By Bill Quain
Dear readers, this will be my last “Six Words on a Boardwalk Bench” column. When I began the column in May 2023, I had no idea just how many people I would reach. People now approach me (and my guide dog, Trudy) on the Ocean City Boardwalk, along Asbury Avenue, at meetings, and on my walks. People have even stopped their car, rolled down the window, and shouted “I’ll see ya in the papers!” I’ve heard from friends and acquaintances not only from South Jersey, but from different parts of the country. Just a few weeks ago I received an email from a reader who had done a search, and one of my 2023 articles came up. You gotta love the Internet and those search engines!
But now, before
I say goodbye…
I want to catch up on some recent feedback from my readers. These comments were in response to my Nov. 21 article about the brouhaha stirring over the Wonderland project.
Let me highlight three of them:
- Several readers responded to my mention of the Flanders Hotel and Playland’s Castaway Cove. It seems my memory didn’t quite match the facts. I reported that Playland was built on the site of the Flanders’ pools and cabanas. But after getting the emails and digging through histories of the area, it turns out that the pools were removed 17 years before Castaway Cove rescued the site and built the amusements! In my mind, it seemed like I was swimming in the Flanders’ pool one year, and bringing my kids (now in their 30s) to ride the rides the next. My apologies for that mistake! Playland, you have many fans! Keep up the good work.
- I received several invitations to attend meetings about the proposed “Icona in Wonderland” hotel project. Unfortunately, I was in Florida for some of them. However, I do want to mention that it makes me proud to see our citizens and visitors so passionate about our community. I’ll be attending some of the meetings in the future. But I do want to reiterate what I said in my column – Let’s all give each other a break! It’s only been about eight weeks since Wonderland closed, and this is going to be a long haul – no matter which plans are approved or which project is accepted. I’m confident that our city officials (as well as the county and state regulators) are going to do the right thing.
- Finally, I received several emails from people who wanted to remain anonymous (see No. 2), but wanted to share their memories of what makes this Boardwalk community so special. And guess what? It’s all because of the residents and visitors who call Ocean City home. Yes, as every one of the anonymous writers stated, “Ocean City is a home.”
And now for the
final goodbye
As many of you know, I am a full-time professor at Stockton University, and I am also a speaker and author. My 28th book, “Bankrupt U,” was just released on Amazon.com, and I’m happy to report Amazon named it “#1 New Release” in the “College & Education Costs” category. The main reason I’m putting down my “Six Words on a Boardwalk Bench” pen is that I want to focus on the many tasks of promoting the book and fielding requests for speaking engagements. Over the past month or so, I realized I can’t do both – or at least, I can’t do both well.
But that doesn’t mean we have to stop meeting all over town! And it doesn’t mean that I want to stop hearing from you. Please, feel free to drop me a line at bill@quain.com. My thanks to all of you, especially to Cindy and Bob Fertsch. It’s been an honor to write for Shore Local News. And it’s been a real pleasure to share my thoughts with all of you.
While I may no longer “see ya in the papers,” I’ll be sure to see ya’ around town – maybe even on a Boardwalk Bench!
Bill is a Professor in Stockton University’s Hospitality Management Program. He is the author of 27 books, and a highly-respected speaker. Even though he is almost totally blind, Bill is a long-distance runner and runs the Ocean City Half Marathon each year. He lives in Ocean City with his wife Jeanne, and his Guide Dog Trudy. Visit www.billquain.com or email him at bill@quain.com.
