THE FIRST AND THE LAST

The first senior week of school is finally over.  After a summer of loafing it seemed like much longer than only three days after Labor Day 1961.  And my legs kill.  Up and the down staircase five or six times a day and then hours of football practice.

But Friday's was always a "light day" (usually unless we lost the week before!) - no pads and we just run every offense and defensive play in the book.  But we got to go home early (unless we lost the week before !!)

Sore muscles or not tonight Bub and I were going out.

He picked me up in the yellow bomb - our loving name for his 1949 Buick that his father gave him after he got the blue bomb, a 1958 buick - he was a "Buick Man" as the afficianodo of that brand was known.  They were a sect set far above the Chevy owner and the Plymouth owner was not even allowed in their league of drivers.

We "tooled the Great White Way" which was our name for Millville's one and only main drag - High Street.  I still wonder just what it was above to be called high.  After several tours of the familiar circuit Bub said, "No babes! Chip in 50 cents for gas and we can go to Ocean City."

"And more important - and back," I added.

We set the old Buick land speed record - doing at least 47 MPH all the way on the empty road as the poor old thing wheezed and sputtered on our dollar's worth of petrol.

Ocean City was closed.

The most depressing thing about a boardwalk is the weekend after Labor Day.  "CLOSED FOR THE SEASON...WE APPRECIATE YOUR BUSINESS...SEE YOU IN THE SPRING...THANKS FOR A GREAT YEAR"
The signs read on most of the shops along the boards.  And there was a chilly wind off the water.  Not at all like the many warm nights we spent "walking the boards" and on the prowl for babes.

There was evidence of the end of summer everywhere.  The ponies on the big merry-go-round where covered with canvas.  There were no cars on the tracks of the loop-da-loop.

This was more depressing than High Street was.

Bob's Grill at the end of our long stroll was open - of course the many sexy waitress were not there.  An ancient old dude made two milk shakes for us in an empty place that would have been overflowing just days before.

But all good things must eventually come to an end.  Our summer vacations would be no more as we would both work those once days off for the next four years of college.  Ocean City had changed.

And appropriately as we walked back to the car a light rain started to fall which made it more depressing.  We drove the 26 miles to home without saying much. Bub and I would never go looking for chicks again.  Summer jobs, college life and new girlfriends changed everything.

And an Ocean City adventure on the boards would never come again.