Observations from the Shore 6.30

There is nothing like sitting on the deck after a morning walk on the beach reading the Sunday New York Times, even if it does happen to be the New Jersey edition of the paper. What makes it even better is knowing I'll be here for the week. I usually do spend a week here in the summer but last year I was going to Paris and times didn't work so I only spent a few days.

Before I forget, a quick note to the New York Times Company. I think somebody needs to build you a newspaper vending machine that takes dollar bills or, better yet, takes cell phone payment like in Japan. I don't mind paying the $6 for the Times but $6 is a hell of a lot of change to come up with in the morning.

I've been using this house for years and some of the neighbors are the same as when I was a kid. I had to laugh because when I arrived yesterday one of them yelled congrats at me as I unloaded and I had no idea why I was being congratulated. Than I realized, I'm the queer neighbor and it was because of the court decisions on marriage. For that and other reasons I have declared this week to be Fred's Gay Pride week. Eventually I shall have to inform the people at Fred's.

The time I spend here always feels like a recharge of sorts. I do a lot of walking on the beach and in town. Visit the same galleries, sit in Fred's, and eat at Sylvester's which happens to be the best seafood restaurant ever. Sylvester's is a fish market on the bay side of Avalon and it looks the part. I also eat a lot of peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches, because that's what we took on the beach when I was a kid, and fresh fruit off the truck that drives around.

I also read, I read a lot, I was told I read too much because I packed four books for a week long stay. The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty, The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers, The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro, and The Future by Al Gore. I also have a stack of magazines with Moroccan pottery in them because I'm suddenly obsessed with Moroccan pottery, I have no idea why.

Most of all I like to do a lot of nothing whether walking on the beach or sitting on the deck watching lightning above the horizon. Doing nothing is an activity that gets harder and harder to do as one gets older.

Observations from the Road, six months after the storm known as Sandy

A combination of things sent me south this past weekend. The weather was gorgeous, I had a chance to check out the beach house in Stone Harbor, and a friend was already doing some work in the Asbury Park area so we decided to pack Foxy and take her on the road for a much needed drive. I honestly didn't think of it being six months after Sandy hit but that it was.

The photo I posted with this isn't the best I have ever taken but I have a reason for using it. The road in the photo is Ocean Drive between Avalon and Stone Harbor and it's a road I have driven every summer since I learned to drive. Actually, like many things at the shore, I drove on it before I learned to drive but that's another story. Ocean Drive runs from one end of Seven Mile Island to the other, through Sea Isle City, Avalon, and Stone Harbor. I have driven it in at sunrise in search of fresh sticky buns, in thunder storms, in pre-dawn fog, and at sunset going to Sylvester's for seafood. To me personally it's one of the great roads in the world and seeing a road closed sign on it was one of the saddest things I ever saw. Supposedly going to be open before Memorial Day but if not I'm going to borrow my brother's jeep and drive it anyway.

Stone Harbor itself is in good shape considering it had record rainfall amounts along with record flood levels during the three high tides of Sandy. I was talking to someone who stayed in Avalon during the storm and than helped friends farther north. He said one thing he will never forget is the sight of people's lives piled up at the curb. Furniture, rugs, shore stuff, all water damaged and covered with sand and muck. One of my favorite shops, the Suncatcher, is just off the ocean on 2^nd Avenue in Stone Harbor and had two feet of water inside at the worst of the storm but you couldn't tell now other than the total newness of everything inside. Fred's Tavern was also in good shape but nobody would admit whose idea the new menu item was. I passed on the Indonesian Shisk Kabobs and stuck with the burgers and beer.

The barrier islands north of Atlantic City were much more heavily damaged than those to the south even though Sandy came ashore roughly over top of AC. We didn't spend much time in the north but there was one spot I had to see. To most people one of more lasting images of Sandy is the Star Jet roller coaster sitting forlornly in the surf of Seaside Heights. The coaster is still there now, drawing flocks of tourists along with the flocks of sea gulls, but its removal is supposed to happen before Memorial Day too. I'm not so sure about that one.

