Short Prose

Move Over!

The Sicilian Storyteller

Written for Stream of Consciousness Saturday where
we are asked to feature the word “move”. Here’s my stream.

Here it is …. the so-called unofficial start of summer …. and we’re celebrating Memorial Day once again in my neck of the woods ā€“ Southern Westchester County in New York. In case youā€™re not familiar with the area, Manhattan is about a 45-minute drive south ā€“ far enough away for us to be in the suburbs but close enough to get into NYC for a show or dinner if we want to. Weā€™re approximately an hour from Jones Beach heading east out to Long Island and 2 hours from the Catskill Mountains up north.

Weā€™re in a nice spot and weā€™ve loved living here for 45+ years but we often bring up the topic of making a move. And why would we do that if itā€™s so nice here? Two big reasons: stupid-high property taxes and ever-increasing congestion.

Our little village was exactly that when we moved here; now the population has exploded and every family member old enough to drive has a car. We live on a very quiet cul de sac and never think about the congestion in town until we actually have to go to town. What used to be a 5 minute drive to the supermarket or post office is now triple that (or more) because of the number of cars, trucks and school buses on the move .ā€¦ and letā€™s not even start talking about road work! Thereā€™s construction everywhere we look and some of it takes years to accomplish. By then, itā€™s time to start repairs again! Move it!

So, if we did decide to leave New York, the big question is ā€¦. where would we move to? I have no idea! It seems like everyone complains about the same problems of high taxes and too much congestion no matter where they live. Besides, the physical act of clearing out the house, packing up, moving and relocating at this stage of our lives is daunting; I can barely manage packing for vacation!

Things to think about, for sure. For now, I think Iā€™ll move out onto the deck, sit in my lounge chair, drink my iced tea and listen to the birds. Bill will light the grill around 2PM; now that you know where I live, cā€™mon over!

It’s time to roll out some Nat King Cole and “Those Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer”!

NARĀ©2024

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS May 25, 2024

All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephantā€™s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and are not for use by anyone without permission. NARĀ©2017-present.

26 thoughts on “Move Over!”

  1. move to the deck.. I think it’s cheaper .. rent the house.. lol.

    Two big reasons: stupid-high property taxes”. don’t come here. I think NY and California should be exemptions on taxes .. they kick the middle class out.
    xo šŸ’“

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  4. The other morning, I was listening to a cool presentation by John Hamer at Centre Place called ‘Plato and Christianity’. He relayed how the ancient Greeks (pre Judeo – Christian religiosity) had figured out and espoused that it didn’t matter how much money, material worth or where you lived meant; it was how you approached ‘life’ in the present and value ‘family’, ‘love’, ‘freedom’, and ‘morals’ and your ‘courage’ to confront the moment.

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    1. Matt, since the very sudden death of my husband’s twin brother in early April, we have had major shifts in our minds regarding just what is and isn’t important to us in life. Every one of the values you mentioned, as well as our health and creature comforts, most certainly qualify as important and necessary; almost everything else is a non-issue, meaningless.

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      1. Yeh, it’s inestimable how a tragic loss of someone close to us can cause one to take a step back and realise what is most sacred. Also our attitude and virtudes in how we approach that realisation can have a profound effect on not only those close to us, but others outside of our sphere.

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  5. So different from my laid-back little seaside town!

    I’d love to visit you! I stayed in NYC a couple of times, the first was just before 9/ll and somewhere I have a menu I took from the Window on the World restaurant atop one of the towers!

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  7. I think the crowding is pretty much everywhere. I’m reading ‘Brave New World” for a classic literature book club, and the first sentence is: “A squat grey building of only thirty-four stories…” šŸ˜³ Paints a picture!

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    1. Thanks, Willow. Unless/until we become to feeble of mind or body to maintain this house, that’s exactly what we’ll do. The sudden death of Bill’s brother changed our perspective on so many things; being content and happy where we are is definitely one of them. šŸ©¶šŸ©¶

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  11. I’ll be right over! I loved New York when I visited, I only visited the city though, but it was fabulous! I saw west side story and mama mia on broadway, and saw all of the sites too! X

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