The Way We Were

This week begins my 38^th year living in Syosset.

I didn't plan it.  No, I dreamed of striking out on my own, as everyone does in his/her youth, and being someone or something more than just this one way of looking at life—through a Syosset lens.   

Didn't ya just see your name in lights on a marquee in your teens and twenties?  Didn't ya want to break out of this one-dog town?  "I'll show them!" to scrape and work and be discovered, and hope that the work you do would transcend your existence and leave an indelible mark—change the world?

Ah, youth!

Okay.  Crashing back to reality, somehow when it came time to invest real money in a house, my husband and I specifically sought out Syosset right back where I started from.

"This is nice," we thought after saving up a little nest egg.  "We can afford a starter home here."  The Long Island Rail Road train line and highly rated schools were an attractive lure.  It was an investment.  After two years in Forest Hills, we basically moved three blocks away from my childhood home; seven years ago, we moved across town to our second house – a split.

Was it lack of imagination on my part that I couldn't fathom life elsewhere when it came to raising a family? "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."  Maybe, but I liked growing up here and planted some deep roots firmly in the ground.

Thirty-eight years is a long time in one spot.  For my husband, too, Syosset has been the longest time he's ever lived in any one town. This begins his thirteenth year.

Although, much has changed.  Jesus, the Bella Notte Italian Restaurant near the train station has had more costume changes than a Liza Minelli Vegas show. It was the Upper Deck bar when I was in high school in the 1980s and has been through a slew of various restaurants,  while Christiano's Restaurant off Ira Road, although under new management, stayed put all these years.

I'll tell you the places in Syosset, like our master bathroom, that haven't changed one bit.  Realize, of course, there are probably many more than I'm mentioning albeit some not changing and maybe badly in need of it, and another wonderful columnist (Paul Weingarten) has deftly highlighted great businesses, but…

The Syosset Woodbury Park Skate House -- Built on the former Webb estate, the fields in and around the park have been upgraded but the rink and skate house are still the same.  Each year they lay water down that hardens into a thick layer as the Zamboni machine scrapes a clean smooth surface. The entrance and exit and warm fire pit inside is exactly the same.  They've taken away some lockers and benches and even a gift shop in the back where I bought pink pom-poms to tie onto my white figure skates.  But, it's the same smoky skate house with hot cocoa at the refreshment state.  I learned how to skate there, and taught my nephews and my own kids, too. 

Admission is for Town of Oyster Bay residents only (proof required); $4 adults, $3 ages five to 17.  Skate rental: $4.  Two-hour public skating sessions Wednesday at 3:30 pm, Friday at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.; Saturday at 10 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.; and Sunday at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.

New York State Route 135 -- The highway to Connecticut that could've saved years of wear and tear on Jackson Avenue is pretty much the same as it ever was, overgrown with weeds where cop cars often park. 

The 'Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway' or the SOB (slang) or the Ralph J. Marino Expressway in Nassau County, is our six-lane expressway cutting from Merrick Road in Seaford to 25 Jericho Turnpike in Syosset that was originally planned to go all the way through Oyster Bay and over the Long Island Sound via the Rye-Oyster Bay Bridge, to link Long Island with the Hudson Valley.  Originally proposed by Robert Moses back in the 1960s, it was meant to connect New York State without having to bolt through the city area.

McDonald's—Although redecorated, it's still there.  We move in during fall 1973,   see my first column …. (   ) when McDonald's no doubt only hit 1 million hamburgers served and iced tea was 27 cents.  Now, McDonald's has hit something like 99 billion hamburgers served. 

The Bakery -- Off South Oyster Bay Road.  All I can say is yum!

I lift my glass to toast to many more years here.  It's the people who make me stay -- family and friends.

See you at the skating rink.