Politically one thing I found was how dearly refusing to quickly pass Sandy relief legislation cost the Republicans. So many people I talked to swore it would be a long time before they even thought about voting Republican, they felt betrayed. I should note that two Republican lawmakers from Texas, including Senator Ted Cruz, who voted against Sandy aid now want federal aid for West, Texas following the fertilizer plant explosion. I think the Texans should wait a respectable length of time, say six months.

Governor Chris Christie for one doesn't fall into the same category as Congressional Republicans. In Jersey Chris Christie is still a god on the level of his idol Bruce Springsteen.

Many people are still hurting, they can't afford to rebuild homes, the insurance money they get doesn't begin to cover the cost of building at the shore today, and some places are in areas that no longer can get flood insurance. FEMA was working on new flood elevation maps when Sandy hit and now many older homes are in the FEMA's most restricted zones and must be raised or see their flood insurance rates rise from $1,000 a year to $15,000. In the end I think many people will sell family homes to developers who will build more of the million dollar monsters that even now line parts of Ocean Drive.

Sadly I think one of the lasting effects of Sandy on the Jersey shore will be the acceleration of some parts of it turning into a rich man's playground.

Observations on Sandy 10.29

After this post I'm probably going to do like I did with Irene and just keep updating the same one or two posts unless something drastic comes up. I have no idea what would be drastic in this situation.

To catch up last night's last projections had sandy coming ashore just about on top of Stone Harbor, New Jersey, the beach house, and Fred's. Unlike Irene this storm is going to drive straight into the shore and not run parallel to it. I don't think Stone Harbor has ever received a direst hit. Some video I saw on Philly news yesterday already looked bad, I hope the house survives.

In the Village the first hard rain fell just after 1 AM last night. About an hour before that I went for a walk and the streets were just dead, empty, I know it was one in the morning but this is New York. The streets were nowhere near as dead before Irene. Also it was deathly quiet without the subways running. The only major event was what I swear was bird flying into the window while I sat chatting. Scared the crap out of me.

One thing I noticed during my first look today was the sky. So reminiscent of a blizzard and not at the churning nasty sky of a hurricane. Found a small coffee shop just inside Zone A that the owner said will remain open for the duration. Nice to know for later but I wont name it for obvious reasons. Not that anybody reads this but why take the chance? I may need a place to dry off later. For the record I live in Zone B, about a block from Zone A which was evacuated yesterday (375,000 people live in Zone A).

For the science geeks, that would be you Sean, Central Park already set a record for low pressure this morning. At 7 AM the pressure was at 946mb, the record low was 961mb on March 1, 1914. Sounds impressive but I have no idea what it means. Right now it's two hours away from high tide and the storm surge in the harbor is only one foot below Irene's worst. I know what that means and that isn't good at all. High tide tonight includes the full effects of the full moon.

The National Weather Service in New York just called Sandy "a worst case scenario" for the city. Going to be interesting to say the least.

Observations from Fred's 6.17

I can't say I'm posting from Fred's again, I'm probably not, but I didn't write as much as I planned these last couple days so as far as I'm concerned both beach posts are from Fred's. I had planned on driving back tonight but a totally wiped feeling and my wise dad convinced me to stay until early morning. Gives me one more night to
fall asleep on the deck.

While it wasn't the usual week to clear my head every day I spend here is as close to a perfect day as they get. The ocean and the mountains calm me, it's everything in between that I sometimes have a problem with. Calming or not a few interesting things happened during my brief stay here.

