Shore Memories:
Found Poems

by David King

I. Boats

My first memory
Of Asbury Park
Was at three

When
I took
The boat ride
By Howard Johnsons

The boats were
Kid-sized
With room
For two in front
And two in back

With colored
Steering wheels
At every seat,

Red, green
Blue, yellow.

The boats
Were fixed
In a pool painted
Bright aquamarine

That sparkled
In the sunshine.

As
I rode,
I took out
A new penny
And held it
In the water

Watching
It sparkle

Until
A stubbly
Attendant

Said,
“You’re gonna
Rip your hand

Off,

Kid!”

II. Rings

My father
worked
at the Skeeball
Parlor

Where
We sneaked
And played
For free

But got
No bells,
No prizes

While
My uncle worked
the Merry-go-Round
at the Palace.

If you grabbed
a gold ring
you would win
a prize
and ring
a bell.

So
one day
at home
I spray painted
a metal ring gold.

But it
did not work.

They checked
the ring
with a magnet
to see if it
was really
a brass ring !


III. Waffles

I grew up
making waffle
and ice cream
sandwiches.....

probably
over 500,000.

We used
fresh waffles
that we mixed
in 20 lb batches

and had
the hot waffle
irons lined up
along the front
brick counter
facing the boardwalk

on really
busy nights
we never stopped.

I would start
at one end
of the waffle irons,
pouring the batter
and moving
to the next.

By the time
I got to the end
I had to run back
to the first
and start taking
the waffles
out.

Then start
all over.

We used
precut squares
of either
vanilla or chocolate
ice cream

specially
made for us
by Briars ice cream
in Newark!!!

IV. The Monte Carlo

My family
was a member
of the Monte Carlo
Beach Club

It
was boasted
as the world's
largest salt water
pool.

To
this day,
I remember
positioning myself
just right
to get pelted
by the salt water
that would
intermittently spurt

from
the two huge fountains
inside the
pool.


V. Luck

My mother’s
favorite
Asbury Park story
was about
the fortune teller
on the boardwalk
who told her
the letter "J"
would be
very important
in her life.

She thought
nothing of it
at the time.

But
my late father,
whom she met
just two years later,
was named Jack

She and
my father
had their honeymoon
in one
of Asbury Park's

fanciest hotels,
right
on the ocean,

where my father
had worked
as a bellhop
for several summers

to pay
his way
through college.

They
could afford
only one weekend,

but they
were treated
like royalty
by the hotel staff.

When
the time came
to sign out
and pay the bill,

they were told
the entire stay—

in the bridal suite,
no less—

had been
on the house.

VI. Rides

My
greatest memory
the BIG rides.

I remember
fondly
the Bubble Bounce
in one
of the buildings,

along
the boardwalk
was a great
helicopter carousel,

the Scrambler
was in the center
of the boardwalk,

the Tilt a Whirl
was there also.

there seemed
to be a train
going thru
this center area.

If I got
real lucky
I would get
to go on
the Paratrooper

which seemed
by far
the most decorated
and like
the coolest ride
ever.

It was
the last ride
on the boardwalk,

with
a greater height
than the rest!.

(It had
a yellow crown
in the middle,
and the legs
were pink,
yellow, and aqua!
The bonnets
were yellow
and netted
....not
the fiberglass
solid ones
we see
today!)

VII. Fear

Uncle Al
Used to take
Me to the rides

Whenever
He was
In town.

Once
We went
To Palace Amusements

And
I rode the
Dive Bomber.

It had
Two kid-sized
Rockets

At the end
Of ten foot
Arms

That also moved
Round and round
As it went
Up and down
Furiously.

I got
Strapped in,
Started
To ride,

And panicked.

They had
To stop
The ride

To let
Me off

And give
The other
Laughing kids

A free go.

VIII. The Soda Store

It was
a huge,

Automat style,

vending shop
for all types
of sodas.

Little windows
lined the walls
from the floor up

and you
could see
the various flavors
of soda
through the window,

And
Put in
Your coins

then
the window opened
releasing your soda.

My
personal favorite
was black cherry.

This soda shop
was attached
to a seaquarium
featuring all sorts
of live local
fish and shellfish

including
horseshoe crabs.

IX. The Mayfair

I remember
the Mayfair Theatre,

it was a palace,
with Egyptian
columns,
colors,

fantastic!

The best part
were the clouds
which moved
across the ceiling,
during the whole film.

Saw
Snow White
there,

the
scariest movie
I ever saw.

