Going Down the Shore

It’s not “going to the shore” or “going to the beach” it’s just “Going down the shore”. In Philly we go “down the shore” or “up the mountains”. There are no prepositions. No need for unnecessary words to clutter the expression. Can’t get there fast enough and cutting out all those big words like “to” will expedite things. Anyway, in a few hours, that’s where I will be…..going down the shore. The Jersey shore. Wildwood, N.J. to be exact. The land that made Cozy Morley and Charlie Gracie famous. One of the oldest family beach communities in the country. Been getting sand in my shorts there since I was in diapers, and probably will when I get back in them. The best beach and sand in the world is in Wildwood. While most beaches are eroding, The Wildwoods beaches are still five miles long and about a 100+ yards wide. It has everything you want in a beach resort and no stinking blue laws. The Boardwalk has several piers packed with rides, games, food…..enough to drop a couple hundred a night trying to entertain a girlfriend and three insatiable kids. Boardwalk pizza, Curley’s Fries, Kohr’s Custard, polish water ice, hot dogs…….

Ahhhh…….the smell of salty air, the sun beating down on you as a cool breeze whips in off the Atlantic, the rolling thunder of waves crashing against the surf , the sound of the fudgy wudgy man selling his wares, and cackle of the seagulls as they swoop in and steal some toddlers Dorito, jellyfish infestations, horseshoe crab carcasses, the green heads sucking your blood, the invisible chiggers gnawing at your leg, sand in your PB&J, sunburn on your scalp because you forgot your hat….love it all.

GE has never been “down the shore”. Training her to lose the preposition isn’t going to well. She comes from a foreign land where they VW’s are called “slugbugs” not “punch buggies”, and they put “sprinkles” on their ice cream, not “jimmies”, and people eat “subs” and not hoagies….what kind of bassackward land is Virginia anyway? Oh well, this will be her first visit to the Jersey shore. She has been excited for weeks. Annoyingly so. “Can we do this?, “Can we do that?”, “Should I bring this?”, “Can I play in the ocean?”, “Can we fool around on the beach……oh…wait…..TMI. We’ll probably hit AC one night for little gambling, maybe the Cape May Zoo, maybe a few of the light houses along the coast, definitely a couple pancake houses for breakfast, and not to mention all the regular events Wildwoods has going on.

Anyway, time to shower, pack up the old family roadster and get going.

Take care,

S

Spring'll soon be gone (Wildwood days),

summer's comin' on (Wildwood days)
And I'm-a dreamin' of (Wildwood days) lotsa summer love
(bup-a-dup-a-dup-a-up)
And all I think about (Wildwood days)

 after school is out (Wildwood days)
Headin' down the shore (Wildwood days) to have a ball once more
Whoa whoa whoa whoa those Wildwood days, wild, wild Wildwood days
Oh baby, every day's a holiday and every night is a Saturday night
Oh those Wildwood days, wild, wild Wildwood days
And then those party lights wild, wild Wildwood nights.
Say baby you'll be mine (Wildwood days)

 'cause it's kissin' time (Wildwood days)
Gonna twist again (Wildwood days) like remember when
(dom-a-dom-a-dom-a-dom)
Sleepin 'on the beach (Wildwood days) seven days a week (Wildwood days)
Rockin' every night (Wildwood days) till the early bright
Whoa whoa whoa whoa those Wildwood days, wild, wild Wildwood days
My baby, every day's a holiday and every night is a Saturday night
Oh those Wildwood days, wild, wild Wildwood days
And then those party lights wild, wild Wildwood nights

Whoa whoa whoa whoa those Wildwood days, wild, wild Wildwood days
Oh baby, every day's a holiday and every night is a Saturday night

Wildwood Days – Bobby Rydell

#17 on the charts in 1963