I remember: -studying for midwinter high school exams in the solarium on the boardwalk, adjacent to the Casino.   I was the only young person there,  among the elderly snoozing in their rocking chairs, basking in the warmth of that large, very quiet, cozy  room.  It felt safe there, and peaceful.

 I remember:  ice-skating on the lake at Sunset Avenue, between Main and Grand.  There was a walking bridge you could take right out into the middle of the lake.  And you could skate over to the little "peninsula" of land that jutted out just below Grand Avenue.  My dad and grandfather did some fancy skating on that lake..... me, I was only just passable as a skater, but the fresh air and wind on my face, and being with my father out there was great.

 I remember:  also ice-skating on the rink INSIDE the Casino, to wonderful old-fashioned organ music.

 I remember:  my sister, Robin, playing in a rock 'n' roll trio with two of her school friends  during one summer, in a little pavilion atop the Howard Johnson's..... Puff the Magic Dragon, and Where Have all the Flowers Gone.  Indeed, where have they all gone?

 I remember:  wonderful gardens and parks throughout Asbury.  Not only the park across from the Convention Hall, but also the one with the very old circular fountain that used to be across the street from the old library  and near the Metropolitan Hotel.

 I remember:  working in that old library one summer when I was maybe 14 or 15.  Everyone thought librarians were stuffy and prudish.  Not THAT one !  She used to stay out all night on her dates..... I know because I also babysat for her one night and she didn't reappear until dawn came up  over the ocean !

 I remember:  great football rivalries, especially with Long Branch High, where I had lots of friends.

 I remember:  my Freshman French teacher, Mrs. Angrist.  Everyone used to call her "the lizard" because she was always darting her  tongue in and out.   But she was wonderful.  And we had an experimental French class then at APHS, with her in charge.  No books at all for the first several months..... only speaking out loud in French.

 I remember:  all my wonderful homes....  the one on Sunset Avenue across the street from "the Landing" where everyone hung out for sodas after school;  the one on Fifth Ave. across the street from Heather, whose dad was the town mortician;  the one near the Metropolitan hotel when I was very little.and I would watch all the fancy people from New York come down for vacations there..

 I remember:  going to the beach early in the mornings during summer, before I went to my summer job.  One such morning I met the drummer from the Eisele Brothers band.  They were playing at one of the local clubs that always teemed with young adults during summertime. He invited me to see them sing, but alas, I was only 16 then and couldn't get into the club!

 I remember:  my high school graduating class being so large that we had to have commencement ceremonies in the Convention Hall.

 I remember:  the big hurricane that hit one summer and flooded out the town.  When it subsided the water was still so high that people swam in "pools" that formed  right up on the beach at the boardwalk's edge.  And speaking of pools, nothing could beat the Monte Carlo swim club.  It was the biggest club around and I don't think there was any pool anywhere, larger than their main pool.  I dated the owner's  son once, but that's another story !

 I remember:  sitting on the beach at sundown on the 4th of July every year we were growing up, watching the display of fireworks, as even the small boats came in close to shore to admire them.  And those wonderful wooden benches at the boardwalk's edge where you could flip the backrests in either direction, to face the ocean, or to face the boardwalk so you could people watch.

 I remember:  Jonathan's Candy on the boardwalk, where my sister worked a few summers;  Kohr's soft ice-cream (I went to day camp with the original owner's son);  the Fun House and bumper cars in the Casino;  miniature golf and the kiddie rides;  the smell of cotton candy and popcorn and cigarettes and suntan lotions all mixed together that identified Asbury Park during all those wonderful summers.    AND

 I remember:  how, once all the summer crowds faded away come September, Asbury Park turned into  a totally different place for the fall and winter months each year..... a quiter, cozier, more secret place, that one could keep all to oneself, until summer came back again.  Speaking of coming back again.... that's my wish for Asbury Park.  Thanks for sharing with me.