opinion

Our Readers Write Kiss Tranquility Goodbye

To The Editor I stopped my kind of letters "to ye editor:" letters similar to Owen Murphy's of Feb 20. These letters carry an emotional character, though readers are less likely to notice this when the letter are in accord with their own feelings than when these "go against the grain" However, facts are facts. They show that here in Sea Isle, for instance, an ethical consideration for what kind of an environment we will have has evaporated. Celebrate 4th To The Editor: John Adams was the first vice president and second President of the United States. In a letter to his wife Abigail, he wrote, "The second day of July, I776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance. by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires ami illuminations from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward, for evermore " I would like the Lower Township Council, especially Councilman Joseph Lonergan of North Cape May (Ward 2) and Manager James Stump, to organize a 4th of July celebration for our township. This is a simple request based on pride in my country and pride in my community It is something that is desperately needed The cost of prizes. refreshments, games, etc . could be donated b\ local businesses similar to a political fund raiser The location could be adjacent to Township Hall TOWNS ALL OVER America have annual events on the 4th of July fireworks and fanfare and baseball games. But not Lower. All it would lake is a little interest by our elected officials In the past five years, our local taxes have increased 150% that averages out to 30% yearly. I am not blaming our present Council for this craziness. Obviously, they inherited the headaches of past administrations. But, now is the time to convince the taxpayers that our governing officials do really care about the residents they represent. Think about the children of our community Bring families together through an annual 4th of July celebration and stop poor old John Adams from rolling over in his grave. MICHAEL J. STUBBS North Cape May Welcome New Kid To The Editor: We in middle township have a new neighbor, Kim Tab Inc., a firm consisting of individuals from New Jersey. which has created Village Shoppes of Rio Grande. In doing so, Kim Tab has provided many in Middle Township, indeed all of Cape May County, an opportunity for full-time year-round employment. It has given Middle Township an unproved ratable which will help in the continuing battle to stabilize our local tax rate. It is stimulating business growth in the area and is teaching us all a lesson in community theme development. Kim Tab is a bold and creative organization and, by its investment, it has demonstrated its faith in our community. We in Middle Township should welcome the "new kid on the block" and support Village Shoppes. EDWARD ROSENBERG Cape May Court House (ED. NOTE: Rosenberg is a candidate for the Republican nomination for Middle Township Committee.)

When a careless population evolves, there is no such thing as an ethical consideration. Sentience and ethics are an intellectual awareness essentially foreign to an acquisitive society In a society like this, there are no cults for the Creator and His works of Nature. ONE HERE AND THERE concedes that there had been a minor Sea Isle tradition for that cult, but he must concede also (if I am to Judge of the deep silence with which my own letters were received) that it is now dead. With the grim establishment of the obscene "condos" and multi-unit rental barracks, we must know that under them is buried the priceless ecology of this fragile barrier island — a delicate balance between life and death. And with these abominations created solely for inordinate monetary profit, an indifferent population "stands by" knowing that buried forever is the delicate magic of Life. This kind of population believes a saturation of people and an unholy glut of automobiles to be the chief index to a "progressive" society, and scornfully deny a natural and authentic art-of-living, an inner peace found in a tranquil place lo live; not in the insanity of the metropolis front which most of us have fled. A NATURAL loneliness and tranquility? Kiss it all goodbye. This population of real estate speculators will never see wetlands and coastal sands as something to which we all belong. It is futile to believe that this present population will ever even begin to use the ominously thin edge of a continent with caution and respect. ARTHUR MURRAY APPELL Sea Isle City • • • Do you have an opinion on this subject ? Write a letter to the editor. Herald and Lantern , P.O. box 430. Cape May Court House. N.J. 08210. All for the Fast Buck To The Editor: I should like to comment on the teller by Ownen Murphy that appeared in your Feb. 20 issue. Murphy deserves a medal for expressing in very concise language the opinion of the vast majority of Cape May County residents. The county is being raped in a mindless explosion of development wrapped up in the lie of progress, all for the benefit of the fast buck artist whose concern with the quality of life of the residents amounts to zero. The Herald Lantern is to be commended for printing Murphy's excellent letter. P.DUDLEY WAGAR CAPE MAY

WITH IT PILED THIS DEEP THERE MUST BE A SNOWMAN AROUND SOMEWHERE!

