Welcome to the Jersey shore Our lives are your vacations

SRR722@CABRINI EDU

My whole life I have lived at the Jersey Shore, Long Beach Island to be exact. I live in Barnegat about 15 minutes from the beach and living so close has made the beach a very big part of my life. So, when I tell people for the first time where I am from, I typically get the same reaction.

It is usually along the lines of, “Oh my gosh, really? That is so cool!” I usually give the same response of a sigh and rolling my eyes. If only they knew what it is really like, they would realize it’s not all its cracked up to be.

Where I live, the sum- mer and the winter are about as different as night and day. During the winter, the island is like a ghosttown. There are places that are only open during the summer, two of my favorite restaurants included. Traffic is not an issue. Most of the traffic lights are turned off and the speed limit goes up a little bit. You can actually find a parking spot on the streets to go up to the beach.

During the summer, well, that’s a totally different story.

The summer before my freshman year at Cabrini, I worked at Ron Jon Surf Shop. If you have ever been to L.B.I., you’ve seen the place because of its obnoxiously loud colors. The store is located right at the beginning of the island. Typically, it only takes me about 15 to 20 minutes to get there. During the summer, it could take up to over an hour.

There is only one way on and off the island, and the traffic from the bridge backs up on Rt. 72 for miles sometimes. There would be many times when my bosses would get a very aggravated call from me telling them that I was going to be late because I was stuck in traffic on the bridge. I could have walked over the bridge faster than it took me to drive. I was actually jealous of the crazy people that rode their bicycles over the bridge. At least they were getting to where they were going faster than I was.

The amount of traffic during the summer is absolutely horrendous. Of course, it isn’t just limited to the island; the mainland is terrible as well. And the Garden State Parkway is even worse. Thinking about going south on a Friday in season or north on a Sunday? Forget it. Trying to drive on the Parkway on these days is absolutely unbearable. Vans with bike racks and beach chairs secured to the roof are everywhere.

Summer is right around the corner and soon enough the tourists will start flooding in. Besides warm weather, going to the beach and no school, summer always means traffic and overcrowding. As annoying as it all is, we’ve all grown up with it and it never changes.

Now, don’t get me wrong. If I had the chance, I wouldn’t choose to live anywhere else. I have loved everything about growing up near the beach. I’m not sure I would ever be able to survive living in the Midwest. I can’t imagine going through life never having seen the beauty of the ocean

Of course we complain about the shoobies, bennies or whatever you chose to call them, like there is no tomorrow. It’s just the price we all have to pay for living by the beach and that price never gets too high.

The ocean is in my veins and the sand is always between my toes. The saying, “Welcome to the Jersey Shore, our lives are your vacation,” well, that couldn’t be more true.

SPORTS EDITOR JH729@CABRINI EDU

As a true Philadelphia sports fan, I am a firm believer of the William Penn Statue Curse.

For those of you that don’t know, the curse has been in play since the Philadelphia Phillies, Eagles, Flyers and Sixers have not won a championship since 1987.

The bronze statue of William Penn stands atop Philadelphia City Hall. After the construction of City Hall in 1901, the government decided on an informal agreement, a “gentlemen’s agreement,” that it would remain the tallest building in the city. Because there was no legal agreement, contractors broke the tradition. Bad idea.

One Liberty Place was built in March of 1987, exceeding City Hall’s height by over 500 feet. Its sister building, Two Liberty Place ,was quick to follow in construction. This second skyscraper also dwarfed City Hall by towering a near 400 feet over. It was just before these two buildings when Philadelphia sports had seen their last run of success.

The Flyers had won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1974 and 1975. However, they proceeded to lose

The 76ers had also just won a championship in 1983; however, their luck drastically changed. It was in 2001 when the 76ers again made their way to the NBA finals but coincidentally lost.

The Phillies had just won the 1980 World Series and it wasn’t until 1993 when they again made it to the final game and lost. They also won the National League East Championship title last season but failed to make it to the World Series.

It wasn’t until 2005 when the Eagles made it to Super Bowl XXXIX and also fell to the New England Patriots. Since then the Eagles have been pretty terrible.

With the Flyers and Sixers in the playoffs this season, as much as I would like a championship title, I say don’t hold your breath. Maybe it’s the curse, or maybe Philly sports teams really are just that terrible… who knows. I personally think that William Penn is holding a grudge against the city of Philadelphia.

And now thanks to Comcast we now have the 973-foot high-rise Comcast Center that towers over poor William Penn atop City Hall by over 500 feet. The day I see a Philadelphia sports team win a championship will be the day I stop believing in the curse.