The City By the Sea

I wasn't born or raised here in Long Beach, NY but I can definitely say I "grew up" here. Throughout my six years here, I've experienced highs in life that I never thought I'd come down from and I've experienced lows that I never thought I'd climb out of. For that reason, this town has beome a part of me, a part of who I am. Long Beach is me.

I started visiting Long Beach back in very early 2000. Before then, I had only been here a few times and I did not know too much about Long Beach. After a few short months I got attached to all the great things here and I packed up and moved here. It was definitely the beginning of a whole new period in my life.


I'm Never Really "Bored" at This Beach 

On any given day, just driving around this town brings back so many memories, some amazing, some horrible. Around each corner there is a memory waiting. It's funny because I had great events as well as bad events happen to me when I lived elsewhere, but I've connected and leaned on this town each time things got bad and I've shared my joy with it as well...something I've never really felt about any other place, even the town I was born and raised in, the town I spent the first 19 years of my life in.

I think about the boardwalk, that 2.2 mile stretch of boards that runs parallel to the beach and the ocean. I think about how many amazing races and personal runs I've had up there. I also think of the bad runs and the physical struggles I've experienced up there. I think about how many times I've gone there to just take in the beauty of the beach when I was happy, and how many times I went there to collect my thoughts and reach out to it to get me through my personal crisis and struggles. The boardwalk has always been the symbol of Long Beach for me. I've left so many of my thoughts, my joys, my pains, my struggles, my laughs, my inspirations on that 2.2 mile stretch. Each time I go up there, the "spirits" of people that have come in and out of my life appear. Joyce, Maureen, Alex, Kelly, Melissa, Doug, Allison, Laurie, Randa, and so many others, I feel all of you there each time I am up there, so many memories for such a short stretch of land.

I think about the joy of running out of a bar (Sutton Place) on a mild October night in 2003 screaming in the streets as Aaron Boone's home run sailed into the left field stands of Yankee Stadium eliminating the Red Sox from the playoffs. I also remember the pain of that brisk October night in 2004 as Johnny Damon's grand slam sailed into the right field stands at Yankee Stadium sealing the Yankee's fate and the sadness I felt taking down the Yankee banners I had hanging off my deck.

I recall the great memories with some of the great people I've dated while I have lived here, yet I still recall the pain from the ones who took my heart and ripped it out of my chest....taking a part of me away forever.

I think about leaving the job I held for 5 years, a job I started before my Long Beach days, the same job I had the first two years of my time in Long Beach. I think of my two years in "the forest" and the people I met there who have enriched my life in so many ways, and the people I am getting to know now at the "new" job. They are all a part of my journey, my adventure, my story here at the beach.

I recall the hot summer of 2005, and the cool and rainy summer of 2004. The drunken summer of 2003 and the sober summer of 2005. The early days when it took me an hour to run a full boardwalk (back and forth 4.4miles) and the days when I could run it in 30 minutes without breaking a sweat. I think of the people I've shared a home with in my six years here, some great, some a pain in my ass.

I think back and laugh at the 3 "CMACAPALOOZA" parties I've held while I've been here at the beach, not to mention so many other parties. Sure, the "CMACAPALOOZA's" have mellowed a bit with each year, but they are always a great event. "CMACAPALOOZA 4" will have to kick it old school this year and get things back to the days of CMACAPALOOZA 1, it's not a party without police showing up! From frozen chicken bowling, to oven mitt Michael Jackson, to the Humpty Dance on the roof, to round after round of beer pong, the memories of those crazy times always make me smile.

Long Beach, the city by the sea, really has been a tale of two cities for me. But, no matter what was happening in my life, this town has never let me down. It has been there for me in times of trouble and in times of happiness. We all have a day where we feel nobody is in our corner, when it's us against the world. I've never had a day like that here in Long Beach because I always knew this town was waiting with open arms to celebrate my triumphs with me and comfort me in my defeats. Since 2000, people have come in and out of my life, but the city by the sea has always been a constant. It does not judge me for my shortcomings, ask anything unrealistic of me, get pissed at me if I don't kiss its ass, or give me any drama. Clearly, there have been two parts to my life, the time in Long Beach and the time before. I've grown into who I am today while I've been here.

I suppose the "child" or the Charlie before I "grew up", is out and about somewhere here in town, roaming the boardwalk or the streets.....giggling and acting silly without a care in the world...naive and innocent.......the way things used to be. I have an idea as to what was going through the mind of the person who wrote this song......

UNDER THE BRIDGE (Red Hot Chili Peppers)