I will be going back to Fire Island today as the electricity just came back on, but because of this I will not be able to host my radio show from 6:00pm to 8:00pm EST on WBZT in the Palm Beaches and LIVE around the world here at DoversWorld.com. The great news is that my International Reporter, Lita Dove, will be hosting my show for me this evening and she has an amazing line-up for you of guests!
Equine Therapist, Tom Meyers, among whose clients include both Ravel and Weltino’s Magic, will be on the show to explain how he’s had such fantastic success managing some of the greatest horses in the world so they would be in top condition for the show ring. It takes both science and art to do Tom’s job as he does it so if you have questions about your horse, call in and speak to Tom at 561-844-6167 or toll-free to 1-800-889-0267. He and Lita will be happy to speak with you!
In her 2nd hour, Lita will be speaking with Martine Collette, founder of Wildlife Waystation, which homes and offers sanctuary to wild-life from primates to lions to the sparrow that fell from his nest! This is sure to be a fascinating conversation for anyone who loves animals so please tune in and call in to speak to Martine and ask her your questions. The numbers are above.
I will be back with you next week and thank Lita and all her guests as well as Carmine for ensuring that “the show must go on!” Enjoy!
Cheers!
RD
Now that Hurricane Irene is gone, the question is, ” When can we go home to Fire Island?” And the answer is a resounding, “Who knows!” There is very little reliable news coming out of our remote area of New York, especially since over 3 feet of water is still flowing down Fire Island Blvd., our main boardwalk in town. While Robert and I were hoping to catch a ferry over tomorrow to check out our home, it appears that very few boats will be taking passengers to The Pines until it is deemed safe by the county officials. Not that we would want to stay there without electricity - we’ve done that for a weekend before and it’s not fun at all - but we are anxious to see for ourselves that the house is intact and no damage has occurred.
In the meantime, we are relying upon our friends to update us as they hear information and we will do the same for them. We have heard from one source that it could be up to a week before power is restored to the island. Naturally, that will be devastating to not only the folks who are planning to spend Labor Day week vacationing there, but more so to all the vendors who will most certainly suffer greatly from the lost income from this key week.
In the biggest picture, we should still be happy that nobody was hurt because everyone was evacuated and that everything will be back to normal in the next week or so. President Obama and his administration were given glowing critiques by virtually every politician governing the states hit by Irene. FIMA is also working at a much higher level than years ago during the Bush era. And I must compliment the Mayors and Governors of the east coast states who each handled the emergency with extraordinary effectiveness and efficiency. Citizens and communities also came together to help each other during the storm and made me proud, as usual, to be an American!
Cheers!
RD
Well, we are boarded up, battened down, evacuated to Flemington, N.J. and braced for Irene. The thing is that nobody really knows what to expect, especially since the downgrading seems to be a good thing for the New York area. Still, all the weather experts on every channel are predicting a near catastrophic “event” take place as high tides mixed with up to a foot of rain and storm surge create water levels sure to produce floods in all low lying areas, including Fire Island. The Pines is due for the worst of the winds as well, some to exceed 85 miles per hour, so I for one am glad we are boarded up, unlike all but a few of the homes on the island in our community.
In the end, there’s really nothing left to be done other than wait out Irene and see what the situation is after she’s gone. I can tell you this though - Fire Island’s track record on electric problems is such that what would require a couple of hours somewhere else could literally take weeks to ficx out there. On 4 occasions this summer, the power has gone out from either tiny storms or some other reason and hours later a little old man was at the end of our road up the electric pole with a manual, unplugging and plugging back circuits. God forbid the wind would have lifted the manual from his hands and tossed it into a puddle (It is probably from 1963 or earlier!), we would probably still be lighting candles out there.
The good news is that next week is supposed to be beautiful and, provided we have power, I will be back home in time for my radio show this Tuesday night. I sure do hope so! I also hope everyone as well as their animals are safe and back to normal after Irene!
Cheers!
