Once in a blue moon, this can happen

These days, when I drive past the old Grumman buildings in Bethpage, I smile and give an appreciative nod. Living in Plainedge, I often travel on Route 107 (which begins as Hicksville Road in Massapequa). It is a direct route to Hicksville’s Long Island Rail Road station. In the past, when I drove by the old Grumman buildings and smokestacks that protrude upward like painted dinosaur bones, I never glanced over. They held no interest. That all changed last summer.

Through the miracle of DNA testing, at age 73, I had found an 82-year-old half-sister two years ago. My newly discovered relative, Rebecca Dutil, 84, and I share the same father. Last spring, my grandson, Nick Tomanelli, and I drove to Burlington, Vermont, to meet Rebecca, and in August, she  flew to Long Island for a more extended visit. She had never been here before.

She was introduced to my husband, Mike, and my daughter Cynthia and her family. We then drove to Ridge to visit my other daughter, Rachelle, and her family.

 I asked my sister what sites she wanted to see.  She said she wanted to visit the Hamptons.

The Hamptons are never disappointing, and they didn’t let me down this time, either. We shopped, sat by the beach and people-watched. Nick, 23, scanned the Ferraris and Lamborghinis that cruised by. We then drove to the Montauk Lighthouse. Rebecca marveled at the idea of walking along the edge of the United States. Our last stop was to a restaurant, Harvest on Fort Pond. Rebecca, a Vermont native, could not believe the long wait for a table. But it was well worth it, especially after she tasted the fried calamari salad.

My sister and I spent the next few days visiting my friends and chronicling our lives.

On the last full day of her visit, I asked, “Is there anything else you would like to see before you head back to Vermont?”

Rebecca said, “I would like to visit some historical sites, but -- please -- let’s stay local. I’ve run out of energy.” Nearby historical sites? Really? Plainedge is not exactly a stop on the Culper Spy Ring tour, and I doubt Gen. George Washington ever slept in Levittown.  Usually when out-of-towners visit, they want to see the “Amityville Horror” house. Historical? I thought we could do better.

But I was out of ideas and felt defeated. We settled for dinner at Applebee’s in Hicksville.

When I was returning to my car, I looked up and froze. I was facing Grumman, and the moon was in the frame. Grumman! The company built the Apollo 11 lunar module that landed on the moon! In all, Grumman designed and built six Apollo lunar modules that landed on the moon. And each module, which brought the astronauts back to the command module before being released, had a plaque that read: “Made in Bethpage, New York.”

I realized that I live walking distance from a complex that changed world history.

That night, I told Rebecca the story of Grumman. She was impressed, and I was filled with pride. At midnight, we stepped outside and stared up at the moon. A moon that would be forever linked to Long Island.

Sometimes, I whimsically imagine that aliens might have read a plaque and became curious. Have they traveled to Bethpage? Maybe one day, one of their spaceships will land in the neighborhood play area now known as Apollo Field.

Reader Rose Warren lives in Plainedge.