Sharon Kinsey's Reflections

Our annual trip to the Jersey Shore always includes an evening spent on the Ocean City boardwalk. I first set foot “on the boards” when I was in ninth grade. A friend’s family rented a big old beach house and my girlfriends and I would swim during the day and walk up and down the boardwalk at night. The smells of pizza, caramel corn, pork roll sandwiches, and fudge being stirred in huge copper kettles was unforgettable. And, oh! The sounds – shrieks from the folks daring to ride the roller coaster and Wild Mouse, the squawking gulls waiting eagerly to swoop down and snatch a pizza crust that had fallen to the ground, musicians who claimed their spots by the railing and serenaded us with folk songs, and the soothing music of the ocean waves rolling in and out. I raved about Ocean City when I got home and my own family spent vacations there for a number of years before moving south to Stone Harbor.  

Of course, we spent a night on the boardwalk this summer during our annual trip “down the shore.” The smells and sounds haven’t changed much. Our new generation of littles loved riding the carousel and “kiddee “rides, and I rode the giant Ferris wheel for the first time in many years. When we returned to Valpo, I was shocked to read that our favorite amusement pier was closing after the current season. The property has been sold, and it appears that an enormous resort hotel will now be built in its place. No more bumper cars, log flume, Wild Mouse, Tilt-a Whirl, carousel, haunted house – the end of an era. You can’t imagine the human outcry that has taken place. With everything else that is happening in the world, people are confused, angry, sad, and some have launched protest events because an amusement pier is closing. My own family has been sharing pictures of three generations of Kinseys spending time at Wonderland. And I have been pondering why this event has caused so much angst and fury for so many people.

Change is unsettling for most of us. Memories, even those that we’ve embellished, are a constant. In my mind, I can smell, taste, hear, and touch the things I recall from almost 60 years of walking and biking up and down those boards. It is such a happy place – a respite from the trials of daily living. People cling to memories of the past. The world is a complicated place today and we long for simple pleasures. Hebrews 13:8 reminds us that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” As we all know from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, seasons come and go. We can try to hold on to the past, but our focus needs to be on a changed and even better future. We are told not to dwell on the things of old, but to do new things. I will miss that old, rather decrepit amusement pier, but I will have my photos and memories. I’ll tell my grandchildren about reaching for the brass ring, losing a sneaker on the giant swings, gasping with delight when I first saw the lights of Atlantic City in the distance from the top of the giant Ferris wheel. And next year, we will find new delights on the boardwalk. We might be upset for a bit when things change, but we will all be okay when we allow God to change our hearts and help us to see a future full of exciting possibilities.