"O'er the Land of the Free"
This view of my next door neighbor's waterfront bulkhead is not usually in my line of sight, fortunately. The tattered flag, blown to remnants by winds of many a storm, is a disgrace; the bulkheading is decrepit, and laced with broken water lines that lead nowhere; the old diving board, which serves as a bridge over a small chasm landward of the bulkhead, is jury-rigged; even the life preserver on the stove-in fence and the pool ladder propped against an old dinghy contribute to this depressing scene. Fortunately, I don't see this sight unless I really try. My main view - to the southeast, of the Great South Bay and Jones Beach Island (even the flashing beam from the rotating beacon of the Fire Island Lighthouse, at night) - more than compensates for this eyesore.
In his defense, my neighbor has received the permits needed to replace the bulkheading, but getting financing is proving difficult. At one time this land was home to Viking Marina, which I was able to find a few phone listings for online, but nothing else. The marina has been out of existence for a number of years now, and all that remains of its existence is this sign - an emblem of what once was. The 'marina' that I live in next door is a marina in name only, as it provides no services, but for letting us remain in our houseboats and housebarges for the time being. Sooner, rather than later, new over-sized homes on under-sized lots will be sprouting on this land - the first is already under construction, in an adjoining marina, just to our west - and we'll be forced to relocate.
So, to me, this view is bittersweet. While I may, at times, consider it an eyesore, I rue the day when I'll no longer be able to see it. Not all changes are wise ones; and from my personal point of view, our vanishing lifestyle - on Long Island, at least - will remove another thread from which the tapestry of living here was woven.
Links:
Camera Data
Canon
Canon EOS 5D
1/512 second
F/9.0
92 mm
200
Feb 5, 2011, 3:00:07 PM
Adobe Photoshop CS Windows
44mm
Canon EOS 5D
1/512 second
F/9.0
92 mm
200
Feb 5, 2011, 3:00:07 PM
Adobe Photoshop CS Windows
44mm
