Wanderland By Night!

   No. That is not a typo. The Boardwalk
in the Wildwoods is a "Wanderland" by
night! It's not a whole lot different in the
daytime. But all the flashing lights and
extra people add to the attraction.
    For those of you who have never
visited the boardwalk of North Wildwood,
Wildwood, and Wildwood Crest, think
about the Midway at the Bloomsburg
or most any other County Fair and
picture it being two miles long!
    There are food stands featuring all
kinds of menus. The new "biggie" this
year seems to be chocolate covered
bacon. There are ice cream and
Italian Ice stands. A Pizza place on
every block. My old friend used to
measure the economy based on the price
of one slice of pizza here.
     There are the rides. But as much as
kids love the rides they love the Crane
machines.
      These machines are the closest
think to legalized robbery I have ever
seen! Kids put in dollars (usually
five at a time) for a chance, a very
slim chance, they'll be able to
manipulate the arm of their crane
directly over the object of their desire,
pick it up and hold it long enough to
drop it into the exit bin.
      There are occasional success
stories. I've seen kids actually
"win" a colorful stuffed animal
probably purchased by the machine
owner for about 12 or 13 cents.
     If you manage to get by one of
those things you'll be hounded by
barkers trying to lure you to spend
at least five bucks in the hope of
shooting a regulation basketball
through a just slightly smaller
than regulation size hoop. Should
one of those balls actually fall
through the net you'll win a prize
similar to those offered in the Crane
machines!
     As you can probably tell I don't
invest much in any of those games
these days. I just sit and watch
the suckers.....I mean....players as
they entertain themselves and make
somebody else very wealthy!
     I still hit some of the food vendors.
Especially the Pizza stands. Somebody's
got to keep an eye on the economy!
     Hope you get the prize you're
after and that all your NEWS is good!