remembering home...

I've been watching the news all week of Hurricane Sandy from the land locked midwest. It's broken this Jersey girl's heart to see the devastation to the Jersey shore. I have such memories of that place. It was the place I wanted to be growing up. I can still remember driving down for the day with my Grandmother. I'd look anxiously out the car window at the gray sky above worrying that it would be a cloudy beach day. ...


She would always say.. "if you can see enough blue sky to make a pair of sailor's pants.. the sun is going to come out!" And you know... it always did! The first thing I would smell was the salt marshes as we entered Ocean City... I haven't smelled that fishy salty smell in years. 

My Grandfather was a dry goods salesman and his main beat was the Jersey shore. He would sell towels and sheets to the little mom and pop motels and hotels down there. Everyone loved him. My grandparents would rent a house during the summer and we would all pile in for the weekend. Lots of love, good food and plenty of sand and sunshine. Poppy would head out on Sunday mornings to buy jelly filled donuts for our breakfast. Those were the days.

The best part of the "shore" experience was arriving at the beach mid morning, laying in the sun, jumping and floating in the waves till late afternoon. Then heading back to the house to shower, eat dinner then head out to the boardwalk. I will never forget sunburned skin after a shower and how that felt with the cool ocean breeze. The sound of the ocean, mingled with the sound of the boardwalk- the food, lights, amusement rides. It was magical.

I'm praying the magic will come back.

~ the Artist (Jersey Girl)