RD
Robert and I have already begun bringing all the outdoor furniture and plants inside our house here in Fire Island, looking to be directly in the path of Hurricane Irene this weekend. It is quite amazing to me that most of the homeowners seem extremely cavalier about the oncoming storm - the big home I took a picture of yesterday is still sitting there totally unchanged as the owner obviously is not concerned if their home is torn to the ground. Apparently, he bought the most expensive apartment ever sold in New York City ($56,000,000.00), so if he loses his house (on the market for $2.2 mil), he’ll just re-build, I guess. I’m more worried about pieces of his house flying into mine!
Robert, Simon and I will be leaving on the 7pm ferry and driving out to Hunterdon county for the night and then determine if we want to drive further west tomorrow. PLEASE, if you are in the path of Irene, be safe and I am praying for all of you and all the animals too!
RD
Hurricane Irene is growing stronger every hour and advancing toward the North Eastern United States and very likely will become the first storm of this magnitude to come within 75 miles of New York City in 28 years. What’s worse is that she will be even more intense where Robert and I are living off of Long Island on this tiny strip of paradise called Fire Island. WE have been notified that, should Irene be a category 2 or under, the island will only be subject to voluntary evacuation, but 3 or higher will mean it is required to leave the island. As someone who has lived through hurricanes in Florida, nobody has to require me to leave, especially when I am living directly on the beach. It’s not even about just the storm itself, but rather the fact that living without electricity, sometimes for days on end, is simply no fun at all!
No thanks - we will be bringing our outdoor furniture in, the hot tub has already been bolted down to our roof top where it sits, and Simon, Robert and I will be leaving Saturday morning and driving out to our friends’ place in New Jersey until the all clear is sounded and we can head back on Monday, hopefully to find everything intact and just as we left it. What is scary is that most of the homes here are not at all hurricane proof with many constructed with as much glass as possible to allow for fantastic views. That’s the case with mine as well as the one in front of mine to the left - it’s almost all glass on both sides so if anything blows through, it’s coming straight for us! But everyone here seems to feel that they have survived for decades and all will be fine come Monday when we return to “Paradise”. And I wish everyone, both 2 and 4 legged (and even those with more legs), a safe and unscathed rest of the week as Irene crosses our paths!
Cheers!
RD
So here’s the thing. I want to know how they ever came up with “Sick As A Dog”. First of all, I’m looking down at Simon, my 3 year old Schnoodle right now through my red. blurry eyes and though he has had a few skin irritations since he took over our lives in 2008, I certainly don’t believe he ever felt like this! I have a really deep chest cold that is making me feel achy, nauseous, and generally like a direct hit by Irene might just be what I need to put me out of my misery.
Now, I know you are going to say exactly what my student, Mette Larsen wrote a few minutes ago in a text - “What Drama!” - and that Jenny’s Jewish mother would be proud of me. And maybe she’s hit the nail on “my head” because I must admit to being the worst patient even I know. After my back operation which I was told was “out- patient”, the nurse came as I was waking up and told me she was admitting me. My response was immediate and direct -”Go find my do=ctor because I am leaving this hospital the minute I feel strong enough to stand up!” She obviously did not take me at my word because 2 hours later I was still waiting, supposedly so they could write me a prescription for pain med’s, despite the fact that I had endured the previous weeks exactly because of my enormous stash of extremely strong drugs (all given to me by the doctors totally legit). Anyway, after the 3rd hour went by, I decided that was it and much to the horror of the entire recovery unti, I proceeded to get up, naked as a jaybird other than the wires glued on to me with adhesive patches. At that point, even though it is against protocol, Robert was hastily summoned to come get me and take me the hell out of there, pronto!
So, now as I sit here waiting for Robert to return on the next boat, I am using my full strength and determination to type this message to my friends around the world, thanking you for being there (and here) for me in the good and bad times and telling you how much I love and care about each and every one of you, even if we’ve never met in person. Because, as they say, ” You never know - one minute you are here and the next …” well, you get it.
Cheers!
RD
I will be doing an in-depth show this Tuesday evening on this past week’s European Dressage Championships where history was made by the British Team winning the Gold and hope to bring you some great interviews courtesy of Lita Dove, my International Reporter just back from Rotterdam and all the excitement! You won’t want to miss this show, so tune in to WBZT (AM1230) in the Palm Beaches andLIVE around the world right here at DoversWorld.com and call in with your comments or questions to 561-844-6167 or toll-free to 1-800-889-0267. We love to hear from you and I guarantee some fun surprises!
