the rix mix

The postcard and the link to Daddy-O tells plenty about the transformation of LBI over the past half-century.
 

Wida's hung on until 2005. I was reading yesterday that LBI's year-round population is actually declining because people cannot afford to live & work there, & the mom & pop stores are gone. One LBI mayor blames it on illegal immigrants using up what little affordable rental housing remains. But the obvious cause is that few long time residents are crazy enough to turn down a million dollars for their winterized bungalows on 50 x 100 lots, so they sell & move to the mainland.
 

I've visited LBI twice since the early 1980s. The first time was 25 years ago; the second time was in August. Both times, I detested the greenhead flies. The second time, I couldn't find a public restroom anywhere in Barnegat Light so I used the finely manicured landscaping of some million dollar bayfront home as my W.C. The move was more greatly dictated by physiology than by a personal protest against The Man.