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Sixty-Something: A Man’s Home Is His Castle

T.J. Clemente by T.J. Clemente
September 8, 2020
in Community
Home Community

The seasons are about to yet turn again with Labor Day now behind us and the year 2020 entering its final few months. My reality check came this week when the nurse at my doctor’s office said my next appointment would be in three months on December 3! Unfortunately, the COVID-19 crisis is still unfolding.

I took a pause this morning feeling some sort of strong appreciation for my home. American Patriot, James Otis, once said, “A man’s home is his castle,” and as I age, I seem to understand that more. Going home, being home, leaving home are all powerful phrases, because there is a certain intangible to the saying there just isn’t any place like home.

In sixty-seven years of living, I have had 13 addresses I have called home – including three in the Hamptons. The range goes from a horse farm house in Groveton, Virginia to an overpriced luxury New Jersey condo on the Hudson River, to a historical apartment in Georgetown, D.C. Yes, I moved around. Yet, within the list are two Pelham Manor, N.Y. homes where I actually spent half of my life growing up and watching my own children grow up. There also is New York City Upper East Side post-divorce address that gave me my material for my first novel, Whistling Past the Hottie Graveyard.

Now I am living in our, I say our because it’s with my wife Cindi, who I live with, modest but oh so cozy East Patchogue home. We have trees we have planted yielding apples, rose bushes now blossoming, and huge sunflowers that are reseeding themselves yearly. The Montauk Daisies are about to pop soon. This is the home that is my castle. It has artifacts from every home I have lived in. From the oil paintings that hung in my parents’ home, to a very wonderful rocking chair from the home I raised my kids, and lots of other stuff from every other residence.

This last year this house has been our fortress in staying safe from the Coronavirus. My wife and I have spent more summer Saturday nights watching Hallmark Movies in our basement media center than all the other years combined. We missed going to the Bay Street Theater, along with the others in Mattituck, East Hampton, Southampton, and Quogue. Not seeing those towns enjoying their local live theater has been sad. Not seeing our theater friends has been tough, with one or two passing on.

Years back, my wife and I were sharing a cocktail with then East Hampton Town Police Chief Eddie Ecker Jr. and his wife at a Montauk establishment. I first met Eddie while doing a piece on his mom being the Grand Marshal for the Friends of Erin St. Patrick’s Day Parade. He asked me what else do I do besides write. I said I only write and he then said, “Nobody makes enough money to live on the East End by only writing.” Yet, there I was renting a room with my dog in Montauk right off the ocean. Some people called that place The Montauk Shore Condominiums, but quite frankly it’s a well-located trailer park. In the summer the trailers became toaster ovens and, in the winter, ice boxes, but it never bothered me – as week after week I covered stories, met people, and watched Montauk change into what it is now.

It was while living there I met Cindi. When my landlord sold off the trailer, Cindi invited me and my beagle to live with her temporarily in her apartment up-island, in Patchogue, until I found a new place to live. Then a neighbor reported a dog was staying in the apartment and she was ordered to get rid of the dog. At this time, we were not married yet. Cindi fought the order to remove the dog and won, but also located and then purchased the home we have spent the last ten years in. This home has a lot of love in it. This home has become my final castle.

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T.J. Clemente

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INTERVIEW: VSOP Projects Owner Jonathan Weiskopf On A Special Montauk Exhibition Highlighting The Works Of Courtenay Pollock, Longtime The Grateful Dead Tie-Dye Artist

INTERVIEW: VSOP Projects Owner Jonathan Weiskopf On A Special Montauk Exhibition Highlighting The Works Of Courtenay Pollock, Longtime The Grateful Dead Tie-Dye Artist

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  • Review: “Ragtime,” Might be the Best Musical Ever at Bay Street Theater!

Bay Street Theater’s powerful production of the musical “Ragtime” mesmerized the audience and at the end had them on their feet applauding wildly. “Ragtime” is a must see. There are so many individual roof raising performances, yet the show is so much more than the sum of these amazing exhibitions of top level singing, dancing and physical acting. The drama is spellbinding. “Ragtime,” is running at the Bay Street Theater until August 28th, Visit www.baystreet.org for all information about show times and ticket purchases. @baystreettheater

Read the full article at Hamptons.com (Link in Bio) #hamptons #theater #baystreet
  • Sixty-Something: The Fleeting Whirlwind and Frantic Days of August

It’s almost mid-August and I feel elated. Then I also feel that summer is now quickly coming to an end. Eventually in August one does start counting the days to Labor Day. Over the six decades of my lifetime many amazing things have happened in August. Some out in the Hamptons. When I say August, I always just smile.

Read the full article at Hamptons.com (Link in Bio) #hamptons #august #summer
  • Premium Water Taxi Service Le Launch, Private Passage by Sea

Elevate your next dinner out with Le Launch, a private and luxurious water taxi service in Sag Harbor. Who needs the valet when you cruise up in style to your waterside restaurant? Skip the traffic and enjoy the serenity and scenery of the Hamptons via private water taxi. @lelaunchhamptons

Read the full article at Hamptons.com (Link in Bio) #watertaxi #hamptons #lelaunch
  • Figures Transformed, Three Generations of Artists at Southampton Arts Center

Southampton Arts Center presents, FIGURES TRANSFORMED, an exhibition of work focused on the representation of human form (i.e., figures). Featuring art from three artists across generations each of whose art incorporates the figure as central imagery. This thought-provoking exhibit is approachable for frequent gallery attendees and casual viewers alike—everybody has a body! @southamptonartscenter  @deborahbuck

Read the full article at Hamptons.com (Link in Bio) #southampton #southamptonartscenter #arts #figurestransformed #exhibition
  • Dom Pérignon Offers Three-Star Michelin Omakase Aboard Luxury Yacht in the Hamptons

This August, celebrate the last moments of summer with a one-of-a-kind gastronomic experience aboard a Dom Pérignon-branded yacht on the waters of Sag Harbor and Montauk.

For the first time ever, guests are invited to reserve private Dom Pérignon cruises on an 88’ San Lorenzo superyacht while enjoying a sushi omakase concepted by renowned 3-star Michelin chef Masa Takayama. His omakase experience has never been offered to book on a yacht… until now. Chef Masa crafted a unique menu designed to pair perfectly with recent Dom Pérignon vintages: Vintage 2012, Rosé 2008 and Vintage 2003 Plénitude 2. @domperignonofficial  @chefmasanyc

Read the full article at Hamptons.com (Link in Bio) #hamptons #DomPérignon #yacht #cruise #sushi #masatakayama
  • Join Arootah in the Hamptons! @arootahcoach @imentororg 

The Hamptons Summer Fête
Wednesday, Aug. 17 
from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. 

Save Your Spot 
Share a drink and hors d’oeuvres, enjoy live music, and bid on items. 

Join for their fundraiser event to support iMentor youth. 

RSVP in our LinkTree⬆️
#fundraiser #imentor #imentornyc #Hamptons #mentor
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