Tag

anecdotes

Events, History

A Tribute to September 11th

September 11, 2023

I grew up in New York and have so many life changing memories of the city. While I didn’t live in the NY at the time the Twin Towers came down, it felt like a gut punch on so many levels. The loss of life, a city forever changed and the Twin Towers forever removed from the landscape of the city’s horizon.

I lived in Washington, DC when 9-11 occurred, and we had our own scares there as well. I worked for Marriott International in the PR department, and we were in crisis mode, fielding calls left and right from family members who couldn’t locate their loved ones who were staying in the hotel at the base of the Twin Towers when they came down.

I ran my first ever marathon that year, the Marine Corps Marathon. I had trained for diligently, and thought would most certainly be cancelled, as it was scheduled for October 28th and the course runs through the heart of DC.

In solidarity, the show went on, but I will never for the rest of my life forget running past the giant hole in the side of the Pentagon building that day, as a string of armed soldiers stood on guard at salute as we ran by. I had to stop to cry.

I moved to NYC in September 2002, days before the one year anniversary of this horrible incident in American history. I remember feeling awkward and out of place on the day of the anniversary of the attacks. Though America suffered as a whole, there was a different emotion and gravity to that day amongst those who had just lived through it.

Read more
Leave a comment
Food, History

My Ode to the Bagel

September 10, 2023

Picture it: Saturday morning of 1986, one hour ’til Pee Wee’s Playhouse airs on the television. These were the days before DVR, so timing was of the essence. My Mom would awaken me and my brother from a deep slumber with one of the only phrases she knew would entice us out of the nest of our warm, blanketed beds. “Wanna go get bagels?!,” she would shout, as she opened the door to my bedroom, closing it as quickly as it opened. She knew I was a sucker for a good bagel.

I would hurriedly pull on the closest pile of clothing I could find and dive into the minivan with my Mom, making the short trip to the adjacent town of Babylon in Long Island, NY. We could have even walked or ridden our bikes to this place. The waterfront town was idyllic and stunningly beautiful. It was one of my favorite places to roam and explore, but we didn’t have time to meander on Saturday mornings. I had and important viewing schedule to stick to.

As we pulled up and parallel parked in the center of town – there it stood. On early Saturday mornings, the only two shops in the bustling town that appeared opened were the bagel shop and the bakery located directly (and conveniently) across the street from one another.

I will never forget it. The bright orange glow of the Hot Bagels sign fixed in the window, the words slightly blurred by the steam from the molten heat of the bagel ovens colliding with the cool, crisp air on the street side of the thick glass.

Read more
Leave a comment
Food, Nature

The Truth About Stone Crab Claws

August 15, 2023

I didn’t know too much about stone crab claws when I moved to South Carolina in 2016. In fact, there was a substantial amount that I didn’t know about a lot of types of seafood. Given that I had grown up on the water along the shores of Long Island, NY, I was surprised at how much I really didn’t know. How had I escaped this information growing up? It is still a mystery to me, but what I didn’t know then, I surely learned quickly when I got to Hilton Head.

The seafood restaurant where I worked gave me an hours-long, crash course in a classroom setting, and also a real world, hands-on approach to learning through our chef and back of house staff. As I would arrive to set up the restaurant for lunch and brunch shifts, I would watch as they wheeled in large coolers and overflowing baskets from the docks behind the kitchen, craning my neck to see what was inside them.

Read more
Leave a comment
Featured

Summer Nostalgia

July 19, 2023

A friend of my Dad’s recently shared this photo of his lifeguarding crew from around 1962, the summer he and his group of friends worked together at the Babylon public pool in Long Island, New York. Though this was before my time, it made me feel a certain way just looking at the picture. Thinking of what it was like back then, seeing the happiness on their faces and youthfulness in their appearance.

The folks in this photo were friends, some dated each other, they all hung out together and shared laughs. It was a moment in time that they all fondly remember and share collectively.

Eventually, summer faded and they all went on to pursue their own version of life. Most went to college, got married, had kids, built careers. This was just a fleeting moment in time, but the memory of their summer together lives on through this photo. It is captured bliss. The feeling it brings me is one of nostalgia, though I wasn’t even alive at the time this picture was snapped, it is a sense that we all have within us.

Living on Hilton Head Island, the feeling of summer nostalgia is all around. Driving down the beach roads, clusters of families vacationing together can be seen riding bikes, building sandcastles, sharing meals and making lifetime memories. It is a special thing to have the opportunity to witness on a regular basis.

Read more
2 Comments