The Shore

The first time my dad ever went to the shore, it was with his Uncle Joe Egitto. He thinks he was a 3rd grader at the time, because he knows it was before he got glasses and wasn’t able to see very well. He drove all 4 of the kids (Carl, Debbie, Judi, and dad), along with his mom and Aunt Anne (Joe’s wife), down to Ocean City. This was before the freeway was put in, so it was quite a drive. The first time dad saw the ocean, he was scared of it. It was so vast that he didn’t want to go in it. He remembers his sister Judi walking with him down to the water to help him not to be nervous about going in. He kept his head down, so he couldn’t see how big it was. He eventually got over that and learned to enjoy the ocean, but that first experience was a scary one for him. Later they had lunch. He had his very first hot turkey sandwich. He said he still drools when he thinks of it, because it was so delicious. Up until that point, it was the best meal he had ever had in his whole life and he thought to himself if he could have a hot turkey sandwich like that every day of his life, he would be happy forever. Guess that’s as good a goal as any for a 9 yr old. ;-) His Uncle Joe paid for everything that day. He paid for lunch, bought them all salt water taffy, and he remembers that he even gave all the kids a dollar each to spend. His Uncle Joe took them on several trips and was always so patient with them. Even when they would be driving and his brother Carl and he would yell at motorists they would pass "We beat you, mister!!" and point at them and laugh. He always just let it all slide off his back. And, that first trip to the shore was a really wonderful one of those trips where his Uncle Joe made things really special for him.