My Turn: Alhambra Beach a natural draw

Massapequa's Alhambra Beach was a favorite destination when we were kids. Early on, in the 1930s, it required a drop-off and pickup with Mama as our lifeguard-swimming teacher; or perhaps a bike ride down Park Boulevard, along Merrick Road, and south to "the beach."

As teenagers, we chipped in to rent a rowboat at Ziggies, and after work, my father would be waiting for us at Dick and Dora's (then a local one-room bar-small restaurant), talking with Dick.

Now, some 70 years later, Dick and Dora's is gone, but the Alhambra connection remains, which is why we were there at that little beach on Sunday afternoon, Jan. 29, at 3 p.m.

The performance had already begun onshore with at least 100 gulls quietly facing the sun. As we wondered why so many, the "others" slowly arrived in turn. From the south and west, flotillas of ducks swam into view, some coming onshore -- preening, quacking, prompting half of the gulls to sound off, step into the water, and bob their heads. Their combined calling sounded like excited anticipation, and it was contagious.

In good time, as far as we could see across the bay, an enormous dark line moved along the sky and was coming at us. There were separate groups of geese and ducks, flying in V formation and huge circular patterns, weaving in and out. They appeared as one mass at times, but stayed within their own flocks.

The beach was packed with ducks and seagulls. Onshore and in the water, they were rising, gathering, strutting, calling! Hundreds of them! The sight and sound of wings and voices was almost overwhelming! It was joyous, it was awesome, it was wonderful!

And then, just as they came, each group, in turn, left the scene. After an hour and 45 minutes, the western sky was turning pale orange. As we tried to fathom what we had seen, a few gulls were on the beach, and a single white swan crossed the bay in front of us.

--Lillian Rumfield Bryson, Massapequa Park

Recycling from children

Call me unique, call me weird. I am the ultimate recycler.

Most middle-age people like myself give their used appliances to their children. In our family, we do the opposite. We are the receivers of used appliances. When we owned a summer home, we never had a dryer, so when our son bought a new dryer for his home, he offered us his, which we gladly accepted. When our daughter bought a new microwave, we took her used one. Same thing with her apartment-size refrigerator: They bought a new one and we took the old one. All of these appliances are working fine and were newer than our old ones. We come from the school of "waste not, want not." I know that people in the old days did this with furniture.

Well, we are following suit with both furniture and appliances. In our new family room, we have our son's former media table. It looks perfect there and is functional. We recycle appliances and such, not because we cannot afford to buy new ones but because we are practical. When we substitute newer appliances, we donate the old ones to organizations that give them to people in need. We are just doing our share of recycling.

--Rosemary McKinley,Southold