You can’t keep Seaside down

This is commentary from political blogger and cartoonist Rob Tornoe.

It’s hard to describe the feeling I had in the pit of my stomach as I watched scenes of Seaside, my favorite Jersey Shore hangout, being reduced to rubble under the flames of a 10-alarm fire.

My wife grew up in Beachwood, a little suburb of Toms River, and on our first date she took me to Seaside, quickly popping into the Sawmill before making our way past Berkeley Sweet Shop to Khor’s for some ice cream, and taking in the sights around and past FunTown Pier all the way down to the “Shoot Osama bin Laden” stand (which in recent years was converted to “Shoot the Geek”). We were even kicked out of 3 Brothers Pizza one time for smooching a bit too much for the owners to handle. All (except the Sawmill) have now been reduced to smoldering rubble.

One thing I do know is New Jersey is tough, especially the Sandy-battered residents on the Shore that know how to pick themselves up after a tragedy. I feel for the business owners that just lost everything. I feel for a community that was already ripped in two less than a year ago.

But I know they’re tough. I know they’ll rebuild. And I can’t wait to see it.

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Rob Tornoe is a political cartoonist and a WHYY contributor. See more of his work at RobTornoe.com, and follow him on Twitter @RobTornoe.