Ocean City Memories

When I was a teenager, I wanted to work in Ocean City for the summer in the worst way, but my parents were totally opposed to this notion. I was grateful that we vacationed for a week there, sometimes 2, with other families from our neighborhood who also had teenage kids. The grown ups would take turns driving us to the boardwalk in the evening, and picking us up around midnight.
Oh the excitement of the Ferris wheel,the Tilt a Whirl, the roller coaster.. exotic foods like Lombardi's pizza and Thrashers french fries with vinegar....Ernie's hot fresh glazed doughnuts, Fisher's Caramel corn, Kohl's frozen custard.....
At least one night during the week We would go to the Pier Ballroom which was a dance hall and where Buddy Deane and the Committee (the basis for Hairspray) performed occasionally, although never when we were there.
There were some really cute boys to dance with and fantasize about, romanticize about. Dancing to the Theme from "A Summer Place" was heavenly (I dreamed that I was Sandra Dee) and fast dancing to all those rock and roll songs was just plain fun. I fell in love many times over, every summer.
Then there were the endless games like Skee Ball, Pin ball, and the infamous Claw machine at which I became quite proficient. It only cost 5c and I won 30c packs of cigarettes about every 3rd try. Of course we all smoked while we were on the Boards because it was cool and so were we.
The problem was hiding the packs once we got back to our apartment, especially after I got busted when my Mom went through my laundry. The next batch I hid in a hedge outside.
After a few years, this group stopped going on vacation together.
There was a hiatus.
My Best girlfriend at the time Mary Ellen and I were desperate to go "Downy Ocean Hon" (a true Bawlamer saying) and somehow talked my Mom into meeting with her Mom (who drove a very cool 1957 Chevy Impala Convertible) and planned a mini trip, just 3 or 4 days. By this time some of my friends were actually living in O.C.working and sharing apartments.
The first summer went well, so the next year we decided to rent a place for a week.
You have to remember that there was no Internet, just brochures and a telephone. Also, Aunt Nellie was joining us, one of M.E's crazy relatives.
We rented unseen a tiny little house with no closets but Mary Ellen and I were in heaven. We ran off every day and night to hang out with our friends. My boyfriend Paul was working in a restaurant and spent the night with us once. My Mother made us keep the light on all night.
One morning she was in tears. We were sleeping late and she wanted us to go to the beach with her. ME's Mother and Aunt Nellie were still in bed after a big night.
My Mom liked to party but they were way out of her league, and in a trashy way. They would sit in the Irish House, a landmark bar on the boards which is now long gone, and get a load on, then walk down the boardwalk and try to get a "Hootenanny" going, sort of a jam session in the folk music days. They even bought kazoos and tambourines at the 10c store and were making quite a spectacle of themselves, stopping people along the way to join up with them.
My Mother was MORTIFIED, to say the least.
I don't exactly remember what happened next, but somehow Aunt Nellie left Ocean City in a cab and went back home to Lutherville MD. a 170 mile trip. Nice fare.
We finished out the week, went to the beach together, sometimes with Paul, and came home tan, happy and exhausted.
I guess I don't have to say that we never tried to vacation together again, and that I was forbidden to mention any thing to my Father about the trip.

I am dead tired after helping Gabe and Trin fix up the house in Baltimore. It wasn't my idea of Labor Day Weekend, but I was glad to be useful in my limited capacity.
It was also a great opportunity to spend time together, see Goose and later hook up with the family. The Pizza, Steamed Shrimp. salad. fruit and cheese buffet was a huge hit, followed by a practice birthday cake for Goose.
It was fun to see Ben and talking to John, Rob and Shannon, and hearing stories about how their lives are going. The conversation was so much more stimulating than the dinner talk we had with our friends last night.
I really am starting to feel like I am from another planet. I like to hear and discuss books, movies, current events, not Judge Hatchett and Peoples Court. Anytime I began a topic, it was immediately brushed off by something more important like how beautiful the dog is and how smart and how many toys she finds on walks.
Maybe I am just being paranoid but it feels like I have nothing in common with our old friends. It seems they were not interested in any thing I had to add.
I finally just went to bed because I was bored and tired of drinking