Eastport Community Notes, February 27

This year for the first time in many, many years I will be able to spend my birthday with my dad so, this year, I will celebrate him—not me—on my birthday because, if it wasn’t for him, I would not be here.My dad is 88 years old and lives in Florida in a condo complex north of West Palm Beach. He is legally blind and has trouble hearing, but he still plays a mean game of chess, travels north each summer for our annual family picnic and follows the stock market daily. He emails using super-huge fonts and loves a good political discussion. He does chair yoga at the local YMCA a few times a week and makes a smoothie for breakfast every day.

His first question to me when he calls to say hi is: “Are you in debt?” When I tell him I’m not he will still send me a sneaky check anyway and say, “This is for firewood for next year,” or “Put this in the boys’ college funds.” I know what he’s up to!

My dad takes two naps a day now but is always up in time for happy hour on the porch followed by leftovers from lunch for a light early dinner. His TV screen is way bigger than mine and he’s really good with the remote! He’s mastered the iPod but is not a fan of cellphones.

These days he stays out of the sun but, back in the day, you would always find him outside on a fishing boat or surf casting on the beach. He is still active, but in a different way.

Now I know first-hand how difficult it is to be a parent, let alone a good one. But as my oldest son said to me not so long ago when I complimented him on how a caring and thoughtful young man he has become: “Mom, I learned from the best.” As did I.

The Eastport South Manor Community for the Arts (ESMCA) will host its fourth annual golf outing on September 29 at the Rock Hill Country Club in Manorville and committees are now being formed to begin planning this event. Volunteers are needed for all aspects of this fundraiser, from selling raffle tickets for the golf ball drop to helping plan the dinner.

Please contact Barbara Stanco at info@esmca.org if you would like to help out in any way, and make sure to send her your name, phone number and email address.

The Moriches Community Center will host a Dodgeball Festival on Saturday, March 1, beginning at 8 a.m., at the Clayton Huey School on Montauk Highway in Center Moriches. The event is open to players of all ages. For more information, visit www.morichescommunitycenter.org.

Wishing my two friends, Lisa Wells and Sharon Adams, very happy birthdays today, Thursday, February 27. Lisa is a kindergarten teacher at the Eastport Elementary School and Sharon is a retired first grade teacher who lives in Eastport.

And my friend Donna Gravitt of Missouri, a former Manorville resident who lived here for years, celebrated her birthday on Monday, February 24. Happy birthday, ladies.