So, when the world turned upside down and everything seemed to no longer make sense, I escaped to Fire Island to hide. people not only because they are beautiful, but because there are so few places in the world where you can just let your hair down and be yourself. These places are regarded as aspirational for many L.G.B.T.Q. Then as I made more money and more friends, I graduated to renting in Palm Springs, then to Provincetown on the very tip of Cape Cod and finally to the most exclusive: Fire Island Pines, the out-of-the-way vacation spot on Long Island.