One of the highlights of the weekend happened the first night. I was talking to a friend late that night when I heard a loud noise outside and the power went out. I snuck outside with a golf club in hand only to find most of the neighbors doing the same. What we finally found was that a Tibetan squirrel had self immolated itself on the block's power transformer. As we all stood in the street I did get to meet a couple of girls, recent graduates, who were staying at the house across the street. They were young, cute, and made me feel all of my almost thirty years but they did wave at me more than I have ever been waved at in my life. Both were new to Stone Harbor so I showed them some of the cool shops and galleries but, for the record, I so did not show them
the inside of Fred's.

During a beach walk Saturday morning I stumbled upon a sweet new gallery of sorts. Called the Seaside Gallery and Hemp Emporium it was owned by a tattooed and leather skinned man who called me a dude and I think takes the hemp part of the name way too seriously. To say the very least he was fascinating and I now have his cell number because the gallery was without phone.

Other than those it was the usual for my stays in SH. Did some shopping, a bargain Coach bag and nice photo book the best buys, walked on the beach, ate seafood, and took photos. I may have also spent some time at Fred's.

I try and stay away from the news when I am here, the better to clear my head, but a few things always creep in. Egypt on the verge of blowing up once again, a massive 'silent march' protest back in the city today, and the Sandusky trial. Than there is the continued inability of the Phillies to win a freakin game, no small thing that.

Hopefully I get back again this summer but for now
the real world beckons.

Observations from Fred's 6.13

I like the title of this post, I always wanted to do it. I've written about Fred's often but I have never actually written from Fred's. Fred's would be Fred's Tavern and Liquor Store of Stone Harbor, New Jersey. I have been having beverages here for, well, I shouldn't say because I wouldn't want to admit to doing anything technically illegal. Suffice to say I have been drinking here for many years.

Suppose you figured out that my being at Fred's means I must be in Stone Harbor, very true. Much earlier in the summer than I usually get here but I never turn down time at the beach house and I may have other travel plans later in the summer so I jumped at the chance. Foxy and I had an awesome drive down the coast on a gorgeous evening, taking almost five hours instead of less than three.
As always the first stop was Fred's.

The word may be overused but Fred's really is iconic. Stone harbor and Avalon have changed dramatically over the years I have been coming here. Along Seven Mile Beach block after block of charming bungalows and small beach house have been torn down and replaced by huge hermetically sealed monstrosities costing literally millions of dollars.
A quick search of the Atlantic Beach Realty website shows the highest priced home for sale at a price of ... $6,950,000.
Seems the 1% spends its money on more than overpriced art.

But Fred's is still Fred's. Other than some much needed remodeling and the addition of WiFi it hasn't changed much since I first walked through the door a dozen years ago. Some of the employees, and I swear some of the bands, have been here for years but mostly it's college kids lucky enough to score one of the sweetest summer jobs on the Jersey shore.

My Jersey shore.

Fred's always feels like home, like I never left.

Observations from the Shore 7.26

One of the things I love about Stone Harbor is its total lack of a boardwalk. I suppose I enjoyed them as a child but as I got older and saw the darker side of life they just started to give me the feeling of being trapped in some kind of ocean side freak show. I do still like to ride a bike on them in the morning though I tend to ride too fast and so get dirty looks as I weave around people. But late in the evening they get too loud, too crowded, and too damn bright which taken together is the exact opposite of why I come down here.

I’ve been coming to Stone Harbor for twenty years and there are so many places that I have gone to for most of them, another reason I feel so comfortable here. I can spend hours wandering the tiny downtown area and than do it all over again the next night. Yes I said downtown, two blocks by three blocks and that is what we call it so that's what it is. Even better is to walk down the empty main street after a sunrise beach walk and smell the sticky buns baking at the bread shop. The street just fills with the scent of sticky and cinnamon buns fresh out of the oven. I’ve already stayed in Wildwood, about twenty minutes to the south, and driven up in the morning just for that.

Mimi's and the adjacent Suncatcher Surf Shop is a spot where I could spend any amount of time and money. I don’t like to pay an outrageous amount on clothes that aren’t made out of leather but something about the selection at Mimi's sets off my deeply buried feminine genes and I want it all. The Suncatcher has anything surf related and has the largest selection of surf-ts I have ever seen anywhere. I probably own more t-shirts from here than anyplace outside of State College.

