Today we are heating things up with a real life island where some of the most iconic, clear fashion designers, architects, writers and actors have gathered for centuries to celebrate all things, love and art. Come join us on Fire Island delving into the history and culture of this remarkable little stretch of land. I'm Alisha Rai.
And I'm Sarah Wendell. Welcome to lovestruck daily where we are giving you a super sizzling summer treat each and every day this week. Love with love with you. Hi, Alicia.
Nice Sarah. It is sizzling summer day three.
who get your sunscreen out? Yeah. So where are the places that you go to be absolutely yourself?
Oh, absolutely myself. You know what, a lot of times it's like a bathtub.
You know what, that's a perfectly sizzling summer option.
I love baths and I have a tiny bathtub. So last week we were in Vegas, and we had a giant bathtub in our room. And I took full advantage of that we were there for two nights I took a bath both nights awesome, which you need in Vegas constantly because it was both very hot and I smelled like smoke constantly like you can't not smell like smoke there. So I took two luxurious baths and I will live on those baths now until I can get another bathtub.
You know my first thought was Wait, there's wildfires.
That's a very California response but no cigarette smoke because of the casinos. No, thank you. Yeah, it sucks. That's the worst part about Vegas. I love Vegas but that's not fun. But yeah, I would say like a any any pool water. I'm like a water baby. So beach pool, bathtub, anything with water. What about you?
I love being by water. Just like being by the bay being by the ocean being by a lake especially if it's a saltwater body of water. Something about the saltwater in the air. Yeah, just sort of scours out all my internal stress. Yeah, but the very best thing is then taking a shower after you've been to the beach and you wash that salt off your skin. It's like cracking open a care pace and you're just all relaxed. Oh, I love that part. Are we really clean people like why is really clean people who liked the beach? I love to shower sunscreen. Yeah, I love showering your sunscreen. It doesn't hurt. So that's
good. That is true. That's true. What about like location wise? Like, what's your favourite like destination where you can unwind other than home because I know you love your home, Nuevo Vallarta,
Mexico. Oh, okay. I love that beach. I could walk up and down that beach.
Blue. I love blue. Blue beaches like the water when it's so clear.
There are two beaches want that one is often very blue. It gets more choppy in the afternoon. Yeah, the other beach that I love is off the island of roads in Greece and it's the Aegean and it has stripes of colour different shades of blue the deeper it gets. And it smells very sweet.
Oh, I mean, so I think I think for me, destination wise, I would say London which is like kind of the opposite of that. Absolutely.
A beach town. 100% what I think of for hot yeah, not not quite a beach town. Yeah, super Beachy.
London is in the summer. It's fun. It is like because everyone's so eager there to be out from that grey mind. It still rains a lot but there's something about that summer rain and in London that maybe I idealise it a little bit but I loved it when I was there. The couple summers I was there I just walk around in the rain. The nice warm rain and see people just happy to be out and about it not getting dark at 3pm
Yeah, big deal. Yeah, big deal. Well, this episode we have a little virtual travel for you. Ooh, we are going to take you on a little virtual trip to Fire Island. We've shared plenty of stories about people past and present. Today we're sharing a love story about a place love it. If you're not familiar, Pirate Island is a barrier island on the Atlantic off the coast of New York. And it's got villages and boardwalks and beaches but is best known as one of the oldest gay and lesbian communities in the US. Within Cherry Grove and Fire Island pines. Oscar Wilde visited the island in 1882. So you know it was gay if Oscar Wilde was like I'm here now. He was one of the first of many queer people who found refuge in freedom on Fire Island because it was a place where you could go and be yourself and not fear attack in person. Shouldn't everyone around you was gay to in the 1930s folks from the New York City Theatre World went to Cherry Grove which allowed closeted members of the LGBTQ community to express themselves freely. And the community house and theatre was one of the defining elements of Camp culture in the modern drag scene, you can still go to that building and visit it. I love going to tours of old theatres. They're so cool. There's so much very cool stored energy inside the energy inside them is so cool. Yeah. Now this was way before the Stonewall riots in New York, and Fire Island became an enclave for LGBTQ people during a time when anything beyond traditional ces heterosexuality was illegal. And if you displayed such things you were in great danger, you can still go and visit Carrington house which was purchased in 1927 by Frank Carrington, who was a theatre director. He established the arts project of Cherry Grove, which ended up having a major impact on the whole area. Lots of performers and artists went to the island and when you put a bunch of artists and performers on an island, it gets pretty great. It's going to be a place of incredible creative energy and gorgeous art and lots of fun. Over the years people who have lived and worked on Fire Island include Calvin Klein, Mel Brooks, David Geffen, Director Michael Bennett, even Marilyn Monroe went to Fire Island, good for her. The architecture there has been described as the architecture of seduction. Oh, no, right. Joan Rivers even wrote a song about Fire Island in the 60s and Paul Jabara released an album in 1978 with a song called Pleasure Island, which you knows about Fire Island really? Yeah. For a lot of people, especially at that time period, Fire Island represented liberation and freedom. And in the 80s, the community on Fire Island was devastated by the AIDS epidemic. And the preservation of that community changed as well. But a blogger named Rob Frey Lewis, who is not a celebrity, just a regular old dude who experienced Fire Island has kept a blog about the history of the island and his writing is gorgeous. So here are some vignettes from Rob. He moved to New York in 1979, and met a man with a House share in the pines. But he said he wouldn't bring Rob because Rob was too innocent to go. I will say that no matter who you are in this world, if you make friends with people who have house shares at beaches, you're doing very well indeed. Yeah. Life goals, right? Really, you don't want to own the second property, especially if it's by the water that bulbs flood. It's too much work. I speak from experience flood insurance. It's no fun. Also, Hurricane Sandy isn't water recharge, robbed in Mega Fire Island until the summer of 1982. And he went with his friend Rick, quote, this was my first taste of decadent Fire Island life which involved taking a disco nap and then doing some drugs before going into the pavilion in the wee hours of the morning. On Sunday. We were recovering by the beach where I was smashed into the sand by a huge wave while we were playing in the surf. Do I want to know what a disco nap is?
