Gone are the Good 'Ole Days - Tybee Breeze

I’m sure that most of you have heard from
time to time the old saying: Don’t believe
everything you read in the paper and see on
the news. I was reminded of this a few
weeks ago when Tybee lost power for three
and a half hours due to the actions of a local
knucklehead taking on a utility pole just
east of Bull River. One television reporter
from the VOD network (voice of doom)
informed viewers that Tybee eateries were
unable to open and serve the many locals and
tourists who were stuck here during the
outage. This was simply not the case. While
most restaurants were closed, at least one
was not affected by the incident. The
Riptide Grill didn’t
miss a beat. Riptide
owner, “Dean-Dean
The Business
Machine,” was
prepared with a
large generator
which was used to
power the soft
drink compressor,
the sound system,
frozen drink
dispensers, a fan
for the hostess and,
most importantly,
the cash register.
The outdoor kitchen
is fueled by gas so
food was not
affected. By the
14
Tybee Breeze
way, I’m kind of surprised that so many of
you still don’t know where the Riptide is.
Some retail businesses were also open,
handling transactions by hand. I’m talking
about using pencil and paper to calculate
the sales tax! Not very many people know
how to do that these days. We have become
far too dependent on computers and
calculators to do our thinking for us. Case
in point: A recent survey/test of high
school graduates showed that a large
percentage of them did not possess the
skills necessary to figure out how much of a
tip to leave at a restaurant. Sad. Things
sure have changed.
Remember when…
Carjacking was something you did prior to
changing a flat tire?
A home invasion was the result of all the
kids in the neighborhood coming over to
your house because your mom was serving
fresh homemade ice cream?
See you next month.