Annual Blessing of the Combines was Saturday in Snow Hill.

As usual, I’m taking a short break from Maryland On My Mind in August. This year, the reason is the 2010 election campaign. You may have heard that I’m running for Maryland House of Delegates in District 38B, which is all of Worcester County and part of Wicomico, on the Lower Eastern Shore. The first goal is the Democratic primary in September.

Here in Ocean City, the summer season remains at the August peak of heat, work and fun (depending if you’re a business person, a worker, or a tourist). This is at least the third week in a row of near capacity, old-fashioned, family summer vacation business. This is what Ocean City businesses live for. And of course, many vacationers look forward to these weeks of fun and relaxation all year!

But appearances can be deceiving. The seasons are on the cusp of change. Not far away, farmers are preparing for the harvest, and candidates are preparing for the election. You can read all about it at www.VoteJohnHayden.com.

Enjoy what’s left of summer. See you in September!

– John Hayden

A banner weekend, probably more people than July 4 weekend. Saturday was the hottest day of the summer (I hope we don’t get any more 110-degree heat index days), and the moon was full in a cloudless sky. Naturally, we couldn’t get through that kind of a day without calling the EMTs at least once. They arrived within five minutes (on a Saturday night!) and provided professional, efficient, compassionate service, as always. That’s the emergency service we expect here in Ocean City, and the EMTs and police deliver. (The medical issue was not life threatening, only very painful. The young patient was transported to Atlantic General ER on Saturday night, and then for repair surgery in Wilmington, Del., Sunday morning. She will be fine.)

St. Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church, built in 1877, is probably the oldest building in Ocean City.

Now we’re in the early part of an old-fashioned full-out family vacation week, going on right now. Seven-day-a-week sunshine. Last week of July. The restaurants are very busy, but not quite as crowded and the lines not as long as in the good old days. My explanation: There are more good restaurants now competing for the lunch and dinner crowd.

The Boardwalk on Monday evening did not seem quite the shoulder-to-shoulder intensity of the 1970s and 1980s, but then again, the Boardwalk is wider now. I had visiting friends I’d hardly seen since college, and they wanted to see Trimper’s Rides, which they had read about. We took a spin on the historic, restored carousel. The most striking difference this July, to me, is that you don’t see the hundreds and hundreds of people walking on the beache along High-rise Row in the north, late at night, as you did two or three decades ago. I suppose more folks are inside in the AC, checking their e-mail or playing computer games, or watching movies on TV.

For those of us who are interested in the state of the Mid-Atlantic coast resort economies, here’s an interesting story from the Jersey Shore. Sounds like they have similar public relations issues to ours here in Ocean City, MD.

St. Paul's By The Sea is the second oldest church. When families spend the week in Ocean City, they still want to go to church on Sunday.

– John Hayden

Temperatures 95+ on Friday. 100+ on Saturday.  Highs of 103-106 possible on Saturday. Oppressively high humidity. Heat index temps 95 to 105 on Friday, and up to 110 on Saturday.  That’s right, the heat index could hit 110 on Saturday.

It’s about the same throughout Maryland. The hottest areas: all of Central Maryland and Southern Maryland, and near the Maryland-Delaware border on the Eastern Shore.

Frank Roylance says “The next few days will be killers, perhaps literally.” See Frank’s Maryland Weather Blog for all the miserable facts.

Saturday may be the hottest day of the summer. BGE says electric bills could double because of all the AC use.

Please cancel all outdoor work. Stay in the shade or, better yet, the AC. Help your neighbors. Invite them over if they don’t have AC. Plenty of water, all around. Water for everybody, including the dogs and cats.

Yep, here in Ocean City, I’m going to work. Baby, it’s hot outside! Inside too.

– John Hayden

Pass the ice water, and the Gatoraide, and please help your elderly neighbors.

My favorite sign of the times this July in Ocean City. "Greed?" BP comes to mind, for some reason. Tubby's, on Coastal Highway, has great cheese-steak subs!

They played the All-Star Game this week — I’ve been so busy I didn’t know it was coming up until the day after.

