Bitten

If you didn’t have power on Sunday because of Tropical Storm Irene — like most people in the Town of Southampton Sunday — you can relax, play games, read by candlelight.

But if you don’t have power on Monday and you’re supposed to report back to work — like many people in the Town of Southampton Monday — you flee to Starbucks.

“This is my only contact with the real world,” said Euan Rellie, an investment banker who works in Manhattan…

Haven’t posted a story in a while. This one was fun, I was literally sitting in the story.

An Oxford Dictionary sat on a large wooden table in the East Hampton Library.

Behind it, Erica Farber, a children’s author who assists with library programming, sat with her back straight, glasses perched on her nose, and eyes surveying the roughly 20 adults about to compete in a spelling bee.

As she explained the rules, she was calm but stern - two traits she would call on throughout the night when patrons questioned her word selection, her hearing and her ruling.

Participants would stand to hear their word. They would spell it - getting one chance only - and if they were correct, they sat down. If they were wrong, Farber would ring the bell and the shamed would move to the back of the room.

“Then you can have a snack,” she said.

After the library saw success with spelling bees for children, it hosted the first adult spelling bee on Tuesday evening.

In their Springs home, Bonnie Maslin and her husband, Yehuda Nir, have 60 lazy Susans, cupboards upon cupboards of vertically stacked and colorful plates, and enough china — on shelves, hidden in cabinets and stacked in drawers — to serve thousands. And that’s not even the half of it.

Maslin said she and her husband have gathered a collection of post-war American kitsch they believe has no rival. As long as it fits the time period — from the end of World War II into the 1950s — no item is too trivial, too extraneous or too ugly for the Museum of Low Taste, the name a friend gave their home, and one they have warmly embraced.

“There is a lot of charm here,” Maslin said, walking through room after room of her home and in each one taking pleasure in delving through the possession she has there. “And there’s a lot of ugliness, too.”

I’ve been holding on to this one for a while. Click the link for the full story and to get to the video