In a nation by every issue you can name, there are few – very few – issues that unite us. Maybe our coast-to-coast devotion to team sports? Beyoncé’s country music album? Our addiction to cellphones, tablets and streaming devices? (Giving new meaning, by the way, to the age-old adage “left to our own devices …”)

Here on Long Beach Island, we have our own constant, daily, unifying phenomenon. It’s ongoing since I-don’t-know-when, and if pressed, even those in charge cannot give you a date for its…