There are few people in the world who are instantly recognized by their first name: Madonna, Cher, Oprah and our very own Marybeth. Such is our good fortune to have this homegrown celebrity grace our presence at the front of our beach for the past 21 summers!

Much can be said about this incredibly hard-working woman. She is a daughter, sister, aunt, cousin, dedicated wife (to Jessie), loving mother to Jarah & Molly), elementary school teacher and friend. But her most famous role of all is that of Marybeth the Ice-Cream lady. She is a Point Lookout institution.

Marybeth's Ice Cream truck is at the beach each summer day - weather permitting. One of her most astonishing gifts is that she knows the name of every child in town and their favorite ice cream. This applies to entire families too. She makes everyone feel unique and special and she does that for each person that visits her truck. How many times have you been on that long line on a hot summer day and inevitably five kids in front of you have taken ten minutes to buy four-dollars worth of ice-cream with two-dollars in change? She addresses them each by name, smiles patiently, collects the sandy shortfall and calls out "Next!" without skipping a beat.

There is no doubt that Marybeth has attained rock star status. As her friend since childhood, I get to witness this phenomenon first hand. There's not a block in town that she can walk down without being bombarded by kids and parents alike. Parents pass her money and praise, kids ask for her autograph, and she is often asked to make special appearances at Point kiddy parties. My favorite is when she takes a rare break and joins me on second beach (we have to avoid the crowds due to her celebrity) but even then there are sightings. She takes this all in stride and explains to me, as the children stare at her in disbelief, "I think they're surprised I have legs."

So keep your Madonna's, your Cher's and even Oprah, we have Marybeth and it doesn't get any better than that.