I'm a pretty typical Long Islander, though not a native of the East End. I've actually only lived on the mainland of the  United States for six of my 56 years. Born in the Bronx (mainland), I moved to Levittown (island) at the age of five. At 20, I moved to Manhattan (island) for five years, and spent one in Roscoe, in upstate New York (mainland). After that my wife and I moved to East Quogue (island) for a few years and then, in 1979, to Sag Harbor (island), where we've been ever since.

I say I'm typical, but what I really mean is typical of my generation of Long Islanders, many of whom originated in one of the boroughs of New York City, moved to Long Island as children with their families and never left. I, for one, even attended college here on the Island at Hofstra University, commuting from my parents' house in Levittown. For better or worse, that rarely happens anymore. It is much more difficult for young people born on Long Island, especially on the East End, to make a life here. Housing is scarce and expensive to the extreme. High property taxes throughout much of Long Island also make it difficult for young people to stay here.

Anyway, by this time you probably think I LOVE Long Island, so let me disabuse you of that notion. I dislike most of Long Island, and wouldn't live there if paid to. I do love living on the East End, but less so with every passing year; every new McMansion; every additional BMW/Mercedes/Jaguar/Land Rover; every new designer boutique; every branch of a New York restaurant that opens here; and every transplant from the city who moves here, renovates a house so that it looks like it was designed in 1860, and then insists on an immediate halt to any changes in the community so that it will always be the way it was the day after they moved in.

Still, I've been part of this community for thirty or so years, and can't think of any place I'd rather live. So, I've decided to start this blog and do my bitchin' here. Enjoy.

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