A New Glow
Ever since life appeared on Earth, the sunset marked the day’s end. No light, no work, but humans figured out how to cheat that system. First candles, then light bulbs extended the day to suit the user. People came not to care about the sun disappearing over the horizon. Now, a sunset is simply a new picture for social media. But, in the Hamptons, the sunset means everything. It is the time to pop open a bottle of rosé and watch the colors burst as the ombre surrounding you sinks below the trees and houses across Mecox Bay. It is the time to roast marshmallows on the beach, and hope that the fire does not spread to the tasty treat that is about to go into your mouth. It is the time to go to Sant Ambroeus and get the two scoops of ice cream you have been waiting for all day. And, as every sunset, immense night sky, sunrise, Hampton Coffee Company run, jog on the beach, tennis game, ocean dip, and family dinner goes by, a new sunset emerges, creating a new glow, and a new part of your fantastic day.
The best part of a Hamptons sunset is that you can see it from anywhere. From the deck of your house, from a Sunfish, sailing over the calm, bay waters, from the highest branch of the oak tree on your lawn, or from the field that you and your friends use to throw around a football.
As the sun sets over Mecox Bay, swans go to their nests for the night, along the strip of land protecting the cove from the bay. The younglings’ brown bodies, starting to show some white feathers, glide behind their parents waiting for some food. Other birds, geese, herons, swallows, plovers take to the sky and return to their homes, ending their day at their own little beach on the sand. Day after day, year after year, the birds come to the cove. They’ve watched the Hamptons sunset for far longer than humans have. Their little eyes gaze at the big houses coating every single spot of land left on this little island they call home.
Everyday, a new sunset showers the sky with color. It is as if each sunset is a new person, dressed in new clothes, coming to say hi to you every twenty-four hours. The days when the sky is home to fluffy white clouds, the sun marks the clouds with a pink hue, and when it is home to streaks from jet planes, it marks them with an orange tint. A new surprise every time. And as the yellow darkens to orange, and then to red, and the sky gets darker making a royal blue, night starts to take control.
As the blue sky becomes more inky, and the colors of the sunset become more rich, you dream of a day when the sunset lasts forever. A day where the light doesn’t hurt your eyes, making you squint, and a night where rosé keeps being poured, and where when you toward the west, your eyes become enchanted with the bands of lavish color painted over the heavens.
Eventually, after the paint is washed away, the stars do start to twinkle, and the dark night takes hold, only lit by the moon and car headlights. A time to either start the party, or open your laptop to watch a movie. Open up your last can of beer to signal you’re done for the night, or be tucked in awaiting the sunrise and the call of a hundred different types of birds. And as your head hits the pillow, you know that you’ll never have as good as a night unless you are in the Hamptons. The sunset in the Hamptons, does indeed end one day, but also starts another.
