Sally by the seashore12/31/2023 I merely hope I can one day fulfill my mother’s dream of never again having to hold up a conch shell to her ear and assure a sunburnt mother of six that her children will be able to hear the ocean in the damn thing. Since the pickled pepper industry virtually collapsed when the name Peter fell out of favor, I’ve had no choice but to return to my roots if I want to make the rent this month. Business in New Jersey is always steady because most of the shells on the beach actually are washed-up pieces of Grandma Betty’s dentures she lost on vacation last year. Instead, I have returned to Seaside Heights to stand on the boardwalk and convince frazzled tourists whose kids thought it would be a good idea to go to the beach in below freezing temperatures that their lives would be a little better with the purchase of a Blue Mussel shell, or a Knobbed Whelk. When I was informed that the shutdown would mean implications for our agency, I was crushed ( NOT a shell pun). I thought that I would never have to see another goddamn sand dollar again. ![]() By 25, I became head of the Seashell and Crustacean Commission. At the age of 23, I was the youngest person to ever be hired to an upper-level position at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Same shells, same greasy, sun-soaked tourists, year after year. Selling seashells by the seashore isn’t the worst job, but there’s no room for growth or upward mobility. Now, they are shocked and dismayed that I have been forced by the recent government shutdown to return to the family business. When I graduated from Yale with my bachelors in marine biology, they could not have been more proud. Growing up in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, my parents always envisioned a brighter future for me. During the off months, father picked pecks of pickled peppers to make sure we had enough food on the table. It was the first job my great-grandmother had when she came through Ellis Island in 1917 at the age of 15, and it was the last job my mother had before she retired. "The BFF Song is mine and my bestfriends actual bestfriend song!!! we sing it to each other daily, especially if we get upset with each other cause we can never stay mad.I never thought it would come to this, but I’ve had to resort to selling seashells by the seashore to make ends meet.įor generations, the women in my family have sold seashells by the seashore. "We have a 5 yr old and a 20 month old who love your music!!! It's actually music that we, as adults, can listen to and not go crazy when we hear it over and over again. It is so nice to have children's songs that bear endless repetition!"~Paul ![]() "We finally had our party yesterday and your CDs were a big hit. Now high school students are singing the duck song in the hall ways in Mississippi. She played the duck songs to her students. "I sent your songs to my daughter who is a math teacher. "I am inspired by what you do and I am thrilled my children love your work. thank you for making me smile (: " ~Vanessa ![]() "Your songs put a smile on my face even at my darkest moments. "The Duck Song is the most popular song at my school right now. "Bryant Oden is by far one of the best musical artists I have heard in a long long time" ~Eddy "My whole high school totally loves The Duck Song!" ~Mike "I'm almost 35 years old, and I can come home from a long, hard, bad day at work and listen to your songs and feel instantly better. "When I'm down, I listen to your songs and they cheer me right up."~Tony "I'm a 17 year old guy enlisting in the Marine Corps and I love the Duck Song." ~Kyle
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |