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February 19, 1998 - Soaring Thoughts While Flying SouthGA • The Suffolk Times February 19, 1998 Soaring Thoughts While Flying South As much as Florida has been bashed, remodeled and divided up into shopping malls, golf courses and housing units of all sorts, one can usually still look sky- ward and see vultures soaring above. They are the free ones not held to the earth like you and me. Theirs is a life �OCUs dependent only on wind, whether it be On the wind of the four quarters or the up- Nature lift from a hot and radiant earth. They by Paul are the thread that Stoutenburgh once was Florida. Usually we see one or two hanging on outstretched wings as they survey for an unfortunate that has fallen to some un- expected fate. Most of their daily meals are the result of road kills. Here, like so many places, car is king and what with the 65 mph road speed and, yes, 70 mph on some highways, animals crossing become an almost sure disaster. There are two basic species of vultures: the turkey vulture and the black vulture. Usually on Long Island we never think of these effortless soarers as visiting our neck of the woods, but if you look back into the records, sooner or later each year some will show up. Yet, if you travel as close as New Jersey or across the Sound to Connecticut, they can often be seen cir- cling above in their seemingly effortless flight. Nesting records of this almost eagle - sized bird are rare in New York State and when they do occur, they're found on the ground, inside a hollow log or maybe a dilapidated section of an old, isolated building. The nests are not at all like the tall bulky nests of our osprey. As a matter of fact, there's hardly any nest at all and what there is usually has been collected nearby. Leading Back Down South We left New York's MacArthur Airport in a driving rain and high winds. A rather unpleasant situation and one that was blamed on El. Nino. It was the kind of crosswind and rains I wouldn't have want- ed to fly in had it been a light plane; nev- ertheless, we put our faith in those who knew more about such things and boarded our 737 promptly at 7 a.m. We watched anxiously out of the windows as the rain pelted members of the ground crew with their magic wands directing the plane to the runway. Then, after what seemed an awfully long taxi, we were ready to take off. Engines roared, the plane started to move, everything rattled and shook, the plane tilted upward and we were air- borne. You could see nothing as we roared skyward. To say it was bumpy would be an understatement; visibility was only to the end of the wing tips as we made our way through the thick, rough, churning cloud cover out- side. Then, with our ears cracking, we popped out of the storm and mis- ery below into glo- rious sunshine. The plane settled down to a more normal reaction with only an occa- sional bump, just enough to verify the captain's an- nouncement that "all seat belts should remain on." Looking down through the crystal - clear air, we could see the ruffled gray clouds of the storm below as it raged along the eastern seaboard. It's remark- able how apprehension fades in the sun- shine. Soon books came out and we both fell into a world of someone else's mak- ing. It wasn't long before the peanut and soft drink cart rattled down the aisle with its pretty accompaniment. That had to mean we were halfway to our desti- nation. I pondered the question of flight versus car travel. Of course, it is so much easier and quicker to fly than the two- or three - day drive to Florida, but how about the pollution? Why is it I cannot stop thinking of such equations? If all the people in the plane drove his or her car and it took 21/2 to three days to get there, would the amount of gasoline and oil consumed be more or less than the fuel consumed by the plane we were flying in? But then, when the people flew down to their destination would they have a rental car waiting or would someone be there to meet them? At this point it got too confusing and besides, the clouded weather below was breaking up. I'd seen on the TV before we left that their hardtop covering. These were the homes of the real Floridians who were grinding out a living out of the prosperity around them: the garage men, the wait- resses, the shopkeepers, the plumbers, the carpenters, etc. We often see their cars at the shopping malls, a sharp contrast to the spit and polish of the retirees' Lincoln Continentals, Cadillacs, Chrysler LeBaron, Mercury Marquis, etc. And then there are the migrants and field workers who pick the tomatoes and other vegetables we see in our su- permarkets. They, like the laborers along the highways, are at the bottom, still struggling to make it up the lad- der. We don't like to admit it but we do live in a class soci- ety, each trying their best to make a success of it. My concern here is that so many spend so much time trying to get up the next rung of the ladder that they often miss or don't have time for the important things in life. Enough of this philosophy. Sure