Kismet Kapers

By Bradlee WhiteHow come August flies by? May creeps along, with rain every other day and June slowly warms up. July is hot and best at the beach. Though we have had multiple distracting entertainments, a Flea Market, a sand castle contest, a Bloody Mary contest, a Fourth of July celebration that was tops, a huge and exciting Festival by the Bay, Yoga and Pilates, Sunday night movies … now its August, Comedy Night is over, and August is flying by. It’s two weeks until Labor Day.After so much excitement, it felt good to have a few weeks with nothing to do but go to the beach and entertain visiting friends and relatives. Not so much news, for a community columnist. I found myself going to the Saltaire Fair on Aug. 3, looking for Kismetians. It was a scorching day, and although I heard Kismetians were there, they must have come and gone by 11:15 a.m. I did run into Christine Helbig and Ken Zaback and RoseAnn Harris and her family. The multi-talented Ken plays sax with the New Hipsters band that was providing music on the Saltaire Market deck. RoseAnn was with her brother, Sam, and “other” daughter, Eloise O’Bryan, and her husband, John. It was so hot that I lost my mind and bought a “dress.” It was short and thin, suited for the hot weather that ended before I could wear it.Ending our spell of relative quietude was the Fabulous Comedy night on Aug. 9. It was a great production with Ana from Saltaire and Mallory Wood introducing Sam, who was a bit late (professional problem), performers Joe Starr, Chris Roach and neighbor and Saltaire firefighter, Willie Zabar. The audience was roaring at the jokes by the performers and by Sam. Many thanks to the KFD Auxiliary and especially Kerry Cannava Turner, Myrna Ussach, Wendy Schou, Dana DeRuvo Hanner, and Patty Lyon at the door, Jeff Schou and Joe McKeehan at the bar, and two lovely volunteers selling raffles for the Scratch Off tree. Advertisements credited it as a Joe McKeehan production and he was cited as the originator of the night, now in its third or fourth year.I saw on Facebook that I missed a great exhibit of Cuban Art at Jake’s in July. I hear he will be having a wine tasting today, three hours after my deadline, so more on that in the next and last issue on Aug. 30.It was great to see Peggy Ulma back and living at their condo at the Bulkhead. She is already saving donations for the 2020 Flea Market. Riding the courtesy car (another story), I overheard Jack Baker say, “She is walking all over town, checking out all the changes as well as those things and people that have stayed the same.” Many will remember Peggy and her husband, Walter, dancing to the Thursday night band (Village Stompers) at the Inn. Now, Thursday night is often for Tim Mooney and his band: Reviews say they are great. Another multi-talented Kismetian.Speaking of Jack Baker, I met the great-grandchildren of the other, late Jack and Marge Baker at the Festival. McCormack, 3, and Christian, 1, were visiting grandparents, Mary-Catherine and Ross, who were over on their boat.Yes, we have kittens (at least as of Aug. 11.) Three feral – now very tame – kittens were rescued in Fair Harbor and ended up at my house. One was adopted a week ago. At about 8 weeks, the other two are going for their first checkup and shots this week. They are definitely ready for adoption and may be separated. Call 631-583-9215.Upcoming events include a special Kismet League for Animal Welfare (KLAW) sale Labor Day Saturday, with professionally designed jewelry, assorted fashionable cover-ups, and other items including several gift certificates to nice restaurants, and other goodies. The sale will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., probably, with Sam’s permission, his driveway location where we are usually found.The Kismet Historical Society Fundraiser is scheduled for Oct. 6. More information will be available in the next issue. Mark your calendars.Meanwhile, make sure you take your pets home with you (they so easily slip away in the midst of packing), and homeowners, if you are planning to put down rat poison, make sure it is packaged according to EPA standards so that pets and other wildlife are safe.