Post Labor Day attitude adjustments are in order as Wrightsville Beachers reclaim the town for their own enjoyment and town staffers breathe a sigh of relief. The disrespectful behavior of the visiting public notwithstanding, job well done everyone! A special appreciation is extended to those who labored on Labor Day.
The holiday weekend was favored with stellar weather to be on the beach and out on the water.
Overall it was a challenging weekend for town officials, but certainly not by Memorial Day and July Fourth standards. There were no major incidents; thanks to the rapid deployment of a neighbor’s garden hose and the response time of the Wrightsville Beach Fire Department, a grilling out episode only culminated in a deck fire. In a town where houses are literally just feet apart, fire is a constant threat, and for the town to experience two fires in a four-day period is unusual.
The other significant notable was the copious amount of garbage and human left-behinds found on the beach strand Monday morning by sea turtle project coordinator Nancy Fahey as she made her early-morning rounds.
Sadly, the beach strand was littered with trash, especially in the heavily trafficked areas in front of Shell Island Resort, Holiday Inn, JM Pier, Stone Street, Blockade Runner and Crystal Pier. The most litter was between Stone Street and Mercer’s Pier.
Fahey said the trash cans were standing empty, but garbage was everywhere, including beach chairs that had been left behind, broken boogie boards and Styrofoam coolers filled to the brim with trash. Even though town sanitation workers, receiving holiday pay at the expense of the town’s taxpayers, service the beach strand three times per day, turtle watchers and locals rallied to a hastily called beach sweep Monday evening to beat the incoming tide. In one hour vols picked up 43 bags of trash, plus towels, chairs, broken umbrellas and other large items that could have washed out to sea with the tide.
What is the attitude of some Americans who treat the world like their garbage can and their ash tray? I question if the visiting beach public knows or cares about the hundreds of volunteer man-hours that go into walking the beach strand to pick up their trash and their cigarette butts.
For a nonsmoking beach, the reported quantity of discarded butts left behind is a re-call to action for those who make and enforce the town’s laws, as is the trash. Littering fines need to be jacked to the point that it becomes a deterrent to throwing trash to the ground. The National Parks System did a pretty good job educating the public about this, it is time our beach town did likewise.
The annual UNCW Beach Blast is a perfect example. In years back, this event was a nightmare as thousands of returning college students got drunk and disorderly and trashed the beach. When the university began to take an active role in policing this event, curbing the illegal drinking and other unwelcome behavior, this event has become a positive, rather than the huge negative it was. It was so negative the town was having serious second thoughts about continuing to permit the event.
Education and strict enforcement, as well as a willing populace, were all key to creating a positive event. Students now even hold a beach sweep as soon as the event ends each year.
Despite the volume of college students housed less than 10 miles away, post Labor Day the town grows progressively quieter with each passing week. In the lessening hustle bustle, residents reemerge to once again claim the town back for the shoulder seasons. For many it is the best time of the year.
For those walking the town’s famed 2.45-mile loop, the marginally cooler mornings and reduced traffic are welcome. It is mostly still too hot to take a canine friend along, and thus the incidents of stepping over pet waste have been few.
One day not too long ago, a regular early morning walker, out much later than normal too, asked as she passed me, “What is with these people?”
Loop etiquette — acceptable social behavior for those walking the loop — the famed John Nesbit Loop at Wrightsville Beach, is there such a thing, newcomers might ask?
Yes, like good beach etiquette, there is very decidedly a social etiquette as well as rules of the road. While I have my soapbox out, for those perhaps walking the Loop for the very first time as the days cool down, let me enlighten.
First, there is an imaginary dotted line down the center of the sidewalk. The flow of pedestrian, small human mobile carrying devices and canine traffic follow the same rules as vehicles — stay to the right when moving in either direction. When passing going in the same direction, pass to the left when no oncoming traffic is present and then resume the right lane. Passing another going in the opposite direction should be single file.
When walking with friends or family it is perfectly acceptable to walk two or even three abreast, until you meet someone coming from the other direction. For mercy sake, it is very poor form to not drop back when passing. You’d think it was a busy New York City sidewalk for some of the bad-mannered antics observed out there.
And my goodness, would it hurt to offer a smile or a greeting to those you are passing? One is forced to wonder, does self-absorption render this impractical? The early-morning crowd out at first light offers friendly greetings, plus encouragement on overly humid days when the desire to drag oneself around the ribbon of concrete is waning.
You’d be surprised at the number of grumpy-seeming people walking the Loop later in the morning.
Here is a tip: if you can’t be happy out walking the Loop, you need an attitude adjustment! Good behavior should not go on holiday when people come to the beach.
