I was so sorry to read that the Great Gatsby House in Sands Point, Long Island, is going to be torn down. You see, I know that house well. I grew up in the Village of Sands Point, a child of the 40s and 50s there. At that time, Sands Point was dotted with enormous older mansions, some of which were even then closed , due to the cost of heating and the spiraling rise of real estate values.
As kids, we used to rise our bikes down the many bridle paths that crisscrossed the woods behind the mansions. We would find an unlocked window, climb in and play Hide and Go Seek. We would post one child to latch out for police cars. If he spotted any, his job was to shout, "Cheese it, the cops!" We would dash to our bikes and pedal swiftly down the bridle paths into the woods, where a police car couldn't follow I didn't care that if the police had caught up with us, my father – who was both the Mayor of Sands Point and as a result also the Police Chief – would certainly have been notified, and all hell would have broken loose at home. We had such fun, it was worth the risk! In fact, we were respectful of the Gatsby mansion and the other mansions we played Hide and Go Seek in. No trash and no damage. Only memories.
I can't imagine today that children would be given the hours of unrestricted freedom that we enjoyed and considered to be our right as kids. It is a great shame that all these links to a storied past are being destroyed.. (Too bad Jackie Kennedy isn't with us today to lead a push to save them. For the most part, the old mansions remain only in the memories of people my age and older, and we are getting fewer, of course. Soon there will be no physical signs that these glorious buildings ever existed and that glamorous parties once took place there.) Only the book will remain, unfortunately
That long-gone life is so different from the life I have lived for many years in DC that it seems entirely alien. Tonight, my son-in-law, an architect in the US Navy, has been ordered to return to Cairo to restart work to expand a US Navy-supported research hospital on tropical diseases. He will leave behind my 5-month old granddaughter and his wife, my daughter Alisoun. Now that's today's reality!
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As long as we keep talking about beautiful places and memories such as this and pass them down from generation to generation, we must believe that by doing just that, we will keep them alive - there is no story like the ones our relatives pass down - for in those stories, we see ourselves, because we are all one, really... to picture you on your bike with your friends, I can hear the shreek of happy voices zipping around and for a moment, I am riding with you, climbing in the window, crunching down so no one can see, of course with bikes exposed for OTHERS to see, frolicking up and down the long swirling staircase pretending to be adults in our own home...I bet those police that drove by, probably spotted your bikes but noticed yours and said "ah, leave them alone, we were young once too, and I sure don't want to mess with with that cute red head, she's a fiesty one"!!! So, we'll keep the stories going and the memories alive as will the next generation and so on and so forth, as long as we remind each other the importance of being connected, being family, being human - the book will only remain as a memory to those who chose not to listen to the hearts and voices of those who dared to venture and share their stories - thank you for sharing yours! Namaste. You loving neice Suse xoxo
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