Boardwalk Trekkers Don’t Expect Answers, Only Exercise

An icy northeast wind off the Atlantic tore relentlessly into anything foolish enough to get in its way. Tiny grains of beach sand pierced ears and eyes like invisible missiles. This wasn’t a day most would find fascinating to walk the deserted Wildwood Boardwalk except for a hearty few.
Those rugged souls comprise a cadre of walkers who don thermal garb, foul weather gear, or, in the other extreme, thin cotton garments to make their way north and south from North Wildwood to the border of Wildwood Crest.
Many of those stalwart beings enjoy the solitude that the lonely trek affords. It gives an hour or so to think, reflect, meditate, or listen to a book on an iPod or MP3.
If I lived closer to the wooden way, maybe I would walk the walk from time to time.
It would allow a time to think about things that get pushed aside in the hustle and bustle between headlines and deadlines.
At the risk of sounding brash, one of the issues to consider on the southern route between 26th Avenue and Oak Avenue would be local government workers’ contracts. I wouldn’t pick on one local or bargaining unit, just try to reason things out walking the lonely boards.
Sure, everybody should earn a decent, living wage. I don’t begrudge that, in fact, I need one too. What hurts most, and I’m alone, is when you read about three and four-year contracts being approved with 3 or 4.5 percent salary increases over the course of the contract.
There’s nothing wrong with that, but not everybody who pays the freight gets to ride in the truck.
There are many ratepayers who have not enjoyed any increase in wages in a number of years. They have, in fact, lost ground in terms of “real wages.” Their taxes are used to fatten the paychecks of those covered by contracts.
The wind gusts even harder, pushing the walker along the boardwalk. Tears come into the eyes, but it’s not because they feel inequity with those who will get more, it’s just plain cold here on the boardwalk.
Lots of people in the county don’t have medical insurance. That doesn’t mean they don’t get sick, they do. Because they have no money or insurance, they often get sicker with each passing day. Yes, they have places to go for treatment, but even so, some are too proud to enter such places.
Getting to those places poses a problem if you don’t have a car, or worse, no money for bus fare to get where help is available. But that’s not the issue right now as the wind buffets the back.
The irksome issue is that some people have carte blanche health coverage, but beef about having to pay a small deductible. That’s just not right. But again, I’m not pointing fingers, just trying to make sense of certain things.
Then there is the issue of elected officials who still have a lot of growing up to do. Such people give politicians in general a bad name. They are everywhere, not just here.
Again, I won’t mention names, but from what I have witnessed lately, all elected officials should be schooled in etiquette and decorum before assuming a place in the public spotlight. Shameful outbursts at public meetings are an insult to the electorate. While people may get the type of government they deserve, nobody deserves sub-standard treatment.
If you talk the talk, then walk the walk. What would a newspaper editor know about conducting a public meeting or being civil to anyone who would gleefully read his obituary? I should have worn that heavy sweater that was left in the closet, and those ear warmers, where are they now? They’re probably in the box with that other set of warm gloves.
Why don’t more high school seniors apply for college scholarships? If they only knew how much money was really available to them, they’d stay up nights banging out applications. Guidance departments are busy places, and they’re in charge of such stuff, oh well. The money can wait for someone else, maybe next year.
Next time I’m wearing that old Navy woolen watch cap. It’s not much to look at, but it keeps your head and ears warm on a day like this.
What is it like to be a car dealer in this economy? How do they pay for the inventory on their lots? Is it just that there is no money available? People don’t want the cars? I doubt that. Americans love cars, always have, always will. Why doesn’t some brainy MBA dream up a plan to: A. Get people into showrooms. B. Make financing available. C. Do something with all the old cars?
If cashiers in stores had to ring up sales the old fashioned way, instead of using an OCR scanner, could they? Would they know how to give change, or is that a lost art? What would the next generation do without calculators? Isn’t it time to ditch, once and for all, paper currency?
The long expanse of boardwalk from Wildwoods Convention Center to Cresse Avenue can be brutal because it’s just wide-open ocean and beach all the way. You can hear the ocean crashing about a quarter mile out there. Maybe that’s good. It’s why rugged souls venture out upon the boards and never expect answers to the things they think about when they head north and south. Perhaps there are no answers to such random thoughts.