Booths on the north boardwalk for Bridgefest. June 22, 2013. PG photo. Left click for full view
By Paul Goldfinger, editor @Blogfinger
Saturday, June 22. Location: The Ocean Grove beachfront, on the boardwalk (what’s left of it at the north side of town)
Do you hear a drumbeat on Blogfinger? I don’t mean “The Leader of the Pack” playing below. I mean the sound of an injustice that is so obvious, all you need to do is come to Ocean Grove and check it out.
Several months ago, many people in Ocean Grove predicted that the town would come to life as always when summer arrived. After all, we didn’t have much structural damage except for the beachfront. Our commercial district was fine. The only potential problem was that we would not have most of our boardwalk, and as we all know, the boardwalk along this stretch of the Jersey Shore is a life-giving artery that requires continuity for its full potential.
In addition, for the people who live and visit in the Grove, it would cause some hardship in terms of lifestyle, comfort,traditions, beauty and safety. (If you have any doubt about the latter, just go down on Ocean Avenue and witness the semi-chaos of the scene where cars are interacting with crowds of pedestrians and bikers.) I , on my bike, was cut off by a car on Main and Ocean. I yelled at the guy (I’m normally not like that) but he ignored me and left me hanging out at that intersection like a deer in the headlights.
Looking north from the boardwalk, just south of the pavilion. All photos by Paul Goldfinger, Blogfinger Photo Dept. ©
So I went up on the boardwalk near where it ends, just south of the Pavilion. I was reminded of the title of a famous book : A Tale of Two Cities. If I looked north and took a photograph, I saw crowds of people enjoying themselves. If I turned and faced south, I saw a wide stretch of empty sand. That stretch, “no-mans land,” used to be the location of the mid-section of our boardwalk. It is empty because no one is allowed on it, but that whole “middle beach” area is stark by comparison to the opposite way.
Now turn around and face south.
Turn east toward the beach. Bridgefest is doing fine.
It is a glorious day to be at the beach. The town is alive and happy today—everyone is trying to ignore the 800 pound sand dune in the room. But, they don’t completely succeed, because “it” is a common topic of conversation.
In short, OG has come to life as summer begins, even without the boardwalk, but there is something that can’t be ignored. It’s the feeling by many people that an injustice has occurred. It’s a sour taste that lingers. What FEMA has done really makes no sense.
For over 140 years, the CMA has provided a boardwalk for the general public. Over those years they have rebuilt boardwalks after serious storms that tore the boards and the pier apart. Then they would resume their giving to the public—-it has been a mission for them. In 1992, FEMA helped, but not now. Doesn’t the CMA deserve some help now from our country for 140 years of boardwalks open to everyone? Don’t the people of Ocean Grove deserve the help that has been given to other beach towns up and down the Jersey Shore?
I saw a man, about age 40, standing on the sandy/grassy strip as I walked my bike. There were quite a few people using that strip to get somewhere, but many were out on Ocean Avenue. I spoke to him but I didn’t ask his name:
Me: Hi. Are you from Ocean Grove?
He: No, I’m from Elizabeth; here for the day.
Me: What do you think about all this? ( as I motioned toward the scene before us)
He: It’s so beautiful here. When I was in college I developed a beer belly and I wasn’t healthy. I came to live here for awhile and rode a bike every day. Soon I lost a lot of weight and felt much better. I love to come to Ocean Grove.
Me: (Curious if he had any idea about our situation). Do you know why our boardwalk is not rebuilt?
He: Of course. It’s because we are Christians.
Me: Wow. Hey…enjoy your day here; I must be going.
So this is what has happened. I have heard such sentiments voiced before on Blogfinger. Some people have lost faith that our country is fair. They mistrust our government to treat us all with equal truth and justice, especially with the recent revelations in Washington.
Our situation in the Grove has now become about more than our big smile with the front teeth missing. Where’s the sense in it?
JOHN CAFFERTY AND THE BEAVER BROWN BAND—–“Boardwalk Angel.”