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Community Corner

Book Club Celebrates A Decade of Tradition

Group of women from Bayport-Blue Point keep their group going with new books and old friendships.

Eighteen women sat in the backyard of Joy Borrero’s house on Gracie Court, joined by appetizers, wine glasses, and Borrero’s dog Skippy; Smiles and hugs were shared as they filled one another in on their lives and the latest news over the month.

“We’ll get around to the book eventually,” Borrero said with a laugh.

The members of a book club in Bayport-Blue Point celebrated their 10-year anniversary, and recognized the occasion by raising their glasses.

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“To another 10 years,” Borrero toasted, and expressions of agreement accompanied the sounds of clinking.

The women wined and dined, just as they do at every month’s meeting, before discussing Kristin Hannah’s “Firefly Lane.” Borrero explained that each meeting has a theme based on the book and this month’s selection represented the end of summer.

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Beginning with about eight members, Borrero, a nursing teacher at Suffolk County Community College, and Terry Vatalaro, a teacher at Bellport Middle School, had hopes of starting a mother-daughter book club.

“It lasted about one month, all the kids wanted to do was play,” they said. “So we said ‘let’s just do our own group,’ and started off as a little core group and it grew from there," Vatalaro said. "A lot of us had children in the same age group and we’re all Bayport people, so that was our connection.”

The mix of teachers, nurses, and librarians gave way for the women’s lives to overlap- some joined because of their love for reading and others through word of mouth. Retired Bayport-Blue Point Middle School teacher Kathy Daly joined a few years ago when the time was right.

“It’s been a really nice way to get to know people on a social basis rather than across a desk,” Daly said. “We’re all getting to a place in our lives where we don’t have little children anymore and now it’s coming back to having some time for us. It’s a reason to come together.”

With close friendships and a fun atmosphere, Daly explained there is no pressure to finish the book or contribute to the discussion.

“There are times when I just don’t get to the book, and there are people who have other obligations,” she said. “But people will still come to the meetings no matter what because it’s important for us to spend time together and share things with one another.”

Even with busy schedules, the members do their best to attend not only each meeting, but movie outings if a book they’ve read was released in theaters. The group most recently saw the film “The Help” which Daly said was just wonderful as the book.

To celebrate 10 years of literature and companionship, the members ventured into Manhattan via limousine to take a tour of a tenement museum after reading “97 Orchard: an Edible History of Five Immigrant Families in One New York Tenement” by Jane Ziegelman.

“That was my favorite memory,” Bayport-Blue Point Middle School teacher’s aid Pat Purdy said. “There were 14 of us and it was a lot of fun. We actually saw what we read and the stories of the families that lived there.”

Trish Caminiti and Purdy spoke of the unity within the group- the literary journeys are just a bonus. Purdy recalled the warmth and support she received from her friends after she donated a kidney to her sister, as Caminiti nodded at the reminder.

“It really is like a marriage,” Caminiti said. “We’ve been together through sickness and health, and births and deaths, we’ve run the gamut. It’s not just a once a month get together, it’s a camaraderie.”

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