Got
the courage up
to see it again
last week,

at
my age
of 60!!!

Still scary.

X. The Fun House

The fun house
At Palace Amusements

Scared us
Seriously.

One time,
My father
Wore
His new checked
Easter suit

And took
Us through,

But
When the Devil thing
With yellow eyes
Sprung up
In a glass case,
With a deathly
Moan,

My brother
And I both
Jumped
Different ways

While holding
Onto his jacket.
tails

We ripped
The back
Seam completely
from waist to neck.

Dad had
To buy a new suit,

But
we still
laugh

fifty years

later.


XI. The Hindenburg

A spin
off memory
of my July 1937
trip.

The
Hindenburg disaster
had occurred
only two months
before,

so
we visited
the U.S. Naval
Air Station
at Lakehurst.

Back then
there were
no restrictions
on entry
into the huge hanger
that had been built

for
the giant transatlantic airships.

I distinctly
remember seeing
the aluminum nosecone
of the Hindenburg
suspended
on a wall
of the hanger.

I understand
that the cone
was melted down

during
the Second World War

to assist
the war effort.

XII. Rescue

On one
Easter Sunday,

We went
To Palace Amusements
On the side
Of Swan Lake

My mother, father,
Ellen, Barbara
In a baby carriage,
And me and Steve.

There
We saw
A little girl
Leaning over
The edge
Fall in.

My dad
Ran to the edge,
Threw off
His overcoat,
And jumped
In,

Rescuing her
In the 3-foot
Deep pool.

We wrapped
Her up
In his black
Coat that
Matched her skin.

I can
Still hear
Her mother’s
Screams.

She
Stood,
Frozen

As dad
Fished her
Out.

My dad’s
Coat was ruined

He
Didn’t have
Good luck
With

Jackets.

XIII.The Rental

My friends
and I rented

a shore house
for the week.

There was
a lot of
alcohol.

That’s all
I remember.

XIV. Splinters

My cousin
Jimmy

Left
His flip flops
On the beach
At lunch

And
Got
a four-inch
splinter

in
his left foot
from
the ball
of his toe

almost
to the heel.

We had
To take him
To
The emergency room
For five stitches

And he
Couldn’t
Go on the beach

For three weeks.

The
Day after
He got
The stitches
Out,

He lost
Two fillings
On a caramel
Big Daddy.

The fillings
Stood out
Like pimples

I guess
It was

His
Bad luck
Summer.

XV. Fort

Once we
Found
A concrete
Fort

In a pier
Under the
Pavilion.

It had
A two-foot
Square door
Just big
Enough

For
Skinny
Nine-year-old
Kids.

We hollowed
The inside
By scooping out
The sand

And
Played there
In the cool, wet
Concrete

For two weeks.

But
In 1960,
When the hurricane
Hit

It filled
In completely,

Rats!

XVI. Hurricane

In 1960,
I think,

A big hurricane
Hit the Shore.

My second
Grade teacher
Took us out
At recess
To see the eye’s
Green sky,

And the boardwalk
Was ripped up
Into jagged splinters.

The next day
Dad took us
To Belmar

Where
Dead fish and clams
Were hip deep
In their stink

And
A whale had
Washed up
Dead,
Of course.

Other kids were
Climbing on its
Black skin

And
Sliding down
Its tail,

But
My dad said,

“No!”

XVII. Fishing

On good
Fishing days,

We’d sneak
To Belmar Beach

Where
The lifeguards
Would take
The white dories
To the end
Of the jetties

To snag
A few fish.

When
They rode
The surf
In,

We’d help
Them sort
The catch

And get
A few culls,
Usually the
Smaller ones,
To take
Home.

Good
Eating!

XVIII. Passages

I
Found out
In college

In Virginia,

That
My best
Friend had
An aunt

Who ran
The candy store
At the Casino,

And
We had been
At the beach
As youngsters

In
The same summers.

I often
Think
Of buying
Candy there

And how
We crossed paths

But did
Not know.

XIX. Studying

I remember
studying for
midwinter
high school exams

in the solarium
on the boardwalk,
adjacent to the Casino.

I was
the only young
person

there,

among
the elderly
snoozing
in their rocking chairs,

basking
in the warmth
of that
large,
very quiet,
cozy room.

XX. Off Season

I remember

how,
once all
the summer crowds
faded away
come September,

Asbury Park
turned
into a totally
different place
for the fall
and winter months
each year.

A quieter,
cozier,
more secret place,
that I could keep
all to myself,
until summer
came back

again.