My 2nd hour will be an update from everything going on here in Fire Island as we draw close to the end of the summer season out here. I will be speaking with several of the folks who “run the show” out here and get the scoop on what we can expect for Labor Day as well as all they plan to do to upgrade before next year. If you love it out here like I do or are just curious, please tune in and learn or the behind the scenes stuff that makes The Pines the paradise it is.
From the “horse world” to the “gay world”, this is my world - “Dover’s World” and I really hope you will join me, call in and chat!
Cheers!
RD
I am thrilled that so many of you are enjoying Lita Dove’s reports from the European Dressage Championships in Rotterdam. I knew that so many of you want more than just the results and these days we can watch live on the Internet as the rides are taking place. But getting the wonderful accounts of the actual tests as well as the opinions of many of the competitors is something we at DoversWorld will offer that others simply don’t.
To that end, I am creating this post for Lita’s ongoing reports so they can all be read here. I am also hoping she will get some taped recordings from the riders which we can play for you this coming Tuesday once the competition is over. And I have already asked my friend and present leader of the pack, Carl Hester, if he will call in this Tuesday for a first hand account of his amazing rides and historic victory. I love having the ability to mesh my website with my radio show to bring you news and entertainment you can enjoy and learn from. Many thanks again to Lita and looking forward to reading and hearing all the excitement from the rest of the weekend!
Cheers!
RD
I am so proud of the British Team for their incredible performances at the European Championships to make history by winning their first gold Team medal! My great friend, Carl Hester, has proven that all the years of hard work and dedication to honing his wonderful talent as a trainer and teacher has truly paid off! He is as fabulous as a person as he is as a rider and that makes his win even more gratifying. It is equally great for the sport of Dressage to see new nation emerge as leaders of the world, but proves once again that all of the countries must work harder to produce more depth of great combinations if they wish to stay on top. Congratulations also to the German and Dutch Teams on their medals.
Here in America, we need to recognise that our present situation is not strong enough to assure us a medal next year in London. Not only do we need a perfectly executed plan in place to give our top combinations every advantage to elevate their scores as well as their confidence, but we absolutely must give 100% support to the new Emerging Dressage Athlete Program so that our youth has every possible advantage as they grow up and evolve into our future Olympic stars! Go to Dressage4Kids.com and click on the box in the bottom left corner for the EDAP and give whatever you can - $5, $10. $100, $1000 or more! Our kids are our hope so please don’t let them or our country down! If Great Britain can come from where they have to become the best team in the world, it is proof positive that America can surely do the same, provided we “get with The Emerging Dressage Athlete Program”!
Cheers!
RD
I just got home from another day of teaching in Riverhead, N.Y. but have been keeping track of all the results in Rotterdam, thanks to my International Reporter, Lita Dove, who just posted her report under my last post of yesterday on Catherine Haddad. Sghe beat me to the draw as I was hoping to enter this post under which she could post this great report of the first day of the Championships. Anyway, go read her entire report and while you are doing it, remember that I, last week, put myself on the line and predicted a team win for Great Britain for the gold and silver going to Germany with bronze being relegated to the Dutch. What a difference a year makes (along with a 14 million Euro purchase of the world’s best horse by Germany which was looking pretty dismal before. I am betting on the Danish for 4th and the Swedes will place 5th.
Individually, I will predict that Totilaswill retain his top title as the best horse in the world but that we will see an upset for the Dutch as both Laura Bechtosheimer and Carl Hester (or even possibly his protege, Charlotte) will go home with silver and bronze. It is so refreshing to see a new group of “auslanders” at the top of the leader-boardand I will wager that there will be ongoing volatility in the top group during the next year, bothon the Team level and the Individual. While a couple of the nations are showing great strength, it would only take one mishap for their lack of depth to change the landscape of the sport once again. This is where al of the countries have work to do to assure a strong finish in 2012 in London. Good luck to all the riders for the remainder of the competition and you can follow everything from behind the scenes as well as the results right here at Doversworld.com, thanks again to Lita Dove!
Cheers!
RD
