....July 13, 3:25 PM
 
 
 
The Hamptons: A Pause In The Hectic Way Of Life

It’s a tough job choosing between deck and pool; but somebody has to it.
By MICHAEL SCHENKLER

The Hamptons — they go there to escape, party, enjoy... to work, live, shop and for whatever else there is to do. Long Island’s east end has become the place to be whenever you want to be somewhere else.

From powerbrokers to Yeshiva magnates, from political giants to performing artists, not just P. Diddy, Sarah Jessica Parker and the artist formerly know as a symbol, they are drawn there. From the rich and famous to your next door neighbor, the Hamptons has become a second way of life.

More than a decade ago, the fax machine and e-mail transformed New York’s favorite summertime weekend getaway into a year- round endless weekend paradise.

Sitting on the deck on an extended July 4th weekend, writing my column, I just got out of the pool after a bit of swimming and a lot of lounge chair floating in the sun. Some grilled franks for lunch – served with some local, organically made potato chips – yeah, yeah, I know it’s not health food – and I’ve retreated to my table and laptop on the shaded side of the deck.

When it’s sunny in the Hamptons, the entire world is perfect. The news is not the first thing you read or hear. The phone doesn’t ring – very much. The office contacts you by e-mail and their intrusions seem a lot less frequent than when you are there – or home.

You wake up to the early morning birds and see the deer rollicking in the backyard. A family of chipmunks is camped poolside lounging and playing and soon you’ll be taking their place. It’s breakfast on the deck with the warmth of the sun and a cool breeze in the air. Floating lounge chairs beckon you into the pool, a filled refrigerator – emphasis on locally grown berries, barbeque fare and cold drinks — and the finest restaurants this side of the East River – maybe even rivaling Manhattan’s best — what more could anyone ask?

It’s even beautiful out east when it’s not.

Yesterday, it was raining in East Hampton. The sound of the not-so-gentle water hitting the deck and windows was the only distraction from the disappointment of being indoors with the view of the glorious pool surrounded by trees and private backyard staring at me through the rear wall of sliding glass doors.

I came out east to relax – a mini-vacation. Like so many city folk, the Hamptons’ siren call has captured me. The clean air – yes, you can smell the difference, emphatically – perhaps as a result of the distance from the city or the ocean on one side and the bay on the other — tells you you’re in another land each time you inhale. The green is greener, the trees bigger and the farms are, well, farms.

The place is wonderful, but I came here to swim and sun. I came here, new big, bright laptop in hand, to write sitting on the back deck, looking out to where I planned to spend much of the day. The floating lounge chairs with drink-holders rock gently as they are prodded by the raindrops while portions of the newly cleared area slowly turns to mud.

The water from the recirculating pump slowly nudges the chairs in one direction while the slight wind pushes back – a minor skirmish is taking place in the pool while I watched and waited.

Last weekend was so different.

And after a day plus of mostly rain, it’s last weekend all over again – except it started on Wednesday. And in spite of the awful reputation for crowds on July 4, Memorial Day, Labor Day and every summer weekend, we experienced neither traffic nor an inability to get a table at our eateries of choice.

Wednesday it was dinner at Della Famina’s and yesterday, lunch was steamers in Sag Harbor and a late night dinner at Pacific East. Tonight we were thrilled to get a table at Pierre’s in Bridgehampton. Call in the morning, be a bit flexible on time and pretend you’re on vacation. A 10-minute wait is more than we’ve experienced. And if service is slow, you just people watch.

East Hampton is trendy – the artistic beautiful people’s playground. Sag Harbor is relaxed and informal. You get a feeling of the character as you spend time in each village. The differences are a part of the charm.

It all might be the same back home, but who ever takes the time to watch or think about it?

Out here, the pace is a bit slower, the air rarified and time hardly matters at all.

Politics this weekend is just not on the agenda. Business gets taken care of, but the pool, relaxing and dining compete with it atop the list of priorities.

You actually get time for yourself – to write, to ponder, to relax, to dream.

The Hamptons is a special place, but it’s also a state of mind.

Perhaps you can find it anywhere.

Take some time and get away.

Enjoy the summer.

Enjoy life.

Michael Schenkler can be reached via this contact form.

 
 
Wily Senator Challenges A Threatening Governor

By HENRY STERN

The last two days’ newspapers have given generous attention to the escalating Spitzer-Bruno hostilities in Albany. The verified use of state troopers to track Senator Joe Bruno’s movements in a State plane provides just a whiff of a police state, particularly since no such scrutiny is allegedly applied when Gov. Eliot Spitzer and Lt. Gov. David Patterson are ferried around the state on the house jet.

What is our opinion of Bruno-Spitzer dispute, which appears to be gravitating into the toils of the law? It was hard to write a coherent essay on this peculiar subject, so we limit ourselves to a dozen relatively brief observations:

1.Bruno v. Spitzer makes Sheldon Silver look like a dignified public official.

2.The thought of Andrew Cuomo as an impartial referee would have been inconceivable six months ago. But as one man’s reputation sinks, another’s rises. This would be a test of his fairness and judgment.

3. I would not call in Albany County district attorney David Soares under any circumstances, he would indict both combatants if he could.

4.The Governor and the Leader are both flying around with state planes, crews and cops, taking them to political meetings, with state business thrown in as a fig leaf. Comptroller Alan Hevesi was merely accused of taking a car and driver for his sick wife, although he may have committed other offenses which would have justified his removal.

5.Men and women in high office should conduct themselves with respect, courtesy and gravitas in deference to the positions they occupy, if their own self-esteem is insufficient for them to control their behavior. They should not use vile and obscene language, at least not in public, nor should they threaten anyone with physical harm, unless they are physically attacked. If people act like fools, that is the way they will be regarded.

6.When a middle-aged man gets into a fight with an old man, people will tend to sympathize with the old man, especially if he is a less important person. When a very rich man gets into a fight with someone who is merely comfortable, people will identitfy with the poorer man. If both are rich, earned wealth tops inherited wealth. Married wealth is least respectable.

7.How can the most high-minded crusader for truth and justice expect to secure the adoption of reforms that require the consent of lesser men and women, if the reformer acts and speaks in such a manner that he can be depicted (unfairly of course) as a tyrant?

8.The mission of a press secretary should be to calm the waters and defuse criticism of his boss, not to pour fuel on fires. His or her job is to keep the boss out of trouble, not to create or magnify disputes. If an attack dog be required for certain indelicate tasks, set him some distance from his master.

9.Legislation is not necessarily “reform” just because that is what it is called. The same applies to what is called “pork.”

10.When any official behaves like a spoiled child, he is disappointing the people who voted for him. They want a man with the ability to lead and inspire confidence, not just someone with whose positions they agree.

11.The governor did the right thing in trying to reduce waste in the budget; he should not be intimidated or bargained into submission on this issue.

12.If you think Bruno is bad, think of how much agita a Democratic majority leader could give the Governor, especially if the Senate leader becomes the catspaw of your new (post-January) best friend, the Speaker. At least Joe Bruno will not primary you in 2010. And if you believe in the two party system, what offices, if any, should the other party hold?

Conclusions: Character is destiny. Be kind to man and beast.

Starquest@NYCivic.org

Not4Publication.com by Dom Nunziato
Michael Schenkler can be reached via this contact form.