The "Vacation that ended Early" Story

It was an ordinary day. We were packing for our trip home from Ocean City, NJ. This year we made the trip with friends from our neighborhood, the Schmids. Denny and Sharon live right next to my Mom and Dad and across and down the street from Carol and I. They have three kids about the same ages as our three kids so we thought it would be a fun to spend a week together in OC. And it was! We stayed at the place that the Schmid's rent every year. It is big enough for both our families and then some. The entire second floor is one big bedroom and all the kids either slept on mattresses or in sleeping bags on the floor; 4 boys and 2 girls. Bathroom time had to be kept to a minimum because of the 10 people who had to share the 2 bathrooms. The place was on Stenton and was about two blocks to the beach. Had a really nice front porch with awning that we used every day for relaxing and reading. Made a few trips to the boardwalk, but ride time can be expensive. The weather cooperated for the first part of the vacation, but then Thursday came and the so did the rains. And Friday, also. By now the adults are going nuts. Tough to entertain six kids. And remember, there were no walkmans, video games, etc. in the early 80s. We did have fun until the rains came though. Denny was an English teacher at JP McCaskey HS in the city of Lancaster and therefore loved to read. Early in the week I found the novel he was reading and carefully removed the last page of the book. The next to last page ended in a paragraph with a period so it looked like it was the end. What was funny was that he never mentioned that the story seemed to have an unusual ending. Maybe he was really sleeping when we thought he was reading. One day on the beach we gathered a bunch of the small crustaceans which bury in the sand when the waves go out. Not more than a quarter of an inch in size. That evening at supper everyone went through the supper line and filled their plates with spaghetti and meatballs. Denny didn't realize that his sauce had a few of the crustaceans in it until he had the first forkfull up to his mouth. The boys distracted him after he had filled his plate and placed a few on the top. Well, it is Friday and we have just about finished packing for our return trip. Our vacation doesn't end until tomorrow, but the adults can't take another night of the kids, so we have decided to end the trip a day early. I was ready yesterday!! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - Pix is of Denny holding our youngest, Tad. Denny retired in the mid-90s while in his mid-50s and died in the middle of that summer. He was a great guy and is missed by all. This story is in his memory.