

Fire Island 2011, part 5

Started writing at 10:23 a.m. while listening to “The Brian Lehrer Show” in the cottage in Ocean Beach.

A thunderstorm woke me up a couple of hours ago. And while fog enveloped the beach several times over the last few days, this weekend was a largely wonderful kick-off to another summer on Fire Island.

I came out 10 years ago on Friday, May, 27, and I was able to spend the anniversary of this milestone on Fire Island—running on the beach, delivering guides and simply hanging out in Ocean Beach, Cherry Grove and the Fire Island Pines. The gaggle of gays who grew (in numbers) exponentially over the weekend provided some particularly pleasing eye candy. My tan line has returned. And dancing for hours last night at Cherry’s in the Grove once again proved the highlight of the long holiday weekend.

Here are three notes and observations from the previous days.
1) Porsche’s proclamation at the pool show at the Ice Palace in the Grove on Sunday, May 29, that Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” will become the song of the summer could possibly prove true, although Katy Perry’s “Firework” could give the soulful English chanteuse a serious run for her money.
2) The group of revelers who boarded the water taxi late last night in Ocean Bay Park provided even more proof that I remain very happy to be a gay man.
3) A career as a drag queen can prove to be a particularly wise choice for those who are not necessarily natural beauties.



Sunset from the ferry in Fair Harbor on Wednesday, May 25.



From the pool deck at the Ice Palace's pool show on Sunday, May 29.



Low Tea in the Pines on Saturday, May 28.



Homecoming Queen 2011 contestants at the Grove's Community House on Sunday, May 29.



Dallas Dubois in the Pines on Saturday, May 28.

Fire Island 2011, part 2

Started writing around 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 8, while eating breakfast on the deck of the cottage in Ocean Beach.

Aside from a possible Dina Lohan sighting in Ocean Beach on Saturday afternoon, it was a beautiful pre-Memorial Day weekend on Fire Island. Mother Nature finally cooperated, Fire Islanders dusted off their finest hats to watch Animal Planet win the Kentucky Derby and Cherry's in Cherry Grove did their part to ensure the drinks flowed throughout the night.

Molly, a beagle from Seaview, apparently suffers from "Fire Island hangover" each Monday. More than one Fire Islander is certainly suffering from this affliction at this very moment, but here are three other notes and observations from the season's first official weekend.
1) Any drag queen who wishes to perform in Cherry Grove this summer should master walking in heels on boardwalks before they even think about boarding the ferry in Sayville.
2) A late night walk from Cherry Grove to Ocean Bay Park under the stars is a simply magical experience.
3) The best way to make an apparently straight man grab onto his apparently straight friend in Seaview is to ring a bicycle bell as you approach them at 2 a.m.



Approaching Ocean Beach on Saturday, May 7.



Between Sailors Haven and Cherry Grove on Saturday, May 7.



Fire Island Pines Fire Department on Saturday, May 7.



Low Tea in the Fire Island Pines on Saturday, May 7.



Sunset between the Pines and Cherry Grove on Saturday, May 7.

Fire Island 2010, part 15

Started to write in the cottage in Ocean Beach at 1:17 p.m. as Andrés read the New York Times on his iPhone.

It’s a beautiful September day with low humidity, warm sunshine and a gentle breeze. A steady stream of people pulling suitcases and wagons packed with bags, boxes, surfboards and other personal affects continue to stream past the cottage. The end of summer 2010 has arrived, but Andrés and I currently have little motivation to do anything at this moment.

Hurricane Earl utterly failed to live up to the hype that preceded its brush with Fire Island on Friday, Sept. 3. The storm brought a few squalls, caused minor beach erosion and exacerbated the flooding on Bay Walk in Ocean Beach between Whitney’s Market and Surf Road, but Labor Day weekend proved beautiful, campy, kind, relaxing and even inspirational once the storm passed.



Andrés and I came to Ocean Beach on Sunday morning. After lunch at the Landing and a quick stop to get some pumpkin fudge (it is September after all!), the day's agenda brought us to Ariel Sinclair’s last pool show of the summer at the Ice Palace in Cherry Grove—note to straight men who try far too hard to impress their girlfriends while drunk: competing in a drag queen-moderated fashion show wearing only a white sheet turned into a rudimentary thong is arguably not the most intelligent way to go. This unfortunate heterosexual may very well have been one of the “thong-a-wrong domesticus” about which Troy Petenbrink once described in his Rehoboth Beach columns for EDGE, but Sinclair and Logan Hardcore certainly had a lot of fun at this man’s expense.

Fortunately for us, however, the annual Divas Party in the Fire Island Pines later in the afternoon proved creativity continues to spring somewhat eternal on Fire Island. A particularly fierce-looking diva in a neon pink dress explicitly barred Andrés and I entry because we failed to adhere to the mandatory drag dress code. Playing the role of the paparazzi outside the Scaup Walk house, however, proved equally as entertaining. Miss Sangria, Carla Zeta-Jones, Srta. Fellacio and Cojones Grandes were some of the more creative quinceañera-themed revelers who mugged for their legions of fans. And the portable toilets that were strategically placed outside the party’s entrance provided a bounty of potential wardrobe malfunctions. (The queen whose pink quinceañera dress became caught in the door as she relieved herself provided a particularly amusing sight for those who were not fortunate enough to cross the velvet rope.)

With our heads held high (and our dignity largely intact), Andrés and I returned to Cherry Grove to dance the early evening away Cherry’s. “Slava from Prague" proved (as if any proof is possibly necessary) bisexual women who work 60 hours a week at a mental hospital are even more fabulous when they come to this campy hamlet to let loose. It was a relatively early night for us, however, and getting to bed before midnight proved perfectly fine.

Labor Day weekend is somewhat bittersweet. Summer unofficially ends, people return to their off-season lives on the mainland, but the memories sustain Fire Islanders through the winter (until they make new ones next season.) And on that admittedly simplistic note, here are three final lessons and observations from the summer of 2010.
- Over-hyped hurricanes that fail to deliver upon their predicted impact obviously leave more than a few people scratching their heads--especially when county officials consider evacuating the beach and local ferry companies suspend or alter service at the start of a busy holiday weekend--in their wake.
- September is the best time to enjoy Fire Island.
- A man in a dress can provide some of life’s best ah-ha moments.



This barnacle-encrusted bike in Ocean Beach is definitely not chicken from the sea.



Sweet 15 at Scaup Walk.



Cojones Grandes at the Divas Party on Sunday, Sept. 5.



Pines boys who did not cross the velvet rope at the Divas Party on Sunday, Sept. 5.



No caption necessary!



Class is sometimes in the eye of the beholder as this queen proved outside the Divas Party on Sunday, Sept. 6.



Andrés and I do our best to play paparazzi outside the Divas Party on Sunday, Sept. 5.



A possibly unwelcome guest awaits at this home on Bungalow Walk in Ocean Beach on Monday, Sept. 6.



An idyllic beach scene in Ocean Beach on Monday, Sept. 6.



A fond adieu to the summer of 2010 on Monday, Sept. 6.