ATM

Our house is probably the only house in Montauk that overlooks a motel by design.

It sits across the street from the Atlantic Terrace, which my family built and ran for decades. We ate every meal at a breakfast bar that overlooked the ATM, so my father could dash home for lunch, or dinner as the case might be, sit facing the front office, and, if a customer pulled up, run back over to take care of business. This probably accounts for much of the digestive issues he had throughout his life.

I'm sure he thought the view was perfect, and, since the motel's success is the reason I'm sitting here today, within spitting distance of the ocean, far be it from me to complain about it. But I confess I've never thought of the Atlantic Terrace, with its 60's sensibilities, as a thing of beauty. That is, until I awoke just before sunrise today, glanced over at it and was brought up short by the, well, view.