enough, 30 minutes later we were roaring down the runway of Fort Myers Southwest airport in brilliant sunshine. We travel light with nothing but luggage carried on, so when we landed we merely walked outside and got the shuttle to the long -term parking lot where we had left our camper weeks before. There it was — our home on wheels. Inside we opened the windows and sat down to enjoy a snack. Then, a bit apprehensive after its long stay, I turned the key on and the engine turned over normally, cranked a bit more than usual and started off per- fectly. We let it idle a bit longer than usual and then were off to once again take our turn at helping our family get through some difficult times. Suffolk Times photo by Paul Stoutenburgh BLACK VULTURES --It's hard to find the good side of more cars on the road, but for the scavengers like the vultures the road kills resulting from this excess have been a welcome addition to their diet. ■ _i9_ ■ _II, M —.N- Baca a Nuun "04WA 75 Years Ago Feb. 16, 1923 New Bill for Firemen: A bill has been introduced in the legislature to establish a state college or school where volunteer firemen may study firefighting methods. This mea- sure provides that each village or fire district may send two firemen to the school, their hotel and traveling expenses to be paid by the fire unit represented. The bill carries an initial appropriation of $5,000. New Man in Charge: Louis Gladding having sold out his interest in the firm of Gladding & Corwin, The Suffolk Times will hereafter be edited and published by Fred L. Corwin. 50 Years Ago Feb. 20, 1948 Invention Makes a Mess: On Tuesday morning a creative genius of this village [Greenport] decided to try out a new idea for mixing paint which he had just perfected. He called in some of his choice friends to witness the demon- stration and with his face beaming with pride, inserted a gal- lon of white paint in the drill press. The machine whirred and whirred and then, zing: that's all. Was the inventor's face red? No, it was white, and dripping, too. And his friends? Well, if you see red sweatshirts, leather jackets, striped overalls all done up with white paint, it isn't the storm had already moved up the coast and left Florida clear, therefore we must be nearing our destination. As we left the coast of Florida and headed across the state we could see how man had penetrated this once semitropical paradise. Ribbons of cement or blacktop checkerboarded the land below and homes could be seen clearly strung along the roadsides. Some in the more modern setting resembled stick - figure flowers with their cul -de -sacs blossoming into more homes. All had their sun - reflecting roofs. Five hundred homes, 1,500 homes, 5,000 homes — each with its retired cou- ple looking for the good life. Yet there were other streets more spread out, some partially surfaced, others still awaiting the "New Look," it's just the fact that they were innocent bystanders of an invention that was supposed to be the "find" of the year but which turned out to be the "unpleasant sur- prise of the week." 25 Years Ago Feb. 15, 1973 It's Final — `Skunk Lane': The Southold Town Board earned itself a fresh set of critics and admirers, accord- ing to the viewer, as it stubbornly insisted on its way or held firm to its convictions on its decision on Skunk Lane. Bay Avenue adherents insisted the minority ruled Tuesday when Supervisor Albert Martocchia confirmed the change of name from Bay Avenue to Skunk Lane in Cutchogue. The supervisor insisted this would not have been a minor- ity if the entire Cutchogue Fire Department had turned out for a meeting he had proposed between those in favor and those opposed to the new name. The pro -Bay Avenue people had resisted a meeting because they felt they said it was mat- ter to be determined by people who live on the road, not everybody in town. There will be no need to change deeds or other legal doc- uments, the supervisor said. Mail will still be delivered to Skunk Lane if it's addressed Bay Avenue and as far as street signs go, well, if the name is Skunk Lane ... "anyway, it's been a nightmare." `Streetcar' Auditions QUOGUE— Actors itching to play Stanley or Stella Kowalski are invited to audition for a Hampton Theatre Company production of the Tennessee Williams classic "A Streetcar Named Desire." Tryouts are set for 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, March 1, and 7 to 10 p.m. Monday, March 2, at the Quogue Village Theatre on Jessup Avenue. The part of Blanche Dubois has been cast, but a number of other parts are open. Rehearsals start in early April, with performances beginning May 16. The play is directed and produced by James Ewing and Sarah Hunnewell. Technical help also is needed backstage and in set construction. Call 726 -4656 for more information. Bridge Results Mattituck Bridge Club February 11 Results North-South. 1. Helga -Lino Quirko; 2. Kathy McLauchlen -Ed Kimnitzer; 3. Esther Russell - Estelle Futoma. East-West: 1. Jane Torrey -Ruth Benson; 2. Ed Lanning - Charles Michel; 3. Teena Christie -Kaye Lovell.