Published in the August 1, 2019 edition.
Hampton Beach, NH — Former Wakefieldian Cy Bode and his Hampton Beach neighbor Al Fleury are standing firm in their opposing political beliefs, but having some fun doing it at the same time.
Bode, the longtime Little League volunteer, elected town official and Marine Corps veteran, is a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat who isn’t afraid to speak his mind when it comes to President Donald Trump. Fleury, who owns Bernie’s Beach Bar among other Hampton properties, feels the same way in his support of our commander-in-chief.
The two men live across L Street from each in Hampton, New Hampshire. Cy’s signage, hung from a bedroom window, reads “Elect a clown, expect a circus” complete with an image of the president. Fleury put up a sign in response that features Trump on a tank and the slogan “Make America Great Again” with fireworks exploding in the background.
Their good-natured ribbing, according to a July 12 front page article in the Portsmouth Herald, has turned L Street into a “political war zone.”
“‘I find him to be very bright and personable,’ said Bode, who credits Fleury for his investment in the neighborhood with Bernie’s, his other bars in the L Street area and properties like the one across from Bode’s house.
“Fleury said he has always enjoyed talking to Bode when he walks by his home and was sympathetic to the Bodes when their home caught fire three years ago. The house has since been rebuilt and restored as their beach home decked out with anti-Trump messaging.
“Fleury said he also teases Bode about buying every house on the street and putting pro-Trump signs up on each one, possibly one of him Photoshopped shaking Trump’s hand.
“‘I’m half-joking,’ said Fleury. “It’s all in good fun.
“Bode, who has been disgusted by Trump since he ran for office, said there was no particular thing the president did that inspired him to post his sign. He just decided one day to hang it up.
“Fleury said he was disappointed when he first saw the sign go up, as he had gotten to know Bode well. He said he playfully nudged Bode about taking the sign down, joking that Bode’s sign would give Fleury’s Republican father a heart attack when he moved to the street last year. He said the sign briefly came down at one point, but when Bode put it back up, Fleury decided to get his own.
“The signs catch the eye of tourists walking down L Street, neighbors say, beachgoers taking pictures and making remarks about whether the neighbors get along.
“‘People walk by all the time…they act like, ‘Oh, you guys got a war going on,’ said Laura St. Pierre, who lives in one of the apartments where Fleury’s Trump sign hangs. Also a Trump supporter, she said Bode’s views never get in the way of their friendship as neighbors.
“Bode shares the vegetables from his garden with her, and she said she and other neighbors defend Bode when tourists mouth off at him about the signs. She said she scolded someone last summer who called Bode a crass insult when walking by his house.
“‘I said, ‘Hey, just because he doesn’t agree with you doesn’t mean he’s an (expletive),’ said. ‘Clearly the guy was a Trump fan, but there’s no need to be a jerk about it.’
“Bode says despite his age, he handles himself when people give him a hard time.
“‘Normally they say something like, ‘Trump 2020,’ said Bode. ‘My response is, ‘You’re really going to get five to 10,’ or ‘It’s a wonderful thing to support someone who is a rapist, draft dodger and inveterate liar.’
“St. Pierre said she also hears people make comments about her apartment building when she sits on the front porch. She said she once heard a woman walking by saying to her friend her building must be ‘racist.’
“‘That’s nothing, though,’ said Sheila Mercier, St. Pierre’s friend who lives across the street. She said she asked Fleury and Bode if they would consider taking their signs down because she didn’t want her son and nieces and nephews to hear tourists yelling profanities about the signs. She said she is also friends with Bode and thinks it is ‘pathetic’ that political signs can inspire disappointing behavior.
“‘It just explodes people’s emotions or feelings,’ said Mercier. ‘People have a right to voice their own opinion.’
“Fleury said the signs have actually added to the fun for tourists at Hampton Beach. He admits he thought the clown sign is a bit ‘aggressive’ but believes there is no harm with the signage on L Street.
“‘We have more selfies taken with our sign than I could imagine,’ said Fleury. ‘I don’t think it’s hurting anything,’” the Portsmouth Herald article concludes.
