Battle Stations

By the time this edition of The Star is in your hands, the South Fork will have undergone its annual transformation from slow-moving suburb by the beach to frenetic resort. As if from nowhere, the overnight population of East Hampton will jump from the low 20,000s to, by some estimates, 100,000. Roads and restaurants will fill up. The line for bagels will be long and tense. Inevitably, someone will overhear someone at the supermarket huff, “The locals should shop during the week.” Those of us who live here year round will turn to one another and say, “This is the worst I have ever seen it.”

So what is one to do when the hordes roll into town? Well, some of us hide, bidding friends goodbye until September. Others, who have no choice or are willing to brave the onslaught, venture forth into the maelstrom, wearing “Local!” T-shirts and expressions of grim determination as a sailor wears foul-weather gear.

Someone years ago thought he had the answer and had a large number of buttons made with an exhortation to all to be nice. If they made a difference that summer, we cannot say. The sentiment was commendable, though, and worth embracing. 

Folks from away, feeling the pressure of the clock ticking on their three precious days of holiday, will be on edge this weekend; those of us lucky enough to stick around after Monday will be counting the hours. But there is no reason we all can’t take it down a notch. An extra five minutes’ wait for a Villa Combo isn’t something to get worked up about. Setting aside the situation on our roadways — which can be genuinely dangerous — overcrowding and obnoxious attitudes never killed anyone. Be nice.