Page 181 - REALLY What A time Book IX

REALLY SO WHAT
What A Time

DEEP SEA FISHING

NEW JERSEY: Atlantic City

In 1949 we went to Atlantic City, New Jersey. It was long
before they built casinos, but here we were at the most famous
city in the world. We walked up and down ‘Atlantic
Boulevard’ to ‘St James Place’, Pennsylvania Avenue, and
Vermont Avenue.

This was the reality, the place I’d spent so many hours, no,
years hunched over the board in my living room with hands
filled with colored cash. ‘Board Walk’, Wow! It was a real
place.

We walked up and down the long wooden boardwalk, staring
out at the waves breaking on shore. Pop had told us time and
again that there was a strong undertow and dangerous to swim
in the water. I wasn’t sure what that was, but had the idea the
waves would sweep you out to sea.
We bought candy cotton at the Steel Pier, and watched a crazy
horse jump off the end of the pier into the ocean. I wasn’t
impressed, but years later I was surprised how we treated our
animals, particularly horses in movies. Action scenes in John
Wayne movies made in the 1930’s regularly road horses off
cliffs into rivers, or filmed horses at full speed doubling up on
the trail.

181