Evolving at the Speed of Life

Phase I: Stop the Madness

In the town of Nantucket you can buy bluefish pate, local produce and khakis that aren't from The Gap.  On Martha's Vineyard you can bead necklaces with semi-precious stones in a beachside shack and eat homemade ice cream.   Long Beach Island.  Rehoboth.  The Eastern Shore of Maryland.  All equally quaint and charming. 

In East Hampton you can buy a Gucci bag.  Buy Jimmy Choo shoes.  Buy Christopher Fischer cashmere.  Buy jewelry at London or Tiffany.  Buy shirts with giant embroidered ponies at Ralph Lauren.  Buy a Swarovski crystal studded dog leash at Canine Ranch.  Sensing a theme here?  Yep...not much like any other beach town I've ever seen either.

I walked around town tonight and I had an epiphany.  Listen, I love a great pair of stupid high, way sexy shoes.  And the odd ridiculously expensive handbag.  But the thrill lasts about as long as a crack high and then I'm back at the shopping thing.  I've made the decision to stop the madness. 

Change #1:  Get on a budget.

Regrouping in Paradise

I'm on the verge of making some changes.  Truth be told, change is not my best event.  I haven't done it all that well in the past.  Lots of anxiety and high drama usually go hand in hand with disrupting my status quo.  But...I'm determined to break the pattern and have "excused myself" from real life to enjoy two weeks at the beach.  East Hampton to be exact.  And trust me when I say there is  virtually no place on earth more removed from reality than this place.

I wonder what the colonists had in mind when they purchased land from the Montauk Indians in 1648.  My guess is they were thinking more about creating a renewable food supply...as in "let's grow corn here".  Not "Hey, this would be a great place for over-indulged city folk with too much time and money to come hang out."  Silly colonists.

East Hampton is like no place else.  For starters, the town beach...Main Beach...is on the list of best beaches in the country every year.  This year it ranked 7th.  Interestingly this east end of Long Island has two beaches on that list; the other is Coopers Beach in Southampton.  Main Beach has something for everyone.  Of particular interest to me are the snack bar and the restrooms.  This in itself makes for a best beach in my opinion. 

Beyond the beaches, East Hampton has it all...fabulous, excessive wealth (my rented house, which we've named "The Crapshack", is on the flight path to the private airfield), a struggling middle class and year round residents who live below the poverty line.  The people who live here have to drive 45 minutes to a Costco, but if they are so inclinced they can buy everything they need at Citarella on Main Street for a fee.  There are spectacular estates with elaborate gardens, and illegal day laborers lined up near the railroad station in the hopes of picking up a job.  Bentleys, BMWs and Bugatis sit in traffic alongside pickup trucks. 

Yes, this is exactly the spot for a reality check.