By Donald Wittkowski
Hmm, we hate to sound crabby, but we think Martin Z. Mollusk may have pulled a fast one Saturday.
On a soggy May morning that rained buckets and left everyone soaked, Ocean City’s famous prognosticating hermit crab somehow “saw” his shadow to fulfill his perennial prediction that summer will arrive one week early in the beachfront town.
“We see his shadow. Summer is coming early to Ocean City!” exclaimed Michael Hartman, the city’s special events director who had the honor of peeking under Martin’s shell.
Normally, Martin’s handlers take him out on the beach for his shadow-spotting duties, but the torrential downpour Saturday forced the ceremony to be moved indoors at the Music Pier.
So then, with no sun to speak of and a roof over his head, how did Martin possibly see his shadow?
Just in time, a spotlight was turned on in the Music Pier to serve as a substitute for the missing sun and — magically — the crustacean’s shadow came into full view as the crowd looked on in amusement.
Martin has been making his comical appearance each May for 44 years. City officials insist he has a perfect record of seeing his shadow every year to portend an early summer.
“We’re not guaranteeing he’s going to see his shadow. But if you’re a betting man, I would say Martin’s going to bring summer early. We’re counting on it,” city spokesman Doug Bergen said.
Martin, tucked inside his shell, was accompanied by his hermit crab wife, Molly, while making a grand entrance into the Music Pier in a small cage carried by his handlers. He was plunked down on a tiny, bejeweled and seashell-studded throne after he wowed the crowd with his prediction for an early summer.
The Martin Z. Mollusk Day spectacle was originally dreamed up in 1974 by Mark Soifer, the city’s former public relations director. It is just one in a series of wacky publicity stunts that Soifer created over the years to draw media coverage and tourists to town.
Martin Z. Mollusk is a spoof of Punxsutawney Phil, the Pennsylvania groundhog that emerges from hibernation every February to predict whether there will be six more weeks of winter.
Hartman, who served as emcee for Saturday’s event, somehow maintained a straight face while reading a letter that was purportedly sent by Punxsutawney Phil to Martin wishing him the best of luck. Phil also expressed his hope for a sunny summer, so that he could spend some vacation time on the Ocean City beach.
“There is nothing like a getaway to Ocean City, New Jersey,” Hartman said, while reading from Phil’s letter to Martin.
The letter, by the way, was signed, “Your friend, Phil.”
Punxsutawney Phil is certainly not the only fan of Martin Z. Mollusk. Ocean City school children paid tribute to the hermit crab on Saturday with songs, poetry and a coloring contest.
The Ocean City Primary School choir serenaded Martin with a rousing rendition of “The Greatest.” Reagan DeVlieger, 11, a fifth-grader at the Ocean City Intermediate School, recited a special poem in his honor. Students Lily Bechtold, 9, Callie Smith, 9, and Kaia Chew, 8, were the winners of a coloring contest that featured Martin Z. Mollusk-themed drawings.
Perhaps inspired by Martin’s powers of prestidigitation, professional magician Jon Dorenbos also showed up for the ceremony. Dorenbos, who is also a player for the Philadelphia Eagles, performed a mind-blowing card trick while assisted by Cole Watson, 11, an Ocean City fifth-grader.
“It was really fascinating, Watson said of the trick. “It was very surprising. I thought it was very enjoyable.”
Families attending the event had to brave wind-driven rain that swept down the Boardwalk. Jessica and Andrew Bechtold, of Ocean City, came to see their daughter, Lily, who was one of the winners in the coloring contest, sing in the ceremony.
The Bechtolds, who also brought along their 5-year-old daughter, Addison, and 1-year-old son, Penn, said they weren’t going to let the rain spoil their day.
“I looked outside at the rain and thought, ‘Hey, let’s do it,’” Jessica Bechtold said. “We dressed the kids in warm clothes and now we’re here.”
By the time they ran down the Boardwalk and scurried inside the Music Pier, Ocean City resident Kelly Alfred and her 9-year-old daughter, Riley Kane, were soaked. Riley’s Ocean City friends, Olivia Cesari, 9, and her 9-year-old brother, Bob, also were dripping wet.
“Sometimes, we have to make sacrifices,” Alfred said of having to head out in the bad weather.
But Bob Cesari didn’t seem to mind the rain. He wanted to see Martin Z. Mollusk, after all.
“It’s just rain,” he said. “Why should we be afraid of it? It’s just water.”
A few minutes later, Bob and the other smiling children got their reward for enduring the sloppy weather. A costumed version of Martin Z. Mollusk joined them for pictures and high-fives.
