by Tobias Van Buren

Created on: April 23, 2008

A LAST POOR MAN'S HAMPTON'S WEEKEND?

What I thought would be a bummer summer seems to be ending a banner late summer - could even go into the first part of fall! I guess I owe it to Unemployment Insurance, however long I may get it - I doubt the full 26 weeks; it would help till year-end. It's about my being required to look for work, which I'd rather not do at my age; I couldn't find any work at age 55 when I'd wanted it, so how can I succeed when I really don't want it anymore? To continue getting Unemployment though, I'll have to demonstrate that I am looking, be convincing.

So far, the last two weekends in a row, I managed to go to the Hampton's, mainly to enjoy Hither Hills where there is an expanse of one of the greatest beaches in the world! The weekend before this one, I barely took a dip in the ocean - just to get my feet wet - but this past one I spent a lot of time in the water, all the way in and far enough out, not as much as I did when I was a lot younger, but certainly for a man approaching 70!

Everything was good about this past Labor Day Weekend - three days of perfect weather, which I never experienced before on any Labor Day Weekend - all three days? Back in '72, I brought my best friend Leslie to the Pines, Fire Island on just Labor Day. It was very hot and humid all day practically. We were on the beach when suddenly there was a great gust of wind! The ocean went wild, and the sky overhead began darkening. Temperatures plummeted from the mid-90s to the upper 60s! Unbelievable! It looked like a scene out of "The Ten Commandments" - I could have acted out Moses! We ran for the ferry, trying to beat the crowd there; we were among the last to get on that one. When we were midway across the bay to Sayville, LI, there was a violent thunderstorm! Big waves could be seen, even on the bay, the sight of several lightning strikes in the west, loud 'boomers'! It was exciting and frightening at the same time. By the time we reached shore, it was over, but it stayed quite cool and breezy.

So, this past Labor Day Weekend into the first part of this week following, it was perfectly clear, daytime temperatures in the low 80s. The water temperature was as warm as it gets - in the 70s - delightful! The waves were perfect, though varied from day to day - Labor Day a little more breezy, somewhat rougher waves coming in out of the southwest, on an island that is basically WSW to ENE longitudinally (a word?), causing a somewhat slanting surf. They kept coming in,

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