Rant #2,668: Long Green

Yesterday, my family and I did something we hadn’t done in quite a while … that is, we went way out east on Long Island, to a quaint town called Greenport.
 
Greenport is on the north fork of the Island, and it is called “Long” for a reason.
 
Whether you go on north or south forks, the driving is seemingly endless.
 
From where we are at the end of Nassau County, it took us between an hour and a half and two hours to get there, and it is really one straight ride, from the end of the Long Island Expressway through Riverhead and the other tony towns leading up to Greenport.
 
We didn’t stay long there though.
 
My wife was looking for a brewery/restaurant that caught her eye as she was thinking about going on this outing on a day off she had from work, and although we did drive into Greenport, this place wasn’t actually in Greenport, even though it has “Greenport” as part of its name.
 
The place was in Peconic, which is two towns west of Greenport … so we got to Greenport, couldn’t find the place, starting walking around with the GPS in our phones, and found that it was seven miles west of where we were.
 
We hopped in the car, and drove there, so we spent most of the time not in Greenport, but in Peconic.
 
All the towns out there, at least to me, don’t look like they are part of Long island at all. They more resemble what I would call “New England” towns, which I only use as a description because I don’t know any other way to describe them.
 
House are not on top of each other, things are more spread out, there is plenty of grass and trees and room to breathe, but that is beginning to erode from the landscape, because I did notice increased building—more shopping malls—leading up to Greenport that I could remember from other treks there.
 
I guess that is what happens when people start to leave New York City—and I mean people with money—and start to live year-round way out there.
 
So we went to this brewery/restaurant, my wife tried a few different beers that they made right there, and we also ate lunch there.

 
My wife picked the one beer of the few that she really liked, and we took home a four-pack so she can enjoy it at home.
 
And then we decided not to go back into Greenport, and went home.
 
The whole thing, from when we left the house to when we arrived back home, took about five and a half hours, give or take a few minutes here and there.
 
It was a fun thing to do, just to do something different for a change, and I am sure that we will do it again now that things are opening up like they are.
 
Years ago, way before I met my wife, I had a chance to actually teach high school English way out there.
 
Greenport has one schoolhouse which holds all of its grades, or at least back then it did.
 
We passed by that schoolhouse today, and it is still there, but I don’t know if it houses all the grades anymore.
 
Anyway, it was between myself and another guy, also around my age at the time—mid 20s—but I had my master’s degree and he did not.
 
Guess who got the job?
 
My life would have been so different if I had gotten that job.
 
First of all, I would have had to relocate out there, at least for the school year, because it is just too far to drive each and every day.
 
And in all likelihood, I never would have met my wife, never had my son, and never had the experiences I have had for the past nearly three decades that I have had with the girl of my dreams, so I guess everything works out for a reason.
 
But I was thisclose to getting that job—they told me that they had to decide between me and the other guy because other than the master’s degree, we were pretty evenly matched—so I assume that the advanced degree was my downfall.
 
But looking back in hindsight, as I said, everything works out for a reason, and I guess I was not destined for that position, even though I was a bit upset when they told me they chose the other guy and that they would “keep my resume on file if another position came up,” which, of course, not only never happened, but I truly never believed would happen.
 
I know baloney when I smell it.
 
But at least I had the chance to teach there, and every time I pass that school, as I did yesterday, I think, “What if?” and then today, I glanced at my wife and son sitting in the car with me, and that question in my head pretty much evaporated into the ether.
 
You can’t go back nearly 40 years ago; you can in your head, but it isn’t worth it.

 
I would rather be where I actually am right now rather than where I could have been—or might have been--all those years ago. 

And tomorrow, I am going to be where I don't want to be early in the morning or at any time of the day, which is in a doctor's office, so this is going to be the final Rant of this week.

Nothing serious, just a eye checkup, which I absolutely hate to do, but which has to be done.

I will have to skip Friday's Rant. I am going out early, and I have to give my eyes a good rest in the morning before my examination.

So have a great weekend, and I will speak to you again on Monday.