Community

Oysterponds

This Saturday, April 10, is shaping up to be a very busy day. At 10 a.m. the East Marion Community Association will host “Ask the Supervisor” with Scott Russell, who will be at the firehouse to answer questions about hot topics such as traffic on Main Road, the proposed water extension into Orient, Plum Island, etc. Of course, you will be treated to Florence Cope’s great baking, as always.

At 4 p.m. head on over to the Peconic Landing Community Center for a program titled “Sport Fishing on the East End: Then and Now” by Pat Mundus, daughter of famed shark fisherman Frank Mundus, who is rumored to have inspired the movie “Jaws.” For more info you can call the East End Seaport Museum.

The much-anticipated Poetry Night organized by Linton Duell will be at Poquatuck Hall at 7 p.m. This year’s presentation promises to be extra special. The $10 admission will benefit the restoration of the hall.

Another benefit event takes place at Poquatuck Hall the following Saturday, April 17, at 7 p.m., when Oysterponds Community Activities presents a “Song Swap” organized by Gideon D’Arcangelo and Anne MacKay. The evening will be like an old-time hootenanny, where singers and musicians entertain friends. As one finishes, another will pick up. The $10 admission will include light refreshment but feel free to bring your own. Call Anne at 323-2601 or Gideon at 323-1234 for more details.

I’ve been yapping all month about my decade club and it seems there’s another exclusive club emerging, which I’ll call the 3/4-century club. Congratulations to the three Orienteers who recently joined it. Jan Smith, Freddie Wachsberger and Sally Henry all hit that special benchmark this week.

I started my drive north from Florida over the weekend and was fascinated by the different trees that were starting to bloom on my trip. My normal shtick is “call me when the leaves are back on the trees,” but expect to see me tucked in before you read this. I’m in the D.C. area as I type this, where the cherry blossoms are magnificent and I just paid $2.53 for gas. All is well in the world.

Speaking of driving north, when Kevin and Dee Gallagher were heading off on their journey back home they stopped by my Florida house to drop off the contents of their fridge. Kevin asked me for vinegar to wipe down his windshield. I never asked him why but assumed it was a secret remedy for something. As I launched my own trip I got out the vinegar and did the same thing. Everyone asked me why I was doing that and I said, “Because Kevin does.” So we all speculated on the reason (including the cable guy, the phone guy and neighbors, etc.) and we all came up with different conclusions: maybe the smell keeps bugs off, maybe it makes it slippery to keep bird droppings off, maybe because it’s natural and nontoxic.

When I finally caught up with Kevin to ask him where this tradition started, he said that he’d never done it before, but thought the acid in the vinegar may have a grease-cutting effect. So this is how “home remedies” start. I’m sure that if the six people who saw me doing it, each told six more people a new ritual has been born. By the way, my windshield stayed free of “gook” for the first 900 miles.