TheMagic of a Summer Breeze

by Larry Mendte

There is nothing like going to the Jersey Shore to stir the best memories of childhood.

I think that is the unique connection many of us have with the beach communities. It goes well beyond the sun and the sand. It is the memory of a father, a mother, a friend and the time that was spent with each down the shore. There is a magic in a summer breeze that comes in off the waves that makes us all feel young again.

Ocean City is where my father and mother took me when I was growing up here. Both of them are now gone. My emotional connection to Ocean City is fully rooted in the love that we shared on the boardwalk and in a countless string of summer rentals.

I have had friendly arguments about which is the best shore community. Friends of mine have vehemently championed Wildwood, Margate, Sea Isle, Cape May, etc.

And, of course, they are all correct. For "the best" is an intensely personal thing. It is a "Philly" thing. We are more loyal to our Shore communities than we our favorite athletes or cheese steak spots. Athletes come and go. Another cheese steak may come along, but the love of a shore community is a deep, psychological connection for those of us who grew up in the area.

Those who move here from elsewhere sometimes don't get the love affair. I have heard from outsiders that "The Hamptons are so much more exclusive" or "South Beach is much hipper and prettier."

Exclusive is for those who don't want to share he experience; and hipper and prettier, well that just takes too much work. The comfort of the Jersey shore is that nobody cares what you look like in a bathing suit. The comfort is in sharing a very personal experience with thousands on a crowded Boardwalk.

I find beauty in being a part of THAT exclusive club. A club that grew up with tight knit families who wanted to join together for a summer experience. That is beautiful to me.

Of course, everything is beautiful after being washed and rinsed in the process of becoming our memories.

Summer in Ocean City for me was freeing. The pressure from the nuns and classmates at St. Philomena's grade school would burn away as soon as I crossed the ninth street bridge. I could redefine myself to my summer friends. I had a clean slate, unmarked by years of bad classroom experiences. The sun and sand had a way of making everything clean again.

Everyone seemed happy at the shore. Even the toll takers seemed to like their jobs. It was three months of body-surfing, Kohr's frozen custard, Steele's Fudge, Mack and Manco's pizza, wiffle ball, Johnson's popcorn, Gillian's and skee ball. I even remember shooting archery with real arrows at moving targets on the Ocean City boardwalk, something that insurance companies and common sense wouldn't allow today.


And then there was summer love. And I'm not just talking about girls, although I did meet my first girlfriend at the shore. There was a summer love shared between family. Several of my cousins and uncles would join my family in staking out a large area of beach. It made us all feel safe and loved and part of something bigger than ourselves. Free from the shackles of work, school and stress, my father, mother, brother and sisters all seemed happier and closer.

I'm certain many of you reading this have similar experiences. It is one of the nicest things that unites us as a community.

And the tradition continues as we take our children to the shore. I now have my own place in Ocean City to do just that. As my kids get older it will be a summer meeting place that unites us all in love and memories. I know my Mom and Dad would be proud. Sometimes I still see them when I look back from the water. My Dad sprawled out on a lounge chair, broiling in the hot summer sun. My mother with a hat under an umbrella watching her children carefully.

That is the magic in the summer breeze, a breeze that connects us all.



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