"Erase everything that was, Embrace everything there is" - Gregory Fratellone- Tattoo on lateral aspect of right foot
I absolutely love this quote by my son. It is part of a song lyric he wrote about three years ago. When he was eighteen he wanted a tattoo of the quote. He decided to put it on his lateral right foot. What does it mean? I can only imagine! Erase everything, possibly meaning the past, and embrace the everything there is meaning the present moment. So right--live in the moment, live in the now, not in the past. Look upon the past, but do not dwell on the past.
In keeping with the tradition of past blogs, it is time to discuss medicine. I have chosen today to discuss Being Green. Not in the sense of being green when you feel sea sick on a boat, or being green because you are new at something. Rather transforming your lifestyle, finding ways to conserve energy, protecting your family's/friend's health and most important, helping save the environment and Planet Earth. Did you ever think that we need to save Mother Earth? Maybe this is the reason I have taken an interest in plants and herbs. I believe one day we will have to rely on herbs as the source of all medicine. After all, plants have always been and continue to be the medicine of the world. There is a saying, "THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY." This is what Rick and I believe especially when we opened our green store called It's Simply Green in Cherry Grove last summer. A store dedicated to saving the environment and the communities of Fire Island. We wanted to introduce environmentally friendly products (soaps, detergents, paper, wood and many others) to the residents and visitors of Fire Island.
Do you know when the first Earth Day was? I didn't either. I had to look it up. It was April 22,1970. I was only 10 years old then. That is when we first started thinking about saving the environment. In the same year the US Congress passed the Clean Air Act. The goal was to lower air pollution by reducing emissions of many common pollutants. Now we hear about Global Warming. Although Al Gore doesn't seem to be in our hearts today, he is always in my heart. His Academy Award winning film, An Inconvenient Truth' must be seen by all.
Then we have chemicals polluting our waters. Mainly from mosquitoes, but the real problem is the use of pesticides. I know in Fire Island, lesbians had a protest when Brookhaven tried to spray the community for mosquitoes. Many of these lesbians objected due to the risk of developing breast cancer.
Today we have the major oil spill. It has been devastating to the environment and will only get worse. Do you think Obama acted quickly enough? Now I have a student in my Botany Class teaching me about F.R.A.C.K.? I will have to tell you about this in the future as I am not well versed in the subject at this time.
We need more solar energy and wind energy. Over this weekend I will tell you more and more about Developing a Green World.
Cherry Grove (often referred to locally as The Grove) is an unincorporated hamlet in the Town of Brookhaven, Suffolk County, New York, United States. It is located on Fire Island, a barrier island separated from the southern side of Long Island by the Great South Bay. The hamlet has approximately 300 houses on 41 acres, a summer seasonal population of 2,000 and a year-round population of 15. Cherry Grove dates its modern history to the 1868 purchase by Archer and Elizabeth Perkinson. They bought the land between Lone Hill (now Fire Island Pines) and the Cherry Grove Hotel from the ocean to the bay for 25 cents per acre and named the area for the black-cherry trees in the area. I recommend viewing the film When Ocean Meets Sky which discusses the history of Fire Island. My only objection is the focus of this documentary is on Fire Island Pines, whereas the 'Grove'-Cherry Grove is the first gay community in the United States. I had hoped the documentary would have focused on this unique community.
The Perkinsons opened a hotel in 1880. According to local legend Oscar Wilde stayed at the Perkinson Hotel . I find this legend not to be so. I have read many books on Oscar Wilde including The Secret Life of Oscar Wilde by McKenna and Oscar's Books: A Journey around the Library of Oscar Wilde by Wright. There is no mention of Oscar visiting any such hotel. The Great Hurricane of 1938 destroyed much of Cherry Grove and discouraged mainlanders from coming. In their stead a new generation started coming from New York City, including Greta Garbo, Xavier Cugat, Paulette Goddard, Pola Negri, Arlene Francis and Earl Blackwell (publisher of the International Celebrity Register). Watch Garbo Talks. Garbo Talks is a 1984 film directed by Sidney Lumet. It stars Anne Bancroft as a terminally ill woman who asks her son, Gilbert, to help her fulfill her last wish: to meet Greta Garbo. As her son, played by Ron Silver, carries out his search for Garbo, he confronts his deteriorating relationship with his wife and develops an interest in a struggling actress. Betty Conden plays Garbo. I remember the scene when she flys into Fire Island on a sea plane, and then wisks away when the Ron Silver character tries to talk to her on the beach.
I THINK MISS GARBO WOULD HAVE APPROVED OF BEING GREEN!!!
According to legend the gay aura of the town arose when Christopher Isherwood and W. H. Auden arrived dressed as Dionysus and Ganymede, carried aloft on a gilded litter by a group of singing followers. Duffy’s attempted to ban same-sex dancing until after midnight.
Duffy’s burned on September 27, 1956, and was replaced by the Ice Palace Hotel which has remained a popular destination to this day. Drag performer Porshe will perform tonight.
Tomorrow I will discuss my quest for better medical service in the island as well as the history of the Doctor's House aka Belly Acres.
Until tomorrow...
No comments:
Post a Comment