I always mark the All-Star Game as the halfway point in the Ocean City summer business season, not so much because the game’s in mid-July, but because it’s halfway between May 1 and Sept. 30. In the rare old days, I started my seven-day-a-week schedule at the Boardwalk 5 & 10 on May 1, and knew that my next day off was the first Sunday or Monday in October. 150 straight days of work.

People who work in Ocean City these days don’t have that kind of work ethic anymore. That includes owners, managers, and employees. Now, nearly everyone takes a day off every week, maybe two days. (Not that I’m advocating the seven-day schedule. I know now that Moses decreed one day of rest each  week, for man and beast, for good reason.)

How do you do the seven-day-a-week gig? Personally, I just put blinders on and devoted myself to working, eating, sleeping, and doing laundry. I didn’t have time or energy to waste on anything else. I drank a lot of coffee. For exercise, I refilled the Coke machine about three times a day. We sold Cokes for 25 cents a can. The owner of the rag shop a few doors away (where the Kite Loft is now) complained that our prices were too low. He couldn’t compete with us.

Hey man (that’s what we said back then, “man,” not “dude.”). Hey man, I told him, we’re doing a volume business here. We sold flip-flops for 79 cents to 98 cents. Fancy flip-flops were $1.98. The popular bird kites were an even dollar, and a ball of string was 39 cents. Bird kites were “hot” in August, more so than in June or July. My last year on the Boardwalk, we raised the price on the bird kite to $1.29, and sales fell off.

How many times a day did someone walk in and ask, “What’s that white stuff on the lifeguard’s nose?”

“That’s zinc oxide,” I told them. “Blocks out the sun’s rays.” I slapped a tube of the stuff in their hand, from a big display I kept up front with the suntan lotion, and told them: “Only 79 cents.” Was I a smooth salesman, or what? Does anyone still use zinc oxide? Do they even sell it? I haven’t  seen a lifeguard with a white nose in 20 years.

Seven-days-a-week wasn’t so bad. The season went by quick. The best day of the season was Labor Day, when Mr. Harmon handed me a big bonus check based on the store’s business. I haven’t felt as successful or prosperous in years, as I used to feel on Labor Day.

To tell the truth, I don’t know why I worked seven days in September. Habit, I guess. Plus it was in my contract. Quiet settled over the Boardwalk on Labor Day afternoon. They hadn’t invented Springfest or Sunfest yet.We kept the store at 6th Street open for one slow week after Labor Day, then shut down. Edwards 5 & 10 at North Division Street stayed open seven days through the last Sunday in September.

Then as now, foot traffic was heavier at Division Street than a few blocks north, especially after Labor Day. North of the Commander, foot traffic was much lower. There were only one or two stores on the north end of the Boardwalk, back in the day. Now, there’s quite a few stores on the Boardwalk from 15th Street to 27th Street. But they’re not thriving the way Edwards and the Boardwalk 5 & 10 did in the 1970s.

Starting in October, Edwards cut back to a leisurely winter schedule. Five days a week, 9-5, with an hour off for lunch at Rayne’s. Everybody ate lunch at Rayne’s. Soup and hamburger. No checks at Rayne’s.  Just tell them what you had on the way out, and they rang it up on the cash register.

That picture at the top of this post? My favorite sign of the times in Ocean City just now. Also, Tubby’s has a great steak-and-cheese sub. Did you ever ask “Where’s the beef?” You’ll find it on Tubby’s sub. It’s my second-favorite sub in Ocean City, right after Dough Roller’s turkey with Cooper cheese. Best turkey sub ever! For some reason, Dough Roller calls it a “grinder.”  BTW, nothing was paid for these sub plugs. I just know what I like.

So how’s the 2010 season going in Ocean City? We had great weekend weather in May and June. It’s been a busy July so far, but maybe a tad slow during the week. I’d like to see us pick up the pace a notch in the last two weeks of July and the first two weeks of August. But neither the weather, nor the number of visitors, is within our control.

Did I mention that I’m running for House of Delegates in District 38B, which is all of Worcester County and part of Wicomico? As if I need more aggravation in my life? I really don’t have the time or the money. I must be nuts. The truth is, when I’m really, really old, in the not-so-distant future, I don’t want to look back and say, “I wish I’d done it.” I want to look back and say, “I did it, and I gave it my best.”