Than there is Fred's, Fred's Tavern and Liquor store, a place for which I have no words. Fred's is one of those dark bars that let you forget its daylight outside until you stumble out the door into the afternoon sun. It's always my first stop when I arrive in town and this trip was no different. To my surprise Fred's had been newly renovated or what passes for renovation at Fred's. It is the same big square room with its big square bar and the liquor store through a door in the wall but with new tables, chairs, and other such decorative things that the regulars seem to abhor. What I found awesome was the new TouchTunes jukebox which will run playlists you can upload from your cell phone. Something I could cause some real damage with.

I have been drinking at Fred's longer than anybody in my family cares to remember. I think because it's easy to get served when you are tall and look like you might freak without a drink, some things never change.

The Black Eyed Peas - Pump It

A totally unrelated note, my current must have is the just released Motorola Droid3 with a dual-core 1 GHz processor, 4" hi-def screen, full html browser, and numbers on the keyboard!

Observations from the Shore 7.25

I live for this place. More than any other spot I seem to find peace here, even more than my mountains. The scene of my greatest failure may be a short drive to the south but it doesn't matter at all as if it was a different life entirely. This spot is my Jersey shore and not the snookified version of your nightmares. If I had to stay at one place and never leave for the rest of my life this would be it. No mountains, no Paris, no Village, just this house on this beach in this town, and Fred's. Nothing compares to sitting on the deck in the morning as the sun slowly rises and listening to the waves crash on the beach. Nothing else matters as I sip my coffee and just listen.

I left New York early yesterday to drive home and pick up the house key than drove down to the shore last night. It's a drive a have taken so many times yet I enjoy every minute of it. That is a little silly considering it's almost all highway and goes through the heart of Philly but it's a drive with so many memories. The drive through Philly, past the stadiums, and over the Walt Whitman Bridge leads to a speed run down the ACE that cuts through the Jersey Pinelands. With the top down I flash past bus loads of gamblers heading to the Atlantic City casinos and their fortune or their pittance. Than after a short drive south I do as I always do and jump off the Parkway so I can drive through the towns of Seven Mile Beach. Sea Isle City, Townsends Inlet, Avalon, cruising south with the top down on a warm muggy star filled night. Finally the requisite stop at Fred's to pick the alcohol and I'm back. The deck, the beach, the salt filled breeze off the ocean, and the waves crashing till the end of time.

Every time I get back it feels like I never left.

Now if I sound all serious I don't mean to at all. When I come here I leave most of my seriousness behind and short of some earth shattering cataclysm that is how it is going to be for the rest of the week. The world will just have to go on with out me. This is how I change by life, by doing absolutely nothing at all.

A friend shared this tune with me and it's just so awesome I had to share too. With a title like that how could it not be awesome?

Crash Test Dummies - When I Go Out With Artists

Observations from the Coffee Shop 7.1

It has been a week since the vote in Albany and the buzz in the air has begun to die down a little, replaced by a feeling more resembling a hangover. We haven’t lost that feeling I can only describe as comfort or joy that the thought of what happened still brings. Just that time brings the realization that there are still so many states where not only is a gay marriage not legal but it is actually constitutionally banned. So much yet to be done. I'm also sure it will all change again in a few weeks when the law takes effect and the first weddings take place in New York. I already know of one wedding I might be attending but for the record, no, the VQs currently have no such plans.

It's been a gorgeous couple of days in the Village but I'm totally ready to get out of town for the weekend. I don't know why but I just feel like I need a couple of days to re-charge the brain and body. It's that time of the year when I normally spend a week at the beach house in Stone Harbor, just vegging on the deck, drinking Corona, and hanging at Fred's, something that just didn't happen yet this year. But Sunday is my sister' big grad party slash pig-roast and that should do the trick just fine. Hopefully the weather holds but I have been informed there is a heat advisory on for central PA. this weekend. Than again drinking cold Corona while I float around the pool doesn't sound at all bad either.

