To ease the pain of saying goodbye to the last warmer days of summer, this Labor Day weekend the grills were fired and the sails went up at the Meadow Lake once again. The nearby Billie Jean King National Tennis Center hosting the US Open is packed at this time, with Clijsters and Federer among the favorites. One can almost hear the crowd at the Arthur Ashe Stadium but with the prohibitive cost of tickets I'd rather be at the boathouse and watch a show for free.Sailing is like a love affair for my dear friends who are crazed about the sport. Given their competetive nature, this may be their last chance to show off their nautical skills and beat the heck out of Herman or Sandy, the yeller. I watched from the deck sitting on a moist Adirondack chair and what a show it was. The course was outlined, the horn sounded and the red flag went up. But hey, where is everyone going? Where are they steering towards? No amount of waving could get them started at the right course, Herman was screaming on top of his lungs and ended up on a chase boat directing the sailors to the red or blue buoy. The scene came close to a bunch of babies on walkers rolling in all sorts of directions. Are they color blind or was it the wind or lack thereof to blame? It was hilarious but it didn't matter, the race was just for fun or so I thought. Who cares, everyone had a good time.
I ended up helping out fix lunch and watching Sandy pack boxes and boxes of TASCA belongings to get ready for the move. The boathouse which TASCA shares with the Hong Kong Dragon Racers was originally built for the 1939 World's Fair. It houses TASCA's small fleet of 14-foot sailboats. The brick building, one of two surviving structures of the 1939 fair, is set for major renovations, a much needed makeover since it is old and in disrepair. The building may reopen after two years.
So for now, goodbye to the wood-burning stove, the rickety dock, the murky lake , the squirrels and the cats. Goodbye to the "valley of the ashes".
