Mother Nature Ravages the Northeast
Summit, NJ 07901 I woke up this morning to the biggest snowfall in years. It had been snowing yesterday already. It was wet and heavy. We had gone out periodically and cleared the driveway. And it was alright when we went to bed. Overnight, though, the light, fluffy stuff really accumulated. I hadn’t seen it like this in decades. I remember, back in the early sixties we used to get snows like this. I remember one time my father... [Read More...]
Whippany (NJ) Railway Museum
Whippany (NJ) Railway Museum As a child, I remember reading a fairy tale entitled, “Seven-League Boots” and being utterly fascinated by it. The premise was that if one were to wear such boots, one could travel seven leagues in a single bound. Clearly, the story was told before our time, when the idea of rapid transit was but a fantasy. The memory of that idea, however, would persist and, blessed by the power of human commitment, would,... [Read More...]
NJ Flower and Garden Show
The 8th Annual New Jersey Flower and Garden Show at the NJ Convention Center in Edison, NJ This is the weekend (Feb. 18th-21st) of New Jersey’s indoor Flower and Garden Show. It runs Thursday through Sunday and is a great place to take a break from winter. There is lots to look at and to buy. There are professional horticulturists to ask for advice concerning your plants, inside and out. There are builders who can install fountains, waterfalls... [Read More...]
Morristown National Historical Park
Jockey Hollow, Morristown National Historical Park, New Jersey. “They also serve who only stand and wait.” – John Milton We’ve always had the inclination to celebrate great battlefields on which heroes were asked to sacrifice the very essence of themselves for the lofty ideals set forth by our leaders. The greater the carnage, the more we elaborate. The more the earth has been turned red, the less we are allowed to forget blood’s contribution... [Read More...]
Thomas Alva Edison National Historical Park
Thomas Alva Edison National Historical Park, West Orange, NJ Thomas Alva Edison (1847- 1931) was no doubt the world’s most prolific inventor. In his lifetime, he held over 1000 U.S. patents in his name; and additional ones in Europe as well. He came to be known as ‘The Wizard of Menlo Park’ (where he lived and worked for a time) in recognition of a virtual blizzard of his inventions such as the phonograph, the motion picture camera and projector... [Read More...]
Chester, New Jersey
Chester, NJ Most viable towns and municipalities that find themselves within virtual spitting distance of great metros like New York City survive as bedroom communities in which at least one member of each household commutes to work. The more successful of these are generally located along commuter rail lines. Towns not directly linked to Gotham by train often find themselves dropped from consideration as people with long-term prospects of lucrative... [Read More...]
Princeton
Princeton University, Princeton, NJ My brother went to Princeton. I was accepted at Princeton but decided against going there because I felt it was too close to home. Princeton University is one of the Ivy League citadels that are viewed by the public as the most prestigious centers of learning in the country. They are often ranked among the best universities in the world. Seven of the eight Ivy Leagues – including Princeton – were... [Read More...]
Bryant Park
Bryant Park, Summit, NJ We sometimes forget that scenes of winter do not necessarily have to include snow and ice. Whereas the white stuff is in some ways symbolic of the season, recent years have shown that the traditional White Christmas need not necessarily be white. Even so, there is still plenty that brilliantly distinguishes the dormant season from the others – even beyond the spike in utility bills – whenever one is so moved as to... [Read More...]
Reeves-Reed Arboretum
Reeves-Reed Arboretum, Summit, NJ At first blush one wouldn’t think that formal gardens and modern sculpture would have much in common, much less be compatible within the confines of a similar context. Both can be considered as contrived, to be sure; both relying heavily on such divergent media to make their point as to make it difficult to imagine them melding into any semblance of a unified, coherent statement. Aristide Maillol and Henry Moore... [Read More...]
South Mountain Reservation
South Mountain Reservation New York City, of course, has Central Park . What about the people who live on the (New) Jersey side in very close quarters in cities like Newark, Irvington, the Oranges, Hoboken, Weehawken, Union City and the rest? Where do they go to picnic, fish, hike, or run their dogs? #gallery-10 { margin: auto; } #gallery-10 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width:... [Read More...]
