Ronaldino y Ronaldino Beering and Steering the Carmens River

Ronaldino y Ronaldino come down the Carmens River, cross The Great South Bay, paddle west to Old Inlet, set up camp in Fire Island for the night, early paddle around the Mastic peninsula and then up the Forge River. 25 miles of waterways and 2 days of muscle usage.

The Habitat vs. Shirley Pool Party

The ladies of The Habitat in Greenpoint Brooklyn came out to Mastic to fill the bellies with a Low Country Boil over at Carlos' pool.
Clams, corn, potatoes, shrimp, mussels and all sorts of other pieces afloat in a delicious broth. Boiled in a huge vat. Margarita machine included. Them ladies know how to do.

The Mastics is diversity.

I love this place because of its diversity. While we were enjoying a Pool Party the neighbors were doing a traditional African Wedding. The dresses were beautiful.

Keep me happy among the reeds and sand.

Image: Spooner Central

We're a peninsula. We are three towns mashed between two rivers and a bay to the south and further beyond we are a barrier beach with ocean slamming against that. The word Mastic scares some, disgusts others and puts question marks in place of lips among the rest. People of Shirley claim its nicer there, people of Mastic Beach are becoming a village, and well Mastic has just a great name. The letters work well together. Graphically, it works. Shirley, as a name I don't dig it, it reminds me of a nasty women wearing a 50's 1 piece bathing suit, some red sunglasses and fatty deposits where they don't belong. She has a huge rack but it's torpedo shaped. But I say Mastic/Shirley as it encompasses the tri-hamlet. Hamlet sounds quaint. The train station is named thee. People are using Smith Point now but yet rocking the same zip code 11967. Mastic has it's section Mastic Park, others claim Manor Park and when you go to the reaches north they rid themselves Mastic/Shirley all together and try to claim East Yaphank. We all come together and share the same shoreline. Smith Point is so uniquely Mastic/Mastic Beach/Shirley/Mastic Park/Manor Park, but East Yaphank you can have the middle of the island if you want it.

Sunday fog on the beach

By the house it was clear but as you passed over the Smith Point Bridge the air became heavier and shrouded in fine liquid pellets carried among the intense heat.

A close to another weekend.

It was another great one. A sizeable swell graced a morning sesh with Toddy and Thad. Fun stuff.

July 11th and 12th

Surfed a bit. Met up with Toddy of ENDLESS BUMMER for a messy morning sesh. Did a lot of house chilling. A few friends from the city rented rooms, Scrabbled late night. A surfcaster threw in right where everyone was surfing of course. Sunday evening surfed in skins. Perfect.

That there clock...I bought in Sarajevo, its from a bombed out home from The Balkan War.

A friends dope surf mobile.

When I see this I get giddy. I need something of this sort. I've also been thinking of getting a moped with surf racks.

...and she burns...

Here is the aftermath of tiki-torch fluid to the crotch area and being packed with a load of firecrackers.

The campfire

Photo Jay Rooney


I love sitting by this bitch. Every Saturday night it be ripping with faces from all over the world sitting at its side.

Forge River and Smith Point at Sunrise

Friday before the crowd from the city arrived I had a day of quiet in Mastic. Went down to the river with some coffee to see the tranquility. Hopped in car to hit a dawny session at 6am down at Smith Point. Was some amazing lighting show going down. They even brought the smoke machines.

The Fourth in Mastic

I've done it all for the Fourth. When skateboarding succumbed most of my time, I always went to Philli, skated, drank alot and watched the firework show at the Art Museum. I did the Brooklyn rooftop party, I went to Summerstage to see Sonic Youth and was a peice of the family party population on numerous occassions. No celebration matches the excitement and rawness the holiday takes on in the streets of Mastic. Theres a lawlessness that most other places has lost. Smoke sheathes the streets and it seems like everyone has recieved "THE LIST". I grew up with THE LIST as a staple piece of 4th ettiquette. In the weeks leading to that special celebration, a photocopied-a-million-times sheet shows up in your mailbox. On it lyes some of the finest firework names. You circle and than get THE LIST back to your source. The explosives show up. Mastic turns to a complete warzone during the Fourth. I watched from Fire Island, looking back at the mainland where Mastic/Shirley juts out into The Great South bay and watched the greatest firework show ever. It was a poormans paradise in flames and sporatic performance as far as the eye can see. Mastic knows how to do The Fourth of July. Be careful out there.

Lets burn some shit.

Hope I stumble upon something like this again.

Last year I stopped over a friends house where I caught word down at the beach that there was going to be a pigroast. A few of us went and devoured pig parts. I found this on the information super highway, a photo of the pig post-pieces.

Check out Grocery Guys blog for some good stomach pleasing reads.

Scott Pasfeild got the greatest image ever taken in Mastic Beach

LOOK AT THIS!




Check out Scott Pasfeilds BLOG

He took an amazing series of photos of the rainbow that graced the waterways of the Tri-Hamlet last Friday.

Mastic during a real summer weekend

So I finally experienced a real summer feeling weekend. Surf Smitty's 5:30 am on Saturday. Little mushy but fun none the less. Beached a bit. There was a rainbow Friday and the entire sky turned pink turning the rainbow pink.

Sighted in North Shirley

Three generations working together. Mother and grandmother stand atop the deck of a house in bad disrepair, lawn unclipped, terrible vinyl siding dangling. Both women are enlarged in modern obesity standards falling on the wrong side of the determining weight. They stand cross-armed staring down on their also chubbed-out teen aged daughter who is running on a 1980's issued treadmill.

At least the daughter has two to look up to. Keep running.

Overheard in Mastic Part 3

I started out early this morning. Got to Mastic/Shirley train station 10 minutes till departure, 7:47am train to Penn. Get dropped off in front of the ticket machines just adjacent to the shuttered Station House that hasn't had open doors in decades. A 30-something-year-old-man was posted on his Huffy BMX bike just in front of the ticket machines. We squeezed between the dude and the machine to make a ticket purchase.

Dude on bike " Yo I am inna situation right now, can I get 5 dollars to buy wipes for my baby?"

So I respond, "No, I need the money to buy a ticket."

Dude kicks back, "How bout a dolla den?"

I just giggle as another woman approaches to buy a ticket from the next machine.

Dude kicks it to her, " Yo, you single?"

Whats the baby momma gonna think?

My first day in the water and the first drive on the outerbeach of the season.

FINALLY. Got in the water with Em, my friend who spends mucho time at the Mastic Compound. The water was 44 degrees. My fingers died even inside my gloves.

Mr. Mastastico hypnotizes his cock!

This boy works wonders with his pendulum.

Crusty Crust or something Crusty, Mastic Beach

So I did it. I was wandering through the Neighborhood road area by way of rotating tires and finally threw the mobile into park in front of Crusty Crust. I have eyed this spot for the last two months they have been operating. Its the first promising hope that just maybe something can happen along that beaten-up downtown corridor. I went in to get me'self a pannini. Now it wasn't quite the pannini I had in mind, there was no pressing of the sandwich going on, but the heated up morsel that they did hand over to me for the money exchange, was tasty. I got Tomato and Mozzarella. The interior was done with visuals in mind. It looks a million times better than the discount furniture store that anchors the east end of Neighborhood Road that has had a grand opening for 8 months now. Crust Crust has a great selection of breads and their desserts look satisfying. I will come back, and I will be happy to spend my money there. Next up...we need a little cafe there with some outdoor seating. I can dream.

412 Neighborhood Rd
Mastic Beach, NY 11951
631-729-6800