SpeakEasy
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•July 28, 2020
Child of ’50s Recalls World of Wonder on LBI
Barnegat Lighthouse has been a family beacon for as long as I can remember. When I was 5, crossing the bridge onto Long Beach Island for a week’s vacation was to enter a world of wonder.
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•July 15, 2020
LBI Teacher Gets a Lesson From India’s Kids
“Don’t eat the food, don’t put your feet in the river, don’t drink the water, you may get sick, you may get attacked.” And the drumbeat quickened as the time drew near. “It’s not safe, it’s a pit.…
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•July 4, 2020
Will Current Events Rain on Neighborhood Parade?
With all the nostalgia, tradition and the legacy of several combined multi-family generations on our street in Beach Haven Park, this surely will be an interesting Fourth of July. The COVID-19 frenzy…
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•June 24, 2020
Sunrise, Sunset, Brilliantly Glow the LBI Days
One of the major advantages of being on our beloved Island is the incredible sky watching that can happen only here. Thanks to less air and light pollution, Long Beach Island experiences unequaled…
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•June 17, 2020
Like Blai, We’ll Persevere With Strength and Joy
The Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences’ founder, Boris Blai, was 5 years old when the Russian flu pandemic spread throughout his homeland in 1899.
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•June 10, 2020
Life in the Fast Lane Is Exasperating
Is it a given that, as we age, we really do turn into our parents? That all those years of mumbling under our breath “I’ll never be like her/him” were useless because we are destined to repeat the…
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•June 3, 2020
Seventy Days In: Where I Stand
Seventy days in. Except for some quick trips to the drive-through at the bank or the pharmacy, I have barely been out. Every day listening, waiting. Now that things are opening, I’m feeling anxious.…
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•May 27, 2020
Current Crisis Comes Down to Rights and Noses
Perhaps nothing has ever quite fit the description “in your face” quite as literally as does the COVID-19 contagion.
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•May 13, 2020
2020 World Series of Birding a Rare ‘Tweet’
The Canada goose looked at me with one beady eye. Each time he turned his head to size me up, it was with one beady eye. He had swum across the still pond with a determination that could mean only…
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•May 6, 2020
Those Were the Days
“Those were the days my friend/ We thought they’d never end.” Remember that beautiful song by Mary Hopkin, the young girl with the angel voice and a face to match back in the 1960s? I bet you didn’t…
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•April 20, 2020
‘Why Our Class?’ Senior Describes Heartbreak
This was our time to shine bright like the sun,
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•April 9, 2020
Stranded in Distant Paradise: Snowbird Longs to Get Home
A couple of years ago, I wrote an essay about what happens when your children become your parents. My daughter Donna got on my case about my sloppy, dangerous slippers and my son Matt said I should…
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•April 7, 2020
Summer Can’t Come Soon Enough!
As I scan through the clothing catalogs I just received in the mail, I view bathing suits, shorts and tank tops in bright, cheery colors. The models are all smiling, looking relaxed and enjoying…
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•March 29, 2020
Walking the Walk and Heeding the Talk … for Now
I went for a drive to the park with my family. I asked myself questions I never thought I’d ask myself. Should I have my window open in the car? What if that guy in front of me spits out his window?…
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•March 18, 2020
Celebrating the Recovery of Bald Eagles
In these uncertain and difficult times, we all need to look for signs of hope. Thanks to Mother Nature and a little help from her friends, here is a wonderful story of recovery and hope for New…
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•March 11, 2020
Time Spent With Inuits Leads to Life Lessons
I remember reading about the tragic death of John Allen Chau, a 27-year-old missionary, in 2018. Chau died on North Sentinel Island, 500 miles east of India in the Bay of Bengal. This small island is…
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•March 4, 2020
Uncharted Hard Times
Not so long ago, I was kicked back – well, to be more accurate, I was damn near lying down – in my favorite living room chair, burning through yet another bag of Cheetos when a cold shiver of…
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•February 27, 2020
Losing Hand’s Another Nail in the Coffin of Old LBI
As young parents of two daughters, a toddler and an infant, we were introduced to Long Beach Island in 1974. Our friends who for years had been coming to LBI couldn’t believe we, who had been born…
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•February 23, 2020
Community Fabric Fraying With Closings Like Hand’s
With Hand’s department store in North Beach Haven closing in April, Long Beach Island loses not just another retailer, but a part of the fabric of the community. It’s symbolic of the shifting ground…
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•February 12, 2020
Love Is Much More Than Hearts and Flowers
Yes, the day is near – flowers, candy or something else? I’m 76 years old, yet still in love. When my wife walks into a room her smile will light up the whole room and make everyone feel great. But…
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•February 5, 2020
Thought for Food
A necessity for all people is air to breathe. Closely following that is the need for food and drink. Whereas breathing is something we just do, the processes of eating and drinking involve a lot…
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•January 29, 2020
Sayonara at 75? Seniors Prove Otherwise
It’s hard to turn on the television, pick up a newspaper or browse the Internet without reading or hearing a ludicrous statement expounded by a so-called “expert.”
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•January 22, 2020
Fifty More Shades of Gray
Before you assume that this is a racy essay filled with confessions of lurid sexcapades from full-time Islanders, let me reassure (or disappoint?) you that this couldn’t be further from the truth.
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•December 18, 2019
Celebrating With War Orphans: A Christmas Story
It was 1955 and Christmas in Germany. I was a 21-year-old soldier and stationed for two years in Butzbach, a small farm village. This would be the first time away from my family on Christmas … and…
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•December 11, 2019
Oh, the People You’ll Meet
History records the deeds of great men; families record the history of the unsung heroes who made the greatness possible.
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•December 4, 2019
When You Care Enough to Send the Very Best
The holidays are approaching and I’m getting my cards assembled. It’s mostly people age 50 and over who send greeting cards today. Younger people rely on WiFi to send their messages. Hallmark…
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•November 27, 2019
Casting for Answers on a Wondrous Fall Beach
It had been lingering on my mind all day. I had considered different terms. The duality of man comes to mind. The concept is right, but good and evil are too extreme. Yin and Yang come next. Pretty…
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•November 20, 2019
Refuge’s Environmental Trail Pays It Forward
The area’s newest park, the Cedar Bonnet Island Environmental Trail section of the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge on Bonnet Island, may be a big letdown to the first-time visitor.
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•November 13, 2019
Let It Go
Since I turned 60 and decided to retire from my business, I’ve been hearing a lot about “letting go.” I am told by many of those around me I am having trouble with it.
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•November 6, 2019
Millennials: You Gotta Love Them!
I read a news story last year that made me think that maybe I no longer fit in this world. The article was titled “Burned-Out Millennials Are Quitting Lucrative Jobs.” The report said the…
