bicycle

Book Hampton Sag Harbor is Gone and Mostly Forgotten… and a Way to Prevent Serious Accidents in the Hamptons!

The former BookHampton Sag Harbor

Well it was long rumored and now it’s true… Bookhampton in Sag Harbor is now a memory.  I actually just noticed it gone yesterday but sadly it’s been gone for awhile.  Blame it on Kindle or Ibooks but the

fact remains, retail is hard in the Hamptons.     I just wonder how long before all of Main Streets are entirely empty, then I have no doubt some of the villages will have no choice but to allow some of the larger chain stores to move onto the block.

Perhaps the biggest reason I was slow to figure out that there was a retail shuffle in Sag Harbor was due to the fact that I was out of town (the other that I have Netflix on my Ipad and I’m slowly becoming an illiterate slob).    I was on Cape Cod in Provincetown, MA.     Now, while there are many great things about P-twon as it’s called, the restaurants, the beaches and the abundance of really unattractive drag queens, my favorite thing was the amazing bike trails!   The beautifully maintained National Seashore Bike Trails contain miles of challenging and motor vehicle free biking!    They feature views of dunes, forest, ponds and even the ocean and are one of the bigger and popular attractions on “The Cape.”  Now, my question is why don’t we have this in the Hamptons!?!

Imagine bike trails here!!

With more accidents in the Hamptons than ever before, no doubt due to drivers being distracted by their smart phones, the time is now for the east end to create some safe areas for bikers.    This is perhaps the reason why one employee at a local bike shop told me, “anyone who rides after 10 am on a weekend is asking for trouble.”    If you have any doubt about this, go to any of the villages on a weekend.  It’s crowded beyond belief and nobody is watching where they go!   Yeah, I know it’s important stuff they’re doing like checking Facebook or Foursquare or texting about the next Soulcycle class.

So here’s my idea, someone talk to LIPA about a good will gesture that if they execute, I will forgive them the 2 weeks I spent in the dark after Sandy (It was horrible, I had no Netflix).  They take the area under the high tension wires on the East End, you know the ones they refused to bury and pave bike trails underneath.   These things go for miles (look on Google Earth) and a bike trail from Southampton to Montauk could easily be created (IMHO) and hopefully encourage folks to bike to the village instead of taking their Escalades and Hummers.   It’s a win win for everyone!    It might even help alleviate some of the fist fights in the parking lot of those spin studios.  Imagine, bicycling to a spin class!   So how do we get this done?!

OVERHEARD:   While standing in line at the Red Horse Market deli counter in East Hampton.  After ordering a pound and a half of smoked turkey breast the customer asks the employee, “Can you count those, I need to know how many slices I have there!?”   Only in the Hamptons.

The biggest dangers in the Hamptons!!!

I’ll start off by saying that I haven’t been as dedicated as I should to my happy little blog but between the job, the indigestion and the house guests (#2 as a direct result of the other two) I haven’t had as much time to sit down and hit the keys! So what’s going on???

Well, I had an interesting conversation last week with a young lady who works in one of those walk in clinics we have here in the Hamptons. You know you’ve seen them and consider them your local town doctor. I’ve actually gone to one of them and to be honest and they saved me one nasty winter cold from becoming pneumonia. Anyway, what did I talk about with this young lady who I’ll call “Coffee” because I want to protect her identity and because I’m typing this in the morning and enjoying a certain beverage. So I asked Coffee about what are the most common types of walk-in’s she sees at the clinic… wait I can’t call her Coffee anymore, let’s call her “Ann”… I’m watching The Today Show. What did she say?????

The biggest problem and health issue for folks in the Hamptons is….. drum roll please… DADADADADADDADDDADADADA…. POISON IVY! Yes, folks the weekend gardeners may have their Martha Stewart gardening kits but they can’t seem to identify this three leafed little gift of itch!! Ann told me she sees it all the time, amateur gardeners covered from head to toe with the cute little rash that makes life miserable. We all know what Poison Ivy looks like now don’t we folks? Well I’ve included a photo of the plant here and leave you with this little ditty I learned as a child, “if it has leaves of three, let them be.” I always follow that rule and it’s kept me safe for years. It also saved me $15 dollars when I went to go see that Batman movie and saw it also starred Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy! Leaves of three I let that movie be!

So what’s number 2!? Well if your thinking it has anything to do with the ocean or beach you’re wrong. The number 2 most dangerous activity in the Hamptons is BICYCLING! No, it’s not peddlers getting hit by vehicles that is causing the problem, it’s lack of coordination and lack of padding and helmets that is causing the problem! Yes, it’s a right of summer when weekend warriors put on their spandex cycling shorts and hit the mean streets of the East End. I know it seems like a good thing to do, be in the great outdoors and exercising but there are a lot of pot holes and gravel out there folks. That seems to be the biggest problem! My advice to you for a safer summer? I have a saying for this too, “If it has wheels of two find one that don’t moo (ve).” Yeah, go to a spin class and go outside on a hike later… and make sure to avoid the poison ivy! But be safe, besides I see the way most people drive out here… It’s not pretty folks! Enjoy the rest of the holiday week!