KISMET – Across the Bay with MJ

KISMET – Across the Bay with MJBy Marijane VoltzOn August 4, Jake Perdie from Beach and Vine Wine and Spirits proposed to his girlfriend Cynthia. As the sun slowly set, Jake escorted Cynthia to the bench that overlooks the Great South Bay and asked her to be his wife. With Cynthia being a native of Cuba, Perdie went the distance and proposed to Cynthia in Spanish. Later that evening, they quietly celebrated with cocktails at the corner bar of the Kismet Inn.One Kisminite that’s been having the summer of all summers is Bryana Romanzi. Aside from celebrating her engagement and 23rd birthday, news of baby booties are in her near future. On August 14, a “gender reveal” party was thrown for Bryana and her soulmate Ronald Navarro. As guests laughter and happiness filled the air, so did four blue balloons revealing that they would be having a baby boy. Proud grandpa to be, Lou Romanzi, said “I couldn’t be happier, I’m getting my boy.” Congratulations to this beautiful family.August 13 marked the Fire Island Lighthouses Preservation Societies 30^th Annual Barefoot Black Tie Dinner Dance. The event took place at the Fire Island Lighthouse with enough tables to accommodate 400 guests and a large dance floor for party-goers to shake the night away.Last year, Eileen Rafferty of Paddy Shack treated 45 guests to the black tie event in order to ring in her 50^th birthday. Having had the time of their lives, Rafferty’s guests spread the word throughout Kismet, which contributed to making this year’s event a sold-out venue.With Eileen coming back to celebrate her birthday, along with her 40 plus guests, Dawn Leone thought it would be the ideal location for her birthday celebration as well. Now with two birthday girls and all of their guests, the number of party-goers from Kismet suddenly turned into a staggering 70 plus. It was an epic night as the Mooney family, the Rafferty clan, Sam Wood and his nearest and dearest danced into the night with the tunes of the Tradewinds.The Fire Island Light Station Lens Building was opened to guests for one hour, so that they could take a look at the light exhibit. On display was the First Order Fresnel Lens as well as the new I.O.V. (incandescent oil vapor) Lamp. There is also a temporary, “Life at the beach, 100 years ago” exhibit, which celebrates the centennial of the National Park Service. If the opportunity lends itself, take a trip to the Lighthouse and see these wonderful displays.On August 7, Kismet hosted their very first Color Wars, otherwise referred to as the Kismet Olympics. The Wars were a collaborated creation thought up by Karen Spollen, Kelly Bertucci, and Chiropractors Janet O’Connor and Linda Nowacheck and Buffy Krane. Registration took place at the end of Oak, just before the dunes. With 48 contestants ranging from 21-60 years of age, four teams of 12 were set up by registration number, not athletic ability. With Kelly Bertucci as officiator, the rules and directions were clear. Once the teams were established, the Games were underway.The Color Wars kicked off with a Flip the Cup battle. Here, each competitor had to down and beer and flip their cup, having it land upright. Other categories of competition were the Bucket Brigade, where competitors lined up in single file with the first member of the team being at the ocean’s edge and the last teammate being inland. The object was to fill a cup up with ocean water and pass it over the head of each team member until the bucket was full.Other battles to be won were: Pass the Noodle, Don’t Drop my Ball, Little Tied up Toes, (where 10 people from each team were tied up together and had to race the other tied up teams) and worst of all, Pop the Cherry. The object of Pop the Cherry was to run with force towards your teammate and pop a balloon from behind. This is where the judges had to do their due diligence, as some players started to cheat.One older woman, who shall remain nameless, slivered her way onto another team to pair herself up with a more robust competitor of a younger age and pop his cherry. Another competitor pulled her earring off in an effort to pop her cherry with the pointed end of her post. These methods of cheating are equivalent to doping in the Olympics and Kismet won’t have it! Next year, all jewelry will be confiscated before the games take place.August 14 brought back the Duck Races as the Kismet Fire Department hosted Kismet for some duck fun. As ducks were being purchased and raffles were being sold, neighbors congregated to the firehouse to look on as Joe Carleton took a leaf blower and blew the floating ducks towards the finish line.The real winner and giver of the day was Morgan Boulton, daughter of Frank and Karen Boulton, who won the 50/50 raffle. Knowing that the fire department is in desperate need of turnout gear, she donated her winnings back to the KFD in order to get them closer to their goal of ten new gear suits. A big thank you to Morgan for her gracious donation.With their glitter and rhinestone and size 13 heels, the drag queens invaded Kismet for a third time in three years. Adorned with their painted faces and faux hair, these men morphed into transformer size beauties. While cartwheeling across stage with their unexplainable childbearing sized hips they simultaneously collected an endless number of tips. It’s the type of night that leaves you speechless with many questions unanswered.As back to school commercials air and our children’s supply lists are emailed our way, the reality of summer’s end is quickly approaching. So turn off your televisions, shut off your computers and let’s enjoy what’s left of summer 2016.