DAN'S PAPERS, October 24, 2008 Page 19 www.danshamptons.com
Who Was That? You Certainly Come across Interesting People on Hampton Jitney By Dan Rattiner At 2 p.m. last Wednesday, I was standing on the north side of Montauk Highway, across from the Candy Kitchen in Bridgehampton, waiting for a Hampton Jitney. It was a warm September day. There were a dozen other people — 11 very well-dressed people and one rather small, shabbily dressed man — waiting there for the bus, and the bus came and everybody got on except me and him. I was, and apparently he was, waiting for the more expensive bus to the city, the Jitney Ambassador, that comes five minutes after the regular bus. I wondered about this guy. He stood no more
than 5’5”, had short reddish hair and hornrimmed glasses, and he stooped forward and squinted as he texted on a BlackBerry he held in front of him. And he was no fashion plate. The hem of a white t-shirt stuck out from beneath a striped sweater that was two sizes too small. He wore chino pants with many pockets and rips. He wore sneakers and no socks. A bum? A genius? He looked about 50. The Jitney came. He lifted up the battered duffel bag he’d brought with him, slung a small backpack on his shoulders, and, after me, climbed up and into the bus. There are luxuriously comfortable easy
chairs on the Jitney Ambassador. Also an attendant. He found a seat across the aisle and in front of me, texted some more, and then we were off. From where I sat, I could watch him. How would he spend the next two hours? He put the duffel bag under his seat, opened the backpack and took out a silver laptop. He opened it, pressed “on,” and it sprang to life. He spent the next two hours writing and then re-writing a script, maybe something for TV, a movie, or Broadway. The attendant came by and asked if he’d like something to drink or eat, and he looked up (continued on page 36)
OBAMA, PALIN, CHAGALL & ANTIHAMPTON.COM By Dan Rattiner Every few months, I empty my bag of stray thoughts, ideas and newspaper clippings. Here’s my autumn collection. The first involves the Presidential campaign, which is coming down the home stretch as you read this. It seems to me that McCain is going to have to pull a rabbit out of a hat to win the election for President of the United States on November 4. The big unveiling of this knockyour-socks-off maneuver will be in the November issue of Playboy hitting the stands this week. Check out the foldout. It’s been the best kept secret of the campaign. And it ain’t Joe the
Plumber. As far as Obama goes, watching him these past few months, I have noticed a very subtle change in his appearance since he won the nomination in July. It’s his ears. Have you noticed this? I’m told that every week he goes to see a doctor who, millimeter by millimeter, does a little work on them that’s so subtle that nobody would ever know that what they are seeing every Monday afternoon of each week is a slightly sleeker version of Obama than was there the Monday before. He will no longer have to be held down to keep him from flying off in a strong wind. Thus does he look less wet behind the ears, but more
Presidential. And the poll numbers keep going up. Check it out. * * * Everybody wants to have wind energy, but nobody wants the 100-foot tall steel windmills in their back yard. Neither do the people of Rhode Island. Last week, a company called Deep Water Wind, together with Governor Donald Carcieri, announced a plan to build an offshore wind farm that would cost $1.5 billion to generate 350 megawatts of energy, almost enough to handle all the needs of Providence, RI. (continued on next page)