Every summer on AMI there is a ritual that has been taking
place for as the title suggests a very long time. When I asked Beth’s mother (the one and only
NaNa) about the origin she simply replied that it’s been going on for as long
as she can remember and without revealing any age I'll just say that’s a
fairly long time.
She did share with me that she remembers coming out here
across a rickety one lane bridge with her Mom and Dad along with her brother
(Blake) and three sisters (Kay, Sally and Phyllis) when she was a young girl. At that time they along with an extended
family of aunts, uncles and cousins spent 3 entire months on the beach. According
to her, back then the island was mostly mangroves, marsh and mosquitos. Good or bad the island has changed and
evolved a lot since then but the legacy of the beach house continues.
When I first started dating Beth the beach house was a month
long extravaganza that now lasts for two weeks with the “main event” occurring
on July 4th when there will be over 100 relatives, friends and I’m
pretty sure even a few complete strangers who are just passing by and decide to
join in the party. You’d be hard pressed
to find a nicer, friendlier or more welcoming group of people and I’d say that
even if I wasn’t going to be with them for another week and related by
marriage.
In addition to the big event on the 4th there are
a number of other rituals that go along with beach house. Sunday lunches are a major time for everyone to
gather at the main gathering spot known as the “big house” which is
wonderfully located just a few steps from one of the best beaches on the entire
planet. There is a morning swim which is
usually from around 10:00-noon and the nightly gathering on the beach for sunset. There are fishing trips (fresh
grouper and snapper for dinner tonight), morning walks, bowling trips and much
more that has been passed down from generation to generation that make this
such an amazing annual family tradition.
One tradition that deserves a little more explaining is the annual Rook tournament. For the
uninitiated, Rook is a card game that is played by two teams of two
players. Like so much of the beach
house, the card game has always been around. Over time friendly casual games have evolved into a major tournament complete
with a “Tournament Director” {a position proudly held by Ken Burton), a dedicated website with team seedings,
tournament history, sponsors and much more.
Prizes are awarded to the top three teams and there was at one time a trophy that was
as prized by the players as the Lombardi Trophy is to pro football players or
the Stanley Cup is to hockey players. The trophy went missing some years back and there were rumors abound for a period of time regarding its whereabouts and who may have it.
I
think there are about 15 teams in this years tournament with players ranging in
age from the youngest being in their teens to a few who are in their 80’s. I’ve played in the tournament a few times
over the years but I’m a lousy player who’s had trouble keeping the same
partner for more than one year so I retired from competitive Rook a few years
back much to the delight of those who needed a partner but didn’t want me. You can follow the action of this year’s
tournament on the link below:
Here’s to a great tradition and one that in spite of the
crazy, fast paced world we live in today I pray will last for generations to
come. |
| The Queens of the Beach! L to R Joyce (NaNa), Kay, Sally and Phyllis Photo courtesy of Kristy Jones |
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| The Four Sisters and Blake enjoying a little Rook at the 2015 Beach House Photo courtesy of Kristy Jones |
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| NaNa and Sally debating who ate the most |
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| Lined up for sunset |
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| Tournament Rook games always draw a crowd |
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| Spectacular Sunset! |