I’m the only candidate running for House of Delegates from Ocean City and West Ocean City. Qualifications? Well, I do have a pretty good understanding of the resort’s seasonal economy, in my humble opinion. Please take a look at www.VoteJohnHayden.com if you have a minute. And thanks for reading all the way to the end.

– John Hayden

I’m sorry to say there was an accident in the surf in front of my workplace today. Police and ambulance responded. EMTs carried a young man off the beach. He was strapped to a body board, with a brace on his head and neck. They often use the neck brace as a precaution, so we  can hope that the injury turns out to be not serious.

Then, in the evening, complaints about people hitting other people with these green laser lights. Every summer, it’s something different in Ocean City. Last year it was saliva. Of course, they’ve been selling these laser lights for years. I think they keep getting more powerful. I hear some of them are selling now for $40. The people who buy this stuff have way too much disposable income.

I’m told these powerful lasers can cause serious eye damage, if you point it in someone’s face. One fellow was arrested recently for aiming a laser at a  police helicopter flying overhead.

I had to go knock on a few doors and read the riot act. As usual, one family was very cooperative. The man said he’d take the lights away from his kids. We won’t see any more green lights from his balcony, he promised.

It was a different story at another condo. The whole family came to the door and admitted they have several of the green laser lights. What’s the problem, a middle-aged man asked, somewhat belligerently. They’re legal, he said.

It’s like a gun, I told him. It’s perfectly legal to own one. But if you shoot someone with it, there are consequences. He wanted to argue the point. This is your only warning, mister. If you want to argue, I can arrange for you to discuss it with the OCPD. Here on your doorstep. Would  tonight be convenient?

On the bright side, Ocean City has been as busy and crowded as it should be during the season, last week and this week. Next week looks good, too.

Also on the bright side, Tuesday night is my Friday. I’m off Wednesday and Thursday. I plan to enjoy a small cookout Wednesday afternoon with visitors. Mostly, I think I’ll sit in the shade and talk election strategy. See http://HaydenForDelegate.Wordpress.com. (I wonder if I need a shorter URL?)

– John Hayden

The heat wave broke earlier this week. Friday, we’re enjoying a sunny and mild morning, about 73 degrees right now. High Friday will be about 78. I imagine traffic will be heavy this afternoon and evening from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to the Route 50 Bridge. Same thing Saturday morning, because the week-long rentals generally run from Saturday to Saturday.

A huge high-pressure system dominates the entire Eastern half of the U.S., promising perfect, clear, sunny weather, with temperatures increasing throughout the weekend. Here in Ocean City, we’re expecting a high around 86 degrees on Saturday, going up to 91 on Sunday, the Fourth of July.

Not a drop of rain in sight. That’s great for enjoying the holiday weekend of course, but also worrisome in terms of drought. I drove across the Eastern Shore yesterday, and I can tell you the  corn looks lush and green. But Maryland farmers are going to need some rain soon.

Two spectacular fireworks displays are set for Sunday evening in Ocean City, at the north and south ends of the resort. You’ll be able to see and hear the show from just about anyplace in town.

For me and others who work in Ocean City, this is the beginning of a long, hot weekend of work — make that a long, hot week of work. Or hopefully, a long, hot month of work. As you can imagine, I won’t have much time for blogging.

I was in Annapolis on Thursday. For a full report on my adventures in democracy, take a look at my new Web site and blog, http://haydenfordelegate.wordpress.com. Yep, it’s official. I’m running for House of Delegates in District 38B.  Thanks to all who have encouraged me.

– John Hayden

1) Voters

2) Candidates

That’s all, folks.  Voters + Candidates = Democracy. Everything else — political parties, opinion polls, advertising — is froth.

Pretty simple, right? So what is the state of democracy in Maryland, and in the U.S. generally?

We have enough voters to make it work.

Sometimes turnout is disappointingly low in primary elections and special elections. But voters are self-selected. People with a little bit of knowledge or a little bit of interest volunteer to participate in democracy. An appalling minority doesn’t give a darn, and they don’t bother to participate. So what? In Maryland, we have plenty of qualified voters for most elections, especially the big general elections every two years.

But we don’t have an adequate supply of willing candidates.

