From Miss Rosen’s article for ANIMAL:
As a young girl growing up in Massapequa — aka “Matzoh Pizza” — during the ’50s and ’60s, Meryl Meisler ’s childhood on Long Island was filled with scenes of suburban bliss. She plié’d and releve’d in ballet class, dazzled at twirl, and amassed an impressive array of service badges as a Girl Scout. But within her picture perfect life, Meisler yearned for something more — something magical that was wholly out of this world.
The seeds were first planned during the summer of ’62, when Meisler and a squadron of Girl Scouts camped out on the beach overnight. Amid the preteen chatter, Meisler overheard the girls whispering about a place out in the ocean called “Fire Island,” where naked fairies flittered to and fro, living in quaint seaside cottages with names like Shirley Temple, the patron saint of mid-century theater Kids.