Down the Shore: Tales From the Beaches and Boards of New Jersey Volume II

By Larry S Gray

It’s been a year since Sandy blustered into the Jersey Shore with destruction on her mind, and we have been a year in the rebuilding and restoring process. The progress that has made in the past year is nothing short of remarkable. And this will continue until the Shore is back; bigger, better and stronger than ever before. Still; the fun never ends, and some things never change.

Trent Redman’s second in the Down the Shore series, a few more fun tales from the author’s life and times at the Shore, an update on the progress made so far, a quick look at how the first season fared in terms of revenue and tourism, and some little known facts and figures about New Jersey and the Shore. Among other tidbits “Shore” to please and entertain.

Trent will continue to donate 50% of the profits from this book to the ongoing rebuilding work.

Larry Gray writes as Trent Redman for his "Down the Shore" series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Larry S Gray
• Release date: Oct 29, 2013
• ISBN: 9781310069444

Larry S Gray

Larry S. Gray is a student of life who loves to tell a good tale. Born and raised in Trenton, New Jersey, he now resides on the central east coast of Florida, with his family. He is an avid reader who enjoys rock music, baseball, beaching and exploring. His material is interesting, compelling, thought-provoking and, at times, just downright weird. His subject material includes mind-control and religion, time travel, parallel worlds, and ghosts, with a little humor sprinkled in for good measure. He is hard at work on several new projects, yet more interesting tales that will keep you up late into the night and disturbed well into the morning."The Cydronium Chronicles" concerns failed experiments in the field of mind control, with several slices of comicality tucked in amid the mayhem. "Spirit of Sussex" is an Olde English ghost story, plain and simple. "The Armageddon Project" is a non-fiction work co-written with his cousin; a haunting and harrowing tale of childhoods spent in the grip of a tightly controlled religious organization. The old phrase "truth is stranger than fiction" certainly applies here. "Timespan - the Vet" is an eerie account of time travel seen from a different angle and puts forth the hypothesis that time can actually be flexible, a mental concept of startling proportions. "The Secret of Meat" was written for young minds; a tale of exploration and discovery. A young rabbit and a young mouse set out on an unsanctioned journey to a city of humans, where they discover a ghastly secret that shatters the illusion of their happy little world. The darkly humorous "Palm Castle" takes a stab at the soft pale underbelly of the business office, following the antics of the supposed professionals employed there.In the upcoming projects, we have the insanely haunting "Parallel Worlds, Perpendicular Dreams" currently still under construction. A desolate, out-of-the-way small town, populated by simple people with bad habits and a secret underground laboratory hidden beneath the village church, is the setting for the mysterious and often absurd happenings of "Where the Skinman Roams," available on December 2, 2021. And the extensive epic apocalyptic thriller "Modern-day Noah - 2034" will be ready for readers in late 2022. Following that, anything is possible...

Book preview

Down the Shore –

Tales From the

Beaches and Boards of New Jersey

VOLUME II – After…

Trent Redman

A memoir of the Jersey Shore

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Smashwords Edition copyright 2013

Copyright 2013 Lucky Lamb Publications

All rights reserved.

50% of the royalties from sales of this book will be donated to the ongoing cleanup and rebuilding effort along the New Jersey Shore.

CONTENTS

Author’s Note

Anniversaries

Aftermath – December

Aftermath – April; Asbury Park, LBI, AC, Seaside

Aftermath – June; Seaside

Aftermath – July; Asbury Park

After the Summer

Afterthoughts

Author’s Note

This book is dedicated to my parents, to my wife, to my children and grandchild(ren). To the friends and relatives who made the events, happenings and anecdotes in this book possible. And to my old pals Tim and Steve and Andrew, who are still no longer with us.

However, because this is the second in a series, this book is also dedicated to quite a few others. I dedicate this book to all those who have and are continuing to work so hard to rebuild our home. To all those who live by the words Restore the Shore and are making it happen. To all the construction workers, cleanup crews, electricians, engineers, laborers, truckers, painters, drywallers, bricklayers, plumbers, landscapers, and anyone in any related profession I may have missed. To the doctors and nurses, police and firefighters, emergency techs and medical professionals who helped save lives. To the insurance agents, lawyers, tax advisors, real estate gurus, stockbrokers, computer and Internet experts, and accountants and bookkeepers who are all likely choking on the paperwork. Lastly, to any and all who are taking part in helping put our Shore back together again.

