One day a few weeks ago, my wife and I were sitting on one of the benches at Pier Village, facing the ocean and enjoying the cool breeze as it grazed our weary bodies. We had just finished a 1½ mile power walk through the Promenade, and we stopped by the gazebo to catch our collective breaths before leaving for home.
All of a sudden out of nowhere, a couple followed by three or four guys started swarming out of McLoone’s Pier House and walked over to one of the entrances to the beach, complaining noisily about the price of the food they had just partaken of. “I can’t believe it”, one of them said. “I just paid a hundred dollahs for a freakin’ salad! What the f*(%?!”.
Yes, the bennys are back.
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My wife and I just continued to sit there and listen to this conversation, all the while holding in laughter. In the meantime, the couple who came out first headed down to the beach, arguing loudly enough for anyone within earshot to hear about whatever inane crapola they were talking about. . .the conversation sounding like it came straight out of a reality TV show based in Brooklyn.
My wife and I looked at each other after a while of listening to these tirades, got up, and left. That was enough for one night.
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"Bennys" (Bayonne/Elizabeth/Newark/New York visitors) have been coming to the Jersey Shore since it became a popular tourist attraction for the middle class, right after World War II. But the benny mentality has changed, especially in the last 20 years or so.
Back in the day, bennys were cordial to everybody, respected people’s property, and didn’t litter on the beach. A lot of them were related to people who already lived down the shore – otherwise known as the locals. Back then, you couldn’t tell the difference between a benny or a local, even by the way they talked, since many locals were north Jersey or New York City transplants themselves.
Hard to believe, but at one time, members of my family were considered bennys. Come to think of it, more than likely, for anyone who’s around my age, their parents or grandparents could have been bennys, too. My father’s parents started coming down to the Jersey Shore in 1946 from Jersey City to enjoy their summers, then moved into Long Branch permanently in 1949. They went from being bennys to locals in one fell swoop when they bought their home on Franklin Terrace, one block away from the beach.
Eventually, all of my grandmother’s family (two sisters and a brother) eventually followed them down, found jobs in the area, and settled there.
But over time, for one reason or another, the bennys began taking the shore for granted. Manners in traffic went out the window (cue “The Bird”), the beaches got dirtier from people leaving their refuse on the sand rather than cleaning it up themselves (“Hey! They got workers to do that now!”), and rentals were left in shambles by the end of the summer.
Never in my life have I heard so many locals who own businesses and cater to the bennys complain so much and so loudly, saying how they wished it was Labor Day already so that they could all go back to where they came from.
Unfortunately, for towns that rely on summer tourism dollars, bennys are a necessary evil. All the money that they spend on transportation, food, accommodations, the beaches, and (especially) drink help keep the local economies for these shore towns going. Without it, us locals would be paying higher taxes.
So for you locals out there, listen up. Whenever you come across a benny in any of your travels, take a deep breath, count to ten to yourself, and put a big smile on your face. Enjoy your summer, because it only comes around once a year. Let your summer mantra be “Labor Day is coming, Labor Day is coming. . .”
And to all you bennys out there visiting the shore, here’s some advice. Start acting like the locals, like you once did back in the day. The Jersey Shore is here for everyone to enjoy, not just for some to cater to other people’s whims and fancies. Let’s all try to get along for the sake of everybody enjoying the Jersey Shore, now and forever. And by the way. . .if you’re foolish enough to pay a hundred dollahs for a salad at one of our upscale restaurants, more power to you.
Welcome back, bro. We're ready for you this time around.
(The entire Jersey Shore Retro Blogography can be found at http://longbranch.patch.com/blogs/kevin-cieris-blog .You can also follow Kevin Cieri's blog on Twitter @jsretro).
