We are permanent residents in the area and walk the Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk all year. We look forward to the arrival of summer and the happiness that Rehoboth Toy and Kite Company brings to Boardwalk strollers with the bubbles they release into the air above the Boardwalk. The bubbles themselves are fun, but the real joy is watching the faces of the children as they try to reach out and touch them in the air.
The last few times we were walking, nobody was making bubbles. I stopped this morning to ask why the bubbles were missing. An employee explained that a storeowner several blocks away on Rehoboth Avenue filed a complaint about both Rehoboth Toy and Kite Company sites because the outside release of bubbles was a way to solicit business. In our beautiful capitalistic society, attracting business for sales of your products is a basic technique. Stopping this charming activity seems so un-American.
I called Mayor Paul Kuhns to discuss the situation. The bottom line seems to be that the Boardwalk is city property. He explained that is why no employee is allowed to stand on the Boardwalk and create bubbles, an unfortunate technicality. When I asked, he agreed that if the bubbles were generated from the property the store owned and flew into the air that nobody owns, there is not a problem. I hope the Rehoboth Toy and Kite Company will do so very soon. There is still enough summer left to bring the bubbles, joy and children's laughter back to the Boardwalk.
I feel sorry for the individual with the Scrooge mentality who wants to see local and visiting children deprived of the fun and joy the bubbles bring.
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