Philadelphia Will Do  
 

Jul

21

WWJD (About Beach Tags)?

072106beachtags.jpg

Having exhausted the cute puppy and AOL CD beats, Inquirer columnist and Marley & Me author John Grogan turns today to the scourge of every beachgoer in South Jersey. Okay, the scourge of every beachgoer, except in Wildwood and Atlantic City.

Yes, Grogan takes on beach tags today, saying that it’s not the money that bothers him — it’s the principle. Beaches should be free, he writes! And then he wonders what American legends would think of beach tags:

I know what the beach towns say: that keeping clean, safe, lifeguarded beaches costs money, and the burden should be placed on those who use them.

But what would Walt Whitman say? What would Thoreau say? And Jefferson and Adams and Franklin?

What would Woody Guthrie, the balladeer who wrote “This Land is Your Land,” say? Would he have sung, “This land was made for you and me (and anyone else who can afford the fees)”?

Yes! And what would Washington say? And Columbus? And all the American Indians? And Pope Gregory the Great and Charlemagne and Reggie White and Abraham Lincoln and St. Peter and Moses and Richie Ashburn and Johnny Goodtimes and Adam and Eve?

Hmm? Think about that shore, communities!

John Grogan | N.J. beaches not land of the free [Inquirer]
 
dmac | 9:52 AM | 1 Comment
Beaches, Down The Shore, John Grogan, New Jersey
 
  1. Sub Says: Jul 21 11:05 AM

    “Yeah, I’m a little grumpy. … Maybe it’s the fact that a beach tag should fit any self-respecting American about as comfortably as a tight swimming suit filled with wet sand.”

    That’s good writing… if you like tortured, stretched metaphors and fake indignation over the plight of the working class. You’re right, John, let’s abolish property rights, starting with intellectual property: specifically the copyrights to annoying, heartwarming books about dogs.

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