If you put an ad in the paper for practically any job — school superintendent, city engineer, dishwasher or dog-sitter — you’ll get applications. For a respectable job with a steady paycheck, you could get dozens, or even hundreds of applicants.

So how come so many elections in Maryland are uncontested? Why is it so hard to scrape up even two or three candidates for many elections. It’s not unusual for some important positions, especially  state senator and delegate to the General Assembly, to attract only a single candidate for each position.

I guess there are lots of reasons why people are reluctant to spend their time in public service. Mostly, it’s hard and thankless work. People are busy up to here with family and job responsibilities. Who has the time? Or the worrisome question, how many people are interested enough to care?

This is the last week of the candidate filing season for the 2010 elections in Maryland. Deadline is next Tuesday, July 6. Yeah, there’s a lot of behind-the-scenes buzzing going on this week.

Almost any citizen can run. You and I and all registered voters over 21 are qualified for most offices. But in the end, the list will probably be dominated by the same old, tired names and faces. Just a hunch.

A week from now, we’ll know what the match-ups are going to be, all across Maryland.

– John Hayden

In Maryland, “Hands Across the Sand” will be at Ocean City, on the beach at the Inlet, at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 26. For more information, or to sign up, click right here.

Message from your host, Steven B.: On Saturday at 11 am, tens of thousands of people are getting together at beaches across the country for a massive event called “Hands Across The Sand.” We’ll join hands on the beach, making a literal “line in the sand” to say “no” to new offshore drilling and “yes” to clean energy.”

You can park at the big Inlet Parking Lot, or the other municipal lots downtown. Also metered parking on downtown streets. Or you can park at the park-and-ride lot on Route 50 in West Ocean City, and ride the shuttle buses across the bridge to within walking distance of the Inlet.

If you’re going to be in Ocean City this weekend, please be sure to put this environmental event on your schedule. I imagine it will be an educational experience for small children, and a possible opportunity to earn service credits for high school students.

If you weren’t planning a beach trip this weekend, here’s a good reason to come to OC. I know there will be rooms available this weekend, but I advise calling your favorite hotel for a reservation, just to save yourself some time.

Recommended equipment: sunblock, sun hat, T-shirt, flip-flops (the sand can be very HOT!), and of course, water. All these necessities can be found nearby on the Ocean City Boardwalk. Pizza, crab cakes, and ice cream after the event are optional. Make a weekend of it!

– John Hayden

Heat throughout Maryland will be dangerously hot and humid. Would you believe 96 in Hancock, in Western Maryland? Baltimore has opened numerous cooling centers throughout the city. For a list of cooling centers, see Frank Roylance’s  Maryland Weather Blog.

Code Red, Code Orange in Baltimore; 90s in Ocean City.

Also, Code Orange air quality in the Baltimore region on Wednesday, Frank reports, for the third straight day.

Here in Ocean City, we’ve been experiencing temperatures in the high 80s and low 90s for at least a week. The Ocean City forecast today is sunny with a high of 92 degrees. Thursday, the forecast is sunny and 96 degrees, with possible scattered thunderstorms.

A furious thunderstorm hit Ocean City last night (Tuesday). I can’t remember ever seeing a thunderstorm with such prolonged high wind, almost constant lightening at times, awesome thunder, and a deluge of rain for about a half hour.

I saw the first brief lightening about 10:10 p.m. and closed the indoor pool. By 10:30 we were seeing spectacular lightening and unusual thunder. One woman told me she thought the first loud crack of thunder sounded like a nearby explosion.

At about 11 p.m., a fierce gale hit the resort and the rain commenced. The wind and rain continued until about 11:30 p.m. We must have had at least an inch of rain in that half-hour. A second heavy rain began about 12:15 a.m., not as heavy or prolonged as the first. Possibly it was a different thunderstorm.

All told, I heard four unusual thunder events, not a quick bang, like normal thunder, but a rumble that continued for 5 or 10 seconds and sounded like a freight train nearby.

A high-pressure system blankets the Midwest, South, and the Mid-Atlantic, at least as far north as NYC, with heat. Temperatures throughout the region are reported in the upper 80s and 90s. Higher in some places, especially if you calculate the heat index.

And this is only the first official week of summer. Try to stay cool, drink lots of water.

– John Hayden