| Issue #28, October 6, 2006 |
The North Fork On Television Has Soul
Brent Sterling Captures The North Fork And Turns It Into A Television Show
By Phyllis Lombardi
Hey, did you see me on television? Channel 21, a few nights ago. Well, not me, really, but where I live and what they think I’m all about. The half-hour show titled “The Souls of New York: North Fork” presented both our delicate finger of land and the hardy souls who live and work here.
Except that creator/producer Brent Sterling Nemetz never stopped at my house to photograph my morning glories or interview me about my soul. Now I know my morning glories are very special. About my soul? Judgment rests elsewhere.
As for the television show, I’ll tell you that a review of it said, “Quiet denizens of the North Fork.” Right there I have a problem. That word “denizens.” Kinda creepy, don’t you think? Like that monster Grendel we read about long ago. And “quiet?” Well, I’m not quiet (ask my husband) and my neighbors certainly aren’t (ask me).
So with those two little irritants out of the way, we can proceed to the good stuff. And that good stuff flows from two somewhat contradictory words – motion and serenity. For the work done on the North Fork may be time consuming, demanding, difficult, sometimes dangerous. But the North Fork worker is able to achieve a serenity that seems to come with field and farm, water and wind.
Meet Jim King, Mattituck lobsterman. I like this guy. Even after years out on Long Island Sound, years that have seen a shrinking lobster harvest, Jim maintains his sense of humor. He says he gets a kick out of pulling up the lobster trap. “You never know what’s going to be in it,” he says. Then he adds that Long Island lobsters are often shipped north and sold as Maine lobsters.
Back on shore, Nemetz takes us to the Crescent Duck Farm in Aquebogue. The Corwin family welcomes the hatching of 20,000 baby ducks a week. A week! I had to phone the place to verify that. You see that many little fuzzies running around and you’ve got motion, I’d say. The ducklings seemed so small, especially when photographed alongside Doug Corwin’s feet. Maybe Doug has really big feet. That’s a question I didn’t ask on the phone. What makes Doug smile serenely? When the ducks are “healthy, happy, and quacking at you.”
From thousands of little quackers, we move on to 60 really big residents of the North Fork. They’re the American Plains bison (buffalo) raised by Ed Tuccio on his North Quarter Farm in Riverhead. These buffs are strong, says Ed, and fast. They jump fences, too. Ed’s put up two fences around his acreage – just to be sure. The buffalo meat is served in Ed’s Riverhead eatery, Tweeds Restaurant and Buffalo Bar.
Also consumed on the North Fork are Martin and Carol Sidor’s North Fork Potato Chips. Cutchogue farmers, the Sidors began their delicious new chip venture a couple of years ago. Watch those machines peel and slice those North Fork potatoes. More in minutes than my knife and I could accomplish in a month! Carol’s quite convincing – just the way she said “thicker, crispier” made me want to reach for a chip. And when she said, “We produce what we’re proud of,” I wanted to shake her hand.
I’d like to shake hands with members of the Baiz family, too. They’re in motion all calendar long. Their Old Field Vineyard in Southold requires winter pruning, the vines must be netted over (pesky birds) in August, and on and on.
Nature is, said Rosamond Phelps Baiz “a constant challenge.” Always there are the variables. But the grape, singly or in clusters, is a sphere of beauty, a source of satisfaction.
Come indoors now. Meet Greenport’s David Nyce who produces custom furniture. There’s motion aplenty in this man’s life – from large cuts to hand-sanding. David finds serenity even in his creative excitement. Trees are like people, he says, each with unique beauty. His job is to offer that beauty in his work. Of hand-sanding, he says, “You sand your fingerprints off.” I’ll add that Dave’s print appears to go into each piece he creates.
Thank you, Mr. Nemetz, for this TV look at our North Fork. It’s quite possible you’ve given away the secret, the secret of our North Fork serenity. To put our best selves in motion.
 |
