Bubba Dogs

Dad was born and raised in Atlantic City and lifeguarded in AC for seven years. He met Mom while guarding on States Ave. Mom spent her summers in AC with friends and was originally from Kingston, PA (upstate). I guess Dad had some great rap back in the day to score an amazing woman like my Mom.

My parents began vacationing in Sea Isle in 1963. When the seven McNamara offspring started arriving, summers in Sea Isle became a priority and Mom and Dad purchased our first home at 9 - 75th Street from the Lingo family in 1974. We promptly dubbed the house “Lingo Land”. The house is one of the few that has yet to be replaced by a side-by-side. For a time, it had the tallest flagpole in Sea Isle. It was a gaff-rigged pole which still stands today. Dad would have my brothers and I put up and take down three flags daily: The American, U.S. Navy and Irish flags. Dad was (is) a true patriot. Having been a Naval Officer in the late 50′’s himself, Mike and I decided to follow in his footsteps. Joe headed to Wall Street and became enormously successful. Patriotism was a priority in our household, as was respect for that which symbolizes our great county - our flag. Love of country was more important to Dad than anything else. Two of the three brothers had to fold the American flag properly every night until we left for college. I guess Dad’s passion for ours, the greatest country in the world, is what drove me to serve.

Dad wanted my brothers and I to guard on the beach, though, as was always the case with Dad, the ultimate decision was left up to us. I remember being 15 years old and terrified on the day of the lifeguard test. To the last minute, when I was hedging, Dad let me decide whether or not to follow through with the tryout. While strict, he had a plan and executed it well. I went through with the tryout and soon after joined my big brothers on the SICBP. By the time the three of us finished our guarding careers, Joe had been Assistant Captain, and Mike and I had been Lieutenants.

Mike and Joe, as many know, are twins. They’re both in their 40’s now and have 9 children between them. They are 16 months older then me, but, in my early years and throughout my teens, that 16 months may as well have been 15 years.

Whenever they would fight, which was often, Dad had one rule: no punching in the face. One day on the beach on 75th Street, Joe, or Mike (I don’t remember which) violated the rule and hauled off on Joe (or Mike’s) mug. Dad saw the whole thing and made both of them walk, while holding hands, from the 75th Street lifeguard stand to 70th Street and back. It was a crowded Sea Isle Saturday in July. Imagine being 13 years old and having to walk a half mile holding hands with your twin brother, after fist fighting with him, in front of thousands of people. Great, effective punishment. No more punches to the mug were ever thrown (at least at each other).

Dad must have handed some of his oratory skills with the ladies down to his sons (myself excluded - I had no rap). Joey, while not blessed with his twin brothers blond curls, could talk to the ladies. His biggest catch, at age 18, was dating Maria Bello. Maria is now a hugely successful Hollywood actress with two Golden Globe wins. She was in movies such as Coyote Ugly, World Trade Center, The Cooler, Flicka, Payback, A History of Violence….. I have absolutely no idea how Joe landed Maria, but, he did. This picture was taken when Joe was 18 and Maria was 17, prior to the Lifeguard’s Ball at the Sea Isle City Yacht Club. The Ball was always the summer highlight for the lifeguards and their dates. Joe took Maria in ‘84 after they dated that smmer.
(Click on pictures to enlarge)
Fortunately, the relationship went nowhere and Joey married his amazing wife Stacy. They now have 4 awesome kids.

Good story, though.

Forgot to bring the camera to the concert. Got this one from today’s Inquirer. What a great show. The best part, as is usually the case with concerts and Eagles games, is hanging out with 40 or so people that you know or just met. We arrived in the parking lot at The Linc at about 5 and ate, drank and were merry until the concert started at about 8:30.

Set list - thanks to Chris Kirchner. Any mistakes can be attributed to him. His email: ckirchner@wmgk.com.

Message in a Bottle
Synchronicity II
Voices Inside My Head—–When the World is Running Down
Don’t Stand So Close to Me
Driven to Tears
Walking on the Moon
Truth Hits Everybody
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
Wrapped Around Your Finger
The Bed’s Too Big Without You
De Do Do Do De Da Da Da
Walking in Your Footsteps
Can’t Stand Losing You
Roxanne
First Encore:
King of Pain
So Lonely
Second Encore:
Every Breath You Take
Next to You

Many stories to tell. Tailgate worked well because, as we’ve aged, we’ve learned. Great food, drink and, most importantly, conversation amongst friends.

Waves were fun today. Waste to occasional chest-high perfect little barrels. Water is absolutely freezing. West wind blew all surface (warm) water out to sea leaving behind 60 degreeish agua. Real cold.

If anyone that was there has any stories/pictures to share, please do so. bubbadogs@comcast.net

Nice hangin with y’all.

Weather at the beach this weekend is supposed to be great.

Listen to Wilco.

There’s some pretty good shots in here. I have the camera at the cart pretty much every day. Let me know as you’re walking by if you’d like to have your mug posted on SIC photos link (right).

White Tee

We’d like to thank all of our customers, both new and old. It makes us feel that we’re doing something right when we see so many familiar faces year after year.

Thank you!

For music lovers, this is the best site I’ve come across in a while. Type in the name of a favorite artist and, in a matter of seconds, music by that artist (and similar artists) will be streaming to your desktop — and it will keep playing as long as that browser window stays open. For instance, at the recommendation of my buddy Sean Flynn, I entered Milli Vanilli. Immediately, it began playing “Girl You Know It’s True.” It also recommended to Sean, not me, “If you like Milli Vanilli, you might also like: Wison Phillips, Bobby Brown, Simply Red, and Right Said Fred (remember “I’m Too Sexy”?)

www.last.fm

Fortunately the catalog transcends the above mentioned bands. Check it out, it’s pretty cool.

Below is Time Magazine’s list of those sites that, they claim, we can’t live without.

Time’s Best Websites

Happy surfing, everybody.

If ever someone that you know has visited Sea Isle City’s best hot dog cart, is a fan of surfing, the beach or hot dogs, or even if you simply like what you see, all Bubba Dog gear make great gifts for men, women or children. Shipping and payment can be set up via email. Pay by credit card and/or Paypal is soon coming. Email Bubba with any questions.

If you forgot your bike lock, don’t worry about it. Bubba will watch it for you.

The geography teacher in me was bound to rear its head sooner or later. These pictures are really worth checking out. It’s a composite of hundreds of photographs taken by satellites. I teach a lesson to my history students on this image. The lights, naturally, indicate major population centers (lights indicate people). Note how the Sahara desert in Africa, the Australian Outback and Northern Canada, among other places, are dark. Also check out the Nile River in Africa - lots of lights. The eastern seaboard of the USA, from Baltimore to Boston, is perhaps the brightest of all regions of the world.

If you click on the second picture, you’ll see an image of the Korean Peninsula. Kim Jong Il, the tyrant dictator of North Korea, may have the bomb, but not much electricity. It is mandatory, in North Korea, that all electricity be turned off by 9 pm.

12 pizzas delivered to the beach and Hoey stiffs the guy.