Hold tight we'll be right back um, I mean I guess it's just probably a nap in anticipation of going to the disco maybe I'm too innocent though. Maybe it's something
you are right a disco nap means having a quick siesta before you head out to the yeah activities. Yeah, I can conjure a second when according to bustle, bustle, I cannot disco nap. I will just sleep straight through an otter zombie napping and I do not get on
I can nap until like 5pm. And then after that, I might as well sleep.
Yep. Yeah. Well, Rob's next visit to Fire Island was with his friend Tom and his friends Donnie and Dennis and he remembers lying on the beach and gazing up at the stars. Sadly, within a year Dennis had died of AIDS. Now there is a popular patch of forest on Fire Island called the meat rack. I love a good bit of on the nose naming right I love it. He would go in the middle of the night to meet people which was not difficult on nights with a full moon quote. However, as the summers went by I gravitated towards daytime walks because I wanted to see the merchandise before touching it in my mind my make friends of people who have beach homes, taking walks taking discounted days like that. Once on Labour Day he met up with an old fling and they went for a walk on the beach where they had a passionate reunion and from Rob quote the next day I saw him and told him how much fun the night before had been. He was very aloof and poof the magic was gone. Oh, right. I've also suffered from some personal slights For example, He was made fun of for pronouncing Long Island with a hard G
Wait a minute long, Long Island. Long Island Long Island Okay.
Long Island. He was made fun of for pronouncing it with the heart. The G apparently Yeah, he was chastised for not properly knowing how to flick open a fan mean either and then his name was misspelt on the phone directory. Oh, so if he gave somebody his number or they tried to look him up, it was no go Oh, Fire Island is still an incredible destination today. You can still visit go to the beaches, beautiful houses again make friends with people who have beach houses, and people still go to Fire Island every summer. Popular model Bethann Hardison who has gone to Fire Island for decades was asked what people might recreate from that time she said forget that. There ain't no recreating. They couldn't recreate it, even if they could imagine it. But late and wonderful photographer and fashion designer Andre Leon Talley presented a very different perspective. What could be wonderful today is the sense of community wholesome and positive community. I think it still exists on Fire Island today a place where gay people had their own community and it was a very, very positive environment. Oh, I love ending with a quote from Andre Leon Talley. Yeah, brilliant. Let's
do that every episode. Yeah, let's let's have a quote from him every week. That was quite the virtual trip, Sarah and there's actually a new movie that just came out about Fire Island and it's on Hulu. And so far the reviews are fantastic. So it was directed by Andrew Ron with a screenplay by Joel booster. And it also stars Joel Kim booster bow and Yang who I love. He's fantastic. Conrad Rick Gomorrah and Margaret Cho. And that's a cast that is like a star studded cast and like a bit of a throwback cast too. So and for all of the romance fans out there it is loosely based on Pride and Prejudice. I love Pride and Prejudice. retellings like ah so much and we are we are spoiled with how many we have. So I'm very excited for this. Absolutely true. And even if you're straight you're still welcome. I think it's important to point out to the island no matter what your sexuality is so but if you can't get there, you know, watch the movie or go someplace that makes you feel like you and I think actually I think that should be our love to go for today, don't you?
Yeah. Be in places that let you feel like you.
Yeah, I like that. I think that that's really important. So yeah, go feel like you and we want to know where you feel like us. So please send an email to lovestruck daily at frolic dot media and follow us on Instagram and Twitter at lovestruck daily especially on Instagram we post lots of cool fun stuff. And if you enjoyed this episode if you enjoy any of our episodes, please please please leave us a review so we can keep making these shows and keep bringing love.
Our researcher is Jesse Epstein our editor is Jen Jacobs we are produced by Abigail steckler and little Scorpion studios with executive producer frolic media this is an I Heart Radio Podcast
and we wish you a very happy authentic happily ever after. I'm in love with you same with you. I'm in love with you
what could be wonderful today is the sense of community wholesome and positive community I stink IPE stink. I think it still exists on Fire Island today.