Congestion And Civilization The time is right for a historical work of sweep, grandeur and imagination on an enduring theme: the inverse relationship between human progress and head congestion. W'e can suggest, for anyone with the ambition to undertake it. no more than a title — "Sinuses and Civilization: The Decline of the West" — and a few chapter outlines: l) The Common Cold and the Entrepreneurial Spirit: How the sufferer is unable to imagine a time when he will be free of congestion and a creeping red soreness in his throat. If he is always going to feel tike this, why bother to make money, or do anything? 2) Upper Respiratory Infections and the Fine Arts: A study of victims who listen for hours to melancholy accordion music or sit sniffling in front of a television screen on which idiotic heroes fly through the air in robot helicopters and motorcycles. 3) THINGS THAT CANNOT Be Undone: Invasions of Russia, public-works projects, trade wars and assassinations that have been authorized by cold-suffering people who simply did not care about the consequences. 4) Indifference Through the Ages: The suffering of the martyrs who have made it to the office despite their illness, and how they so often have failed to receive the active sympathy and understanding they feel they deserve from others. The effect this has had as a motive force for backbiting in large and small bureaucracies. — The Washington Post

Herald Published every wednesday by the Seawave Corporation Joseph R. Zelnik Editor Bonnie Reina General Manager Gary L. Rudy Advertising Director John Dunwoody Special Promotions Director Darrell Kopp Publisher Seawave Corp 1984. All rights reserved. All property rights for the entire contents of this publication shall be the property of the Seawave Corp. No part hereof may be reproduced without prior written consent DEADLINES News & Photos Thursday Advertising Friday — 3 P.M. Classified Advertising Friday — 3 P.M. 465-5055 For News or Advertising Information Neither participatiing advertisers nor the publishers of the Herald And Lantern will be responsible or liable for misinformation misprints typographical erros etc. in any issue. The editor reserves the right to edit any letter or articles submitted for publication. Lower Township LANTERN Published every wednesday by the Seawave corporation P.O. Box 420 Cape May Court House, N.J. 08210

Don't Talk Crazy Cabin Fever Grips County

By JOE ZELNIK If I were the contractor who's going to build Jim Stump's house, I think I'd look for other work. Stump may not be here long enough to need a house. The Lower Township manager, talking the other day about installing new water lines at Schellenger's Landing, commented that he wanted it done "before all those crazy tourists get in there." Not being a long time resident like me, Stump wouldn't realize that, around here, insulting tourists is worse than feeding seagulls while your neighbor is having a cookout There used to be an Atlantic City Press writer named William Datsun or Ronson or something who last fall called tourists a few mild things like "arrogant, crass and egotistical." Angry parents lined up outside the courthouse to change their children's First names from. William to Gregory or Harold or Lance — anything but William. OF COURSE the tourists are crazy. But we don't talk about it Who but a crazy person would take his two-weeks-a-year vacation to come here, pay a hundred bucks a night, stay up practically all night so he won't miss anything, get up at dawn to see the sun rise over the ocean, jog at high noon for his health, drink and smoke too much, and go home wondering why he's exhausted? Besides, how can anybody like Stump, planning to live in Villas, have the nerve to complain about crazy? Drive through Villas about 6:30 any weekday night and what do you hear? The rumble of thousands of people talking back to the evening news on their television sets. Shouting at Dan Rather is Lower Township's second most popular indoor sport. The county Health Department spent $2,500 on an education program last year to convince folks in the Villas area that radio and TV announcers can't hear them. It failed. CRAZINESS surrounds us. I sit eight feet away from a reporter who insists the solution for horseshoe crabs is to sell their shells to Latin American countries for army helmets. He's obsessed with the idea. He's supposed to be writing news stories and I

know he's sitting there typing letters to purchasing agents in Guatemala, Nicaragua and David Probinsky's Dominican Republic (plug). There are all kinds of crazy. The same day Stump called tourists crazy, Assemblyman Guy Muziani sent me a note to boast that he helped get legislation to reduce the psychological testing requirements for summer cops. I guess if you're a taxpayer first and foremost, you might cheer because that will save some money. Just hope one of those people who would have flunked his psycho test doesn t put a bullet through you or your Olds Cutlass Ciera. THERE'S ALSO crazy like a fox. We got a news release last week from the New Jersey Lottery Commission that said a man won a $205,601 "Pick-6-Lotto" on March 8, 1984 1984 mind you — and kept it a secret until two weeks ago so he could give it to his wife as an anniversary present. Two more weeks and the ticket would have expired If you ask me, he was waiting for his wife to expire before he cashed it in and had to share the loot. It is especially presumptuous of any countian to call tourists crazy at this time of year when the entire county is delirious with cabin fever. We get a few days of warm, then back to cold. The sun comes out, but doesn't heat. All of this drives people nuts Some rake leaves, a sure sign of madness. I myself am wearing t-shirts and shivering. Many local entrepreneurs already in Chapter 11 are flying to "the islands" using their credit cards. CRAZINESS CAN EVEN infect elected officials. I saw a newspaper headline the other day that said, "Cape May Council Agrees to Double Parking Rate." Can you imagine, charging people to double park? Apparently City Manager Fred Coldrcn did a tourism survey and found increasing visits from South Philadelphians accustomed to leaving their cars anyplace at all. They come to Cape May and double park while they run into Alexander's for escargot or the Pilot House for escarole. The Cape May reaction was typical: How can we make money off this? You want crazy? Wait'll you see a row of parking meters in the middle ot the street