The thing about the Jersey Shore that is nothing short of amazing, and even a bit bizarre, is how time stands still season after season.

If you go to LBI, you know there will always be one bridge from the mainland to the island, Fantasy Island amusement park will always be there, and the Chicken or the Egg will always be the best and immediate cure for a hangover after a night at the Marlin, Ketch or Sea Shell.

The same goes for Exit 98 and Belmar, Spring Lake, Sea Girt and Manasquan. Parker House will always have mini-burgers at White Castle prices, Mike the bartender will always be upstairs, Shane,the quickest bottle opener in the East, downstairs. Leggett's will always play Take Me Home, Country Roads and Sweet Child of Mine around 1:00 AM to the screaming sing-a-long throngs of what sounds like thousands. It could be 2028, and Big Orange Cone and The Nerds will still be on stage at the Osprey, along with a line that feels like it extends to Pt. Pleasant outside if you arrive a minute after 11:00 PM.

"Staple" is the key word here...staple bars, staple bartenders, staple social itinerary, and despite marriages and career changes, seemingly the same people. It truly is a place where time stands still, and why those who some feel should have hung up the bottle opener long ago still go back...

In short, from May to September, the shore and all aspects of it will always be a second family.

And with every family is a smiling uncle. The jolly guy who is always can bring a smile to your face no matterhow shitty a week you had or how much drama is dripping from a particular evening.

That uncle is Al Lyon, simply known as Big Al. You'd always find him in the same exact seat every week at the shore's biggest staple, Edgar's Pub on the border of Manasquan and Sea Girt.

And on Wednesday, he passed away suddenly.

People had last spoken to Al around 5:30 PM Wednesday night. They were heading over to his home for the weekly poker game, a tradition for 35 years (I don't know how many years Al played in it). It was Al's habit to drop by Edgar's for a drink beforehand. When he failed to show up at the bar at 6:30 PM and was no longer responding to calls, the poker players went straight to his home and found him peaceful in bed. He was still warm, having either just showered or about to shower, but it was too late.

He is survived by a sister in Florida.

Al understood what Edgar's was and will always be: A dance-happy (without the techno), drink-happy, well, happy place where hard working, mainly thirtysomething Bennys come on summer weekends to forget about just about everything. It's not the best layout, always crowded, but rarely will you see a fight break out, and it's a place that never will anyone who has Hot-97 and KTU programmed into all five car radio stations ever even think of venturing into. And that's why it's remained so popular...it keeps things simple and knows what its audience wants: Fast service, bouncers lacking in self-importance, silly dance music, an easy hook-up if pursued, and pizza served at the end of the night.

Period.

When news came that Al was no longer with us, the email chains flew as fast and furious as if a major celebrity had died:

"When I saw him last weekend for the first time all summer, I said, "Hey Al! Are there any hot guys inside the bar tonite?" explains Edgar's staple Suzanne Preston. And he said, "Yes, get in there!!!"

"It will be too weird having anyone else punch our cards," she continues. "For those who came down late on Fridays and went straight to Edgar's, he was the first familiar face of the weekend that you'd see. I feel like he is the first of the whole extended "family" to die. And so even though I barely knew him, it is sad. He was a shore icon."

Former Edgar's bartender Chris Ginley: "It was a sad day for Edgars the other day. I was also close to Al Lyon as was my family and over the years I just assumed he was immortal. Al and I had many late nights of drinking and playing 1 on 1 poker till the early morning hours. Outside of Edgars his biggest passion was to play poker and has been part of the longest running weekly card game in NJ history (they did a write up in the Ledger about it a few years ago). He grew up in Yonkers NY along with his childhood friend Edgar, who was a NYC firefighter. Edgar bought some bars in NY in the early 80's and AL helped manage them. In 1985, Edgar bought the bar in Manasquan and Al had managed it ever since.

"On behalf of the old houses of 600 Philly and 111 Beacon we will truly miss Al. Summer of 2000 was many of our first forays into Edgars," jointly writes Karyn Rosenberg and Marianne Veehoff. "With or without cards Al always let us in. Of course the fresh baked cookies might have helped!!!!

May he be there in spirit with everyone this summer!"

"If you say the name 'Edgar', the first thing I think of is Big Al," says Kerry McManus, who is coming up on her fifth year of doing a beach house in Spring Lake. "It was the type of relationship, since the line was always moving along to go in, where you couldn't stop and talk to Al for more than thirty seconds, but I always made a point to do so and vice versa. He would always compliment my outfits and would always make me laugh. If I was annoyed or feeling a little tired before I got to Edgar's, I never was after seeing Al. He's just one of those few people who can put you in a good mood just by being around him for a short period of time."

The only constant in life in change, but that doesn't necessarily mean it we have to embrace it.

Big Al- thanks for the memories.

Edgar's and the Jersey shore as a whole will absolutely not be the same without you.

The arrangements for Al Lyon are as follows:

Sunday, June 1st
Wake 1 - 3pm
O'Brien's Funeral Home
Highway 35, Wall Township

Gathering 3 - 5pm
Edgar's Irish Pub

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