Surf City, New Jersey, in the mid-1970s was like nowhere else on earth. No-one had central airconditioning or widescreen TV. Going barefoot and in swimsuits everywhere was the rule; and, in the days before mobile-phone texting and walkaround Internet access, the primary mode of communication for teenagers was face-to-face, usually at a public venue such as the beach or the Boulevard. People left with their houses unlocked and the car keys in the ignition switch. Even small children went on their own to the beach or bay knowing lifeguards, neighbours and fellow summer folk would look after them. The epicentre of Long Beach Island was then still just a small town of surfers, sunbathers, sailors and fishermen where everyone kept a child's enthusiasm about where they were at the moment.
'It was a much lighter, gentler, more precious time and place,' says author Jonnie Comet, 'like something out of a dream; but you knew it at the time.' Having been privileged to grow up in such a pristine environment, never to be seen again, here he presents a series of short stories about a surf rat's life at the twilight of Surf City's glory years. And though he has often been suspected of overromanticising it all, the reader must keep in mind that they're all true-- every last word!
A collection of these texts will soon be available in Kindle e-text via Amazon.com-- check this site frequently for updates.
