Fourth of J.

So I was in a dilemma: Much as I hated to miss the H.'s party, I didn't want to see a certain person there.  I had also been invited by Aline to join her, her sister, and the lunatic lady next door to view the fireworks in Tuckerton after a hot dog at Stewart's.  That sure as hell didn't appeal to me, either.
Solution?  I called Betty and asked what she was doing.  "Nothing," she said, "so come on down."  I did, and found Muckie with her son, Matt, and two grandsons there, too.  Latter went to the beach and we three sat on the porch talking for hours.  Muckie and Pat R. have been good friends for years and she and Betty were interested in hearing about my visit to Pat the day before.
I had brought two Buds and a hard-boiled egg sandwich and the others got lunch from the corner, so we happily munched away.  Muckie, Matt, and the boys left, then Betty and I took a nice walk on the boardwalk.
The boardwalk, the beach, all of Ventnor, it seemed, were packed (and probably the whole island, too).  Betty and I marveled at the lunch/dinner setups under open-sided tents, most with barbecues and some very elaborate.  We even saw beer on the beach, illicit or not.  These things were never permitted in our youth and would have given the residents of that day the vapors.  We agreed it looked like great fun, though.
Later in the day, we strolled over to the ice cream store nearby and got cones.  By the time we performed the last lick, it was 7:30 or so, and I said goodbye.  Got home before full dark after yet another pleasant summer day.