Published: August 24, 2007 06:02 pm            

THE ISLE FILE: Ending the summer - Grand Island style

Some signs that the end is near for Grand Island’s summer:

• The pool temperature has fallen so far that it almost matches our age.

• School busses are running empty as drivers dry-run their routes.

• You’re filling the birdbath less often and beginning to wonder where the feeder is.

• Lawn and patio furniture are half-price at Tops and Eckerd (OK, Rite-Aid, we’ll be a long time getting used to that one).

• Many nights at 6 o’clock, you can actually get across the northbound South Bridge with less than a five-minute wait.

• At the same hour, outbound traffic from Beaver Island is down to a trickle.

• Halloween stuff is creeping into the stores.

• Cal Kern is talking more about punting than bunting.

And a last-minute checklist of things to do before it’s gone:

• Make a last pilgrimage to the Island Hot Dog stand where Ferry meets the East River. Even if you’re allergic to seafood, buy a clam broth for a friend. When last Isle File heard, the shutters were to go up after Labor Day.

• Circumnavigate the Island in something slow-moving. Hope you’re at the northeast corner as a boat passes and a train goes by on the other shore.

• Buy 13 ears of corn at Sue’s Stand in front of the VFW, pay for 12 and know in your heart that Sue Glogowski is looking the other way. (For the record, the stand will remain open through September.)

• Drive some out-of-town company past Billy Fuccillo’s.

• Take a youngster to the golf layout behind the Nike Base Senior Center and relive the days before greens were invented.

• If you can arrange a day off, try to make plans to catch a play in September at Niagara-on-the-Lake. International bridge traffic drops off to minimal after Labor Day, matinees abound and there are still performances of the hour-long, bargain priced comedies at 11:30 a.m.

• Take a kid, any kid, for one last after-supper whirl at Fantasy Island. The fun doesn’t stop after Labor Day, but it’s weekends only.

• Drive very slowly up Stony Point from Whitehaven, look to the right, and see if you can spot Grand Island’s only covered bridge. Both Isle Filers are certified bridgers, but it took us 40 years to find it.

• Stand in line at Adrian’s. Why should Anderson’s get all the breaks?

• Go to church, try to forget all the things that went wrong and give thanks for a wonderful season.

• Repeat after us: Wait ‘til next year.

Isle File idea? Write Box 1186, Grand Island, NY 14072 or e-mail pollyndoug@hotmail.com

        

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