The events that transpire in these pages all took place exactly as described. All the locations are geographically correct and all the business establishments are real. If reading this book prompts anyone to come by and visit, stop in and buy something, or order a meal and have a drink, then I’m glad to have been of help. You’ll remember from the first book, my little disclaimer about the names; yes, that still stands. The names of the players have all been changed, to protect the innocent and the guilty alike, and to respect the privacy of everyone involved, now that we’ve all grown up. Or at least turned into adults… I use different first names and no last names, only initials.

Every name is an alias, in case somebody squeals… yes, even my own. I am still a retired retail slave exiled in Florida carrying on a mental health hunt, still writing my way through my fifties. A lot of you have read my other material; I have a small catalog on Amazon and a small group of followers too. For that reason alone you may well recognize me through the very writing style of this book. It’s been said one can mask one’s face or disguise one’s voice, but there will always be somebody who can see through the veneer. That said; I still choose to change my name. This is for everyone else in the story; I can change all their names but if you know who I am, then you’re going to know who they are too, aliases or not. Thus, for the Down the Shore series, I become Trent Redman and continue as such. If you guess my name, or recognize me for who I am, that too is cool. More power to you!

Some of you may think my grammar is incorrect, as I consistently repeat down the Shore. Not so. In New Jersey it is the Shore, everywhere else it is the beach. And the Shore is much more than just a beach. It is carnival rides and arcades along the streets and boardwalks. It is one-room bungalows straight through to twenty-room mansions and everything in between. It’s the land of Springsteen and the home of Miss America. It is truly one of a kind.

And in New Jersey you do not go to the beach, or even to the Shore; but rather you go down the Shore.

Those of you native to this area will enjoy this book immensely; and will likely become engulfed in many memories and ruminations of your own. Those of you who have never been, I graciously invite you down. Come check out our place, and see what fun and good times are all about. Even now. Sandy is gone. Jersey is strong.

It’s been a year since Sandy blustered into the state with destruction on her mind, and we have been a year in the rebuilding and restoring process. The progress that has been made in the past year is nothing short of remarkable. And this will continue until the Shore is back; bigger, better and stronger than ever before. It’s happening now! Piss off, Sandy!

Trent Redman

October 22, 2013

Anniversaries –

Anniversaries are supposed to be happy occasions. A wedding, an accomplishment, a milestone of some kind. Some anniversaries are tragic, yet we acknowledge them anyway, with all the fervor and passion of a truly delightful experience.

We have a monumental happening coming up this week, now; and we have a monumental one coming up next month. Both tragedies that will, sadly, get more media attention than anybody’s golden or silver anniversary, or the anniversary of someone’s dog saving someone’s life, or an anniversary of the day a fellow rose to the top of a company or made his first million.

We have a big five-oh coming next month, the JFK thing. I can call it that, meaning no disrespect of course, because everyone the world over knows who JFK was and what happened fifty years ago. It was a dominant, world-changing event. It literally turned culture on its head and changed the course of the world as we knew it. It may have taken a few years but that is exactly what it did.

We are at the one-year anniversary of another true tragedy, Hurricane Sandy. Sandy’s arrival didn’t change the world, no. But it did change New Jersey, and especially the Shore. It changed things in ways that can and will never be the same. It ended things. Mass destruction has a way of doing that.

This little book, the second in my Down the Shore series, is to mark that first anniversary of Hurricane Sandy’s blow to our state and our Shore. Not to commemorate a tragedy, but rather to celebrate how much has been accomplished since that fateful day one year ago. A few more fun tales from the author’s life and times at the Shore, an update on the progress made so far, a quick look at how the first season after the tragedy fared in terms of revenue and tourism, and some little known facts and figures about New Jersey and the Shore. Among other tidbits Shore to please and entertain.

Revival. Resurrection. Rebuild, restore, repair, resolve; I love these words that begin with re. They bespeak something that is being done. Something that is being accomplished.

Aftermath - December

The 12/12/12 concert. It brought a lot of folks together for a common cause. I wish I could have been there, for both reasons, the music and the cause. Twelve/twelve/twelve. It looks good both ways.

I would have loved to have been at the Concert for Sandy Relief on