By Paul Goldfinger, Editor Blogfinger.net
Porta Potties are serviced daily by the boardwalk. Blogfinger photo. 7/27/20.
Watching the Porta Potty show. 7/27/20. Blogfinger photo.
Scene: OG Boardwalk at 8:30 am, Monday, 7/27/20.
A family consisting of a father carrying an infant and a mom talking to a 3 year old son who is quite attentive. She is kneeling down explaining what the man with the big truck is doing by the curb.
It turns out that the man is servicing the Porta Potties by hosing them down with, I suspect, a disinfectant. He wears body protection and heavy duty gloves, but no mask. (Yikes!)
I walk a little closer to mom and this is what transpired:
Me: Hi. How old is your son? Two?
She: He’s three. His name is Logan.
Me: How old was he when he first spoke? (I have two small grand kids.)
She: 1 1/2
Me: Wow.
Just then the little boy takes an interest in me and walks over. He tugs on my shorts leg, points to the truck, and says, “Poopie truck!” We all laughed.
Then, I notice a TV crew interviewing people on the boardwalk and the pier. One man was videoing and the other was warming up the next customer.
I approach one of the men:
Me: Hi, I’m a journalist in Ocean Grove. Can you tell me what’s going on?
He: We’re from Channel 12 and we’re doing the weather.
Me: Why here? Is there a story here?
He: No. We just like to change locations. (He’s sweating and goes in and out of his van, I guess for the AC. The motor is running by the curbside at the boards. Unlike most TV trucks I’ve seen, this one is white with no writing. But you can guess what it is because there is a sort of flying saucer sitting on top.)
Me: It must be sort of dull doing the weather. After all, weathermen have been talking about the same thing since the Stone Age.
He: Not taking the bait regarding my historical reference, he nods and goes back into the truck.
Getting ready for a man-on-the-street interview. Actually a woman-on-the-pier. Blogfinger photo.
I follow onto the pier and overhear a piece of that interview, and the woman is talking about parking. (Oh no, not more of that!)
As I head back by the boards, towards my car, I observe the same morning parade of young women in their summer shorts/black tights, jogging either north or south, pony tails flying in the breeze, perfect bodies bouncing about. A few shirtless guys join the parade. I see no kids jogging. And a few seniors are tempting fate. Hardly anyone wears a COVID mask.
7/27/20 Kids head down to the surf. Staff is present. Blogfinger photo.
Over at the Boardwalk Pavilion at about 10:30, a gaggle of kids is being herded from the boards onto the beach. This is obviously a CMA activity, and I see no kids distancing or wearing masks, but they are moving quickly towards the surf.
Isn’t it funny that the CMA’s Pres. Badger told an APP reporter that his organization is much too sensible not to follow all the COVID rules.
I hope they know what they are doing!
CAST OF THE LAST FIVE YEARS: “A Summer in Ohio.”
