Long Island Off Road Event



Earthday Beach Clean Up

May 1, 2010


by Evan Silverman

Many of you know that LIOR always tries to give back to the community and if we can enjoy ourselves while doing it then all the better. Our annual beach clean up is one of those events. We get to travel on a beach that we normally don't have access to and we are treated to a barbeque by the East End Surf Casters Club. There were also members of the Riverhead town council that were very welcoming and appreciative for the help we were giving the town. We usually remove a dumpster or 2 worth of trash and get to enjoy a peaceful morning on the beach. We enter the beach at Sound Rd in Wading River and travel east down the beach.

As with all LIOR events there is always some drama to report and this event is without exception. Last year my XJ blew a radiator and I was towed out by John A. after being on the beach for about five minutes. This year I took the whole family in Christine's CJ. I was pretty excited. The forecast was for great weather and the kids were looking forward to going to the beach for the first time this season.

Well as I said most LIOR events have some type of drama so the following events should not even surprise me. My father, Howie and I were a little late but caught everyone just after the entrance to the beach. I was sitting in my Jeep and felt guilty that everyone seemed to be working so I left Chris and the kids in the Jeep to pick up a little garbage before we moved on further down the beach.

Just as I am picking up my first piece of trash some psycho who owns a house up on the bluff by the beach entrance starts screaming at me. I try to explain that we have a permit to be here and that we are cleaning up the beach. Well he then proceeds to try to go into my jeep, with my wife and kids in the vehicle, and take my keys. Well I gave him a defensive body check sending him on a different trajectory preventing theft of my keys, my truck and possibly kidnapping my whole family.(I was not that worried about my family because after ten minutes he would have returned them, I don't care how crazy he is). Well after much screaming, calling my father a fat pig (he is not fat he is just big-boned) and cursing in front of my children, I tried to leave. The nut job said that he was not going to let me leave.

In order to get to the next section of beach we have to pass a jetty. At the top of the beach (furthest from the water) there is sand and as you get closer to the water the boulders get bigger and bigger. Well koo-koo blocks the sandy section with his body. I am thinking that this guy is not only crazy but he is dumb as well. I am part of Long Island Off Road and I am a rock crawler. I figured I would just drive over the rocks that were only about 8 inches tall. Well, nut-bag jumps in front of my rig which surprised me so I yanked the wheel left away from looney tunes. We now took Chris's CJ over the 24 inch rocks and I slammed the front driveshaft splitting it in 2 pieces.

Now berserko starts trying to rip my license plate off. I jumped out of the Jeep and before I knew what happened Bonker Boy was in a head lock with my fat a-s on top of him telling him to calm down. A bunch of club members get me off of koo-koo for coco puffs and he runs off down the beach and up the 100 plus feet of steps up to his psycho-ward (house). We call the police and wait. Garret goes back to the parking lot to meet the police while I with the help of my LIOR brethren remove the broken shaft and air down the Jeep to ten psi so I could drive on the beach in 2WD.

As we are waiting for the police at the site of the incident, crazy man is telling the police a total fabrication. He is telling the police that I tried to run him over and that I left the scene of an accident. Well luckily Garrett was there and told the police that the Belview escapee was lying and Garrett told the police his version of the story. The police then walked down the beach to where I was and I told my story which matched Garrett's. Then Howie told his version of the incident. The police then made us call Joe Levanti who was much further down the beach at this point and made him drive back to tell what he saw.

To make a long story longer, the police believed my version due to all the witnesses and due to the damage done to the Jeep. The lunatic has had many confrontations over the years and the police are well aware of his antics. This guy did complain of back and neck injuries stating that I ran him over. He never made contact with the CJ until he tried to rip her plate off. He later left in an ambulance for the hospital. I guess time will tell if I will have to meet this loser in court, but if he takes it that far I am not going to take it lying down. He will be guilty of lying on a police report, possibly committing insurance fraud, he attacked my family, scared my children and wife and tried to steal and damage my personal possessions. Hopefully the really cool Warren Silverman will help me if I need him. Hopefully I won't.

The rest of the day went without incident and the CJ performed very well in 2wd needing one tug by Wonderboy and his Red Wonder Wagon. We still had a nice day and a great lunch. I hope that this incident will stop here but I am not holding my breath.

P.S. Bob Blair did not state on the schedule that I needed to bring my midget body guard. You can't make this stuff up.

Evan