Long Island Proud: We Love Our Island

It is like no other island. It is 118 miles long, with only a maximum width of 23 miles. It has the mighty Atlantic Ocean for a south shore and the Long Island Sound for its north shore with a fork on the East end that contains all of Gardiners Bay, the Peconic Bay , North Sea and a touch of Block Island Sound.

Its massive south shore contains the Great South Bay and let’s never not underestimate the miles all islanders spend traveling the LIE, the Southern State Parkway and the Northern State Parkway to go to work, to head home and to visit family and friends.

We also have perhaps long wait times at Department of Motor Vehicle offices, but they have to handle 7.58 million Long Island drivers, including Brooklyn and Queens.

We love this the island. For so many, we were born here, as were our parents, for others, we chose to live here as did our parents and now we raise our own children here all the time knowing we love living here because the energy is so unique, so original, so authentic, so real — so Long Island.

Seagulls fly over the whole island, as do osprey and now once again the American Bald Eagle. Foxes, deer, pheasants, Canadian geese as well as egrets, blue herons, owls and the world famous Long Island variety of ducks seem to be everywhere.

We have history as old as anywhere in the USA. We have families living on the same land for 400 plus years as well as folks in their first homes, apartments, and rentals. We are connected by time, history, proximity and so many intangibles it's hard to explain why we feel so at home, so content, so comfortable when surrounded by fellow Long Islanders.

There are our beloved grammar schools, high schools, community colleges, and universities. Not to forget our places of worship and our burial grounds. The single tread we know; we spend our days as Long Islanders — all Long Island proud. We have our favorite Long Island beaches, our favorite malls, our favorite pizzerias, diners, car washes, supermarkets.

We are a very large, uniquely connected community unlike perhaps anywhere else. We live close to New York City but are so not New York City. We are part of New York State but we identify as Long Islanders more than New Yorkers. We vacation in group more than anywhere in the USA with pilgrimages to Montauk, Fire Island, Shelter Island, and Greenport yearly. We ride ferries and we all know the whistle sound of the LIRR, along with at least one personal horror story of a bad day on our beloved Long Island Rail Road.

I have been blessed spending my last 15 years writing articles, posts, reports, contributions, and columns in both print and on the internet exclusively about Long Island. I have met so many wonderful diverse individuals. I have spent nights at billionaires' homes and Maureen Haven homeless shelters. I have been entertained by Long Island legends and by everyday Long Island people, all with that unique Long Island wit, laugh and love for all things Long Island.

You can take a Long Islander out and off of the island but you can never take the Long Island out of a Long Islander; it’s just so baked in. The big sky sunsets, sunrises, the worst storms and amazing full moon nights have branded us all Long Islanders for life and we are proud of that big time. Have a great 2018 Memorial Day weekend, a great summer and please, respect our home island by driving safely and always acting neighborly to all.

T.J. Clemente is a Patch columnist.

Photo courtesy T.J. Clemente.