Jeb Stuart Magruder on the Beach

The Golden Calf of Margate

The text of a pamphlet discovered in the Margate Museum

In 1881, the coastal town of Margate, New Jersey, like much of America, was a land of innovation, ambition and dreams. James Lafferty, a real estate developer, was a dreamer. He obtained a permit to build an animal-shaped building by the beach to serve as his real estate office and as an attraction to draw tourists – and potential property buyers – to the area. He designed the building as a golden calf and received a patent (number 268503) for any animal-shaped building.

In the bible, a golden calf was made by the Israelites while Moses was up on Mount Sinai. The people who celebrated around the golden calf were punished when Moses returned. The calf often represents idolatry and a departure from obedience to God. Lafferty was inspired by the story of the golden calf and saw an opportunity to merge religious allegory and commercial potential.

“Goldie” (as the calf was nicknamed by locals) became an extremely popular attraction and a venue for social events. Tours were offered allowing visitors to walk around inside and to climb to its observation deck where one could look out over the coast of the Atlantic.

While many saw the calf as a testament to creativity and ambition, others saw a symbol of commercial idolatry. A small religious sect emerged in nearby Atlantic City that preached against the sin of desiring wealth. They believed that aspects of the biblical story of the golden calf were coming to life – and that they had an essential role to play.

The Rehearsal

I’m digging canals in the sand to form a moat

When the tide comes in, this will channel the water around my castle

But there is no castle

Just a pile of sand from excavating the canals

I think I’m more interested in the moat

A guy walks by between me and the water

Jeans and t-shirt, a duffle bag over his shoulder and a book in his hand

Looking for a place to sit, I think

Please don’t sit too close

He looks over at me

Jeb:

Looks like a nice engineering project

I could’ve been an engineer

He sits on the sand and stares out at the ocean

He is talking to himself

How did I get here?

I believed them – I believed in them

Everyone bends the rules

To think otherwise is naïve

We don’t whine and complain about our enemies

That’s hypocritical

We play the game better

We need to, for the country

We are here to serve and protect the country

We are not here to profit from our service

I made myself useful

I helped as best I could

I was a loyal team player

I am loyal

Then one day I am being coached on perjury

Framed as protecting me

Mainly protecting themselves and others

We’re all in this together, they say

It’s the prisoner’s dilemma

If they cooperate first, you go down

Or save yourself, and they go down

I make a V-shape ditch leading to my canals

That will gather the water toward the moat

Then I start making a castle – might as well

The moat would be more impressive with the castle

The tide was coming in

I don’t know why this guy is talking to me

I’ve been re-examining my values

I’m going to tell the truth about myself

But I won’t say things that harm others

I’m going to walk that line

I’ll fall on my sword – what they do is up to them

I talk to God about this – every day

I never doubted his existence – we just didn’t talk

Like a fish ignoring the water

I knew what falling on a sword meant

But I could never picture it

You’d have to prop-up the sword securely

Then maybe run, jump or dive

A bellyflop onto the sword

Complicated way to kill yourself

Now he really is talking to me and not himself

Jeb:

I’m going on television to confess

I have to drive back to Washington

And I just got here

Then I’m probably going to jail

Been a full year of this

I’m going to be briefly famous, I think

Your castle looks like Goldie

He’s looking down the beach toward Goldie

You can see part of the head from here

Neat idea to make my castle into the shape of an animal

Hadn’t thought of that

He walks away slowly still taking to himself

He says, Thank you for that question

He says, The best I can recall is…

He says, Two wrongs don’t make a right, I certainly know that now

Margate Theatre Goes Ape

My brother and I get to the theatre early – we want good seats

All five Planet of the Ape movies, back-to-back, it will take all day

Some kids bring giant bags of popcorn, I mean huge

Mom made us sandwiches and we brought drinks

Full of noisy kids, I hope they quiet down

I wish kids didn’t act so much like kids

I see only one adult in the whole place

I think it’s that guy from the beach

I guess he wants to have some fun

Before going back to Washington

The Watergate Hearings

Every day Mom takes us to the beach early

Then hurries back to watch the hearings

She tries telling me what’s going on

I knew it was about Watergate

I hear the word Watergate a lot

President Nixon had people break into the Democrat’s offices

They planted bugs

Come watch for a little, Mom says

I usually don’t

Bring your lunch over here, Mom says

This time I do

There on the TV is the man from the beach and the movie theatre

For some reason I also imagine him inside the golden calf

Not inside Goldie, the building

But inside my sandcastle

Watching the tide come in

Hoping my canals and moat will divert the water

And not wash him away