Reader survey; beach rules; Beau, Bill, Evelyn, Eddie

We’ve published a reader survey in this edition of the Cape Gazette. You’ll find it right smack dab on the center two pages of the paper. You can fill out the survey using a pen or pencil and send it to us through the mail, or you can do it online at SurveyMonkey.com/r/CGReader. It shouldn’t take you much more than 10 minutes. Answer what you want, don’t answer what you don’t want to answer. We’re all about ease and simplicity. No stress, low stress; or, as one of my gurus Meher Baba advises, Don’t Worry, Be Happy.

We’re just trying to get a sense of what in the paper is important to you, what you’d like to see more of, what you’d like to see less of, general impressions and a little bit about yourself and your family.

We feel very blessed to be publishing a newspaper for Delaware’s Cape Region community. It’s a community with a great sense of place, lots of caring people, lots of organizations dedicated to improving their communities and all the people who live here. And so eclectic. We’re a zebra with a lot more than just black and white stripes. People living all kinds of lives. And we strive to be a newspaper open and accessible to all, responsible, balanced, fun and informative. But that’s what we think. What do you think? Take the survey and let us know.

And it’s not just a favor we’re asking. We have lots of prizes including a grand prize of a five-night stay at the Virginia Beach Resort Hotel during beautiful October when that town will be celebrating its Virginia Beach Craft Beer Festival. Everyone who takes the survey will be placed in the drawing for the grand prize and more than 20 other prizes including gift certificates for restaurants, car washes, and exclusive food tours in downtown Rehoboth Beach led by the food-savvy folks at eatingrehoboth.com. Answer some intriguing questions. Maybe win a prize. Have some fun.

Beach driving buzz

Lots of talk about all the surf-fishing drivers on the beach Memorial Day weekend at Cape Henlopen State Park, especially after we published Ron MacArthur’s photo on the front page looking over the sea of vehicles from Herring Point looking north.

The state changed rules this year and will no longer allow stacked parking of vehicles in the permitted areas. Just side-by-side. Lots of grumbling. Some say there are getting to be too many vehicles and apparently the state agrees. Of course, driving on the beach is limited only to those who are there for active surf fishing (wink, wink).

So what’s the answer? One local told me he doesn’t like the new rules. “Open it up to all who take permits. Most people can only go on weekends, and this has really cut down on the number of those who can drive on the beach. They’re not hurting the environment. It’s just sand. Why limit them? And get rid of the fishing requirement. It’s a sham anyway. Plus all those hooks in the water are dangerous for all the other people swimming in those areas.”

Other suggestions:

• Ban all alcohol. Lots of people want to drink a beer when they’re there. If you tell them no, they’ll go elsewhere. It adds an element of danger anyway.

• Strictly enforce the fishing rule. Check for bait.

• Set up an area for serious fishing folks, and another area where anyone with a beach driving permit can go. No fishing required. Just have fun, responsibly. Stack ‘em up in eight or 10 rows and lots of people can be there. And make sure there are lots of open spaces where no vehicles are allowed. Many people want to enjoy this amazing resource without a bunch of vehicles rolling past.

• Limit the number of permits by way of a lottery system, to be renewed each year.

Hey, it’s valuable real estate. What do you think?

Already missing these folks

We publish lots of obituaries. They’re one of the best-read parts of the paper. People lead such interesting lives. And their obituaries are filled with love.

Like many people, I was just plain saddened by the death of Beau Biden. It’s sometimes said that only the good die young. Beau’s death confirms that. He loved his family, his state and his country, and he served them all with intelligence and passion.

One time during a visit to the Cape Gazette, Beau talked about the many problems he was pursuing as attorney general, most of them having to do with abuse of children. “So many problems get boiled down to abuse of power,” Beau said. Such a thorny human problem, and we were all blessed that he was among those who chose to go after that abuse and not ignore it. So now Beau is rocking in God’s loving arms while his family mourns the loss of such a good man. Our sympathies.

I also have to note the passing of Eddie Creadick and Bill Reynolds in Lewes and Evelyn Thoroughgood in Rehoboth.

Evelyn was always my go-to person for Rehoboth Beach history. There was some devil in her soft-spoken charm; she knew all the backstories, and she always tried to help me, with wonderful grace.

Bill Reynolds was as salty a part of the earth as there ever was. He had an infectious smile, lived life with great humor, and served the people of Lewes masterfully for years as an employee of the Board of Public Works.

I can close my eyes and see him perched at the controls of a backhoe, cap on his pate, a cigar in his mouth, carefully opening a street to repair a water or sewer line.

And then there was Eddie. He owned and was a proud and wonderful steward for the famous 1812 Bride and Groom bald cypress trees on Kings Highway in Lewes. No one ever kept a yard neater than Eddie, and at Christmastime he made sure that hundreds of children had the friendly knee of Santa to sit on as he lent a sincere ear for Christmas wishes.

I hope lots of wonderful little babies get at least a part of these beautiful souls that God is recycling.