Going into Toronto today the Phillies are at the half way point of their season with a record of 51 wins and 31 losses. The new question seems to be can they not only return to and win the World Series but along the way can they break the team record of 101 wins in a season. Over the past few years they finish the regular season much better than they start it so anything seems possible. On Sunday Cliff Lee will attempt to become the first major league pitcher to throw four shutouts in a row since the Dodgers' Orel Hershiser had five in a row in 1988. He is already the first Phillie pitcher to have three in a row since Hall of Famer Robin Roberts in 1950. Also on Sunday the All-Star Game lineups are announced and in all likelihood Halladay, Hamels, and Lee will all be in the starting rotation for the NL team. I might actually have to watch this one but I hate all-star games in any sport.

And yes I do love my Phillies.

Now you know this is nothing like the tunes I listen to but it is the 4th of July weekend and I have the sad suspicion I’m going to be hearing more of these tunes than Lady Gaga at the pig-roast. May as well prepare myself. Than again maybe I'll have to hijack the tunes at some point.

Toby Keith - Courtesy Of The Red, White And Blue

Observations from the Window 4.1

It seems I’ve been downer blogging lately so in attempt to purge it from my mind I'm going to tell you some things I like. Things that make me feel good. Just things that go a long way towards making my life worth living.

Pancakes covered in syrup and fresh strawberries, steak, big greasy cheese and jalapeño covered hamburgers. Real Philly cheesesteaks, and not the damn chicken ones. My own chili, both the red and the white versions. Ice cold Corona with lime, tequila on ice, and hot Sidamo coffee. French fries covered with Old Bay seasoning or covered with chili and cheese. Seafood burritos or breakfast pizza on the boardwalk. Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia ice cream.

I adore my family and friends, all my friends, in both my real life and my 'second' life. All the people I have met online, so many and all of them such awesome peeps. When either the kid or the sis call me just to say hi and watching a Phillies games with my dad. An intelligent conversation and even more than that I like an intelligent argument. Taking very hot steamy bubble baths with candles lit, wine, and jazz playing. Yes I said jazz; you have a problem with that? Anderson Cooper.

I love the feeling I get when i finish a painting or go through a hundred shots to find that one photo that makes me smile. The look on somebody's face when they see something I did and I know they like it. The feel of my Nikon in my hand and the smell of a new canvas. Losing hours in a museum or gallery just sitting and looking at a painting and taking in every little bit of it. Van Gogh. Moma. The Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Sports, both playing and watching. The Phillies, Flyers, Eagles, and always Penn State. Running or just walking on the beach, ice skating. Stone Harbor, Fred's, and spending time doing nothing at the beach house. Waking up on the deck under the stars and hearing the waves crash on the beach. Beaver Stadium on a cool fall night, white out nights, and driving much faster than I should. Waxing Foxy.

Waxing Foxy ....

Sometimes life is good.

Finger Eleven - Whatever Doesn't Kill Me

Observations from the Window 2.11

It was below twenty degrees again last night. I don’t really care how far below twenty it goes, below twenty is cold enough for me. I just sit in the window watching the people walk down the street all bundled up and all looking like smokers who found a way to smoke without cigarettes. Even my vendor has disappeared for now, his spot on the corner replaced by of trash appearing under a melted snow pile which is now frozen into some macabre urban ice sculpture. It all combines to make me dream of spring, something that at times seems farther away every day.

My brain has started a list, a sort of psycho wish list, of things to keep itself warm. So ....

I want it to be warm outside; I'm talking 70 or 80 degrees warm. I want to be able to say I'm hot and not just be looking in the mirror when I say it. I want to hear that I have the house at the shore for my annual week of relaxation or solo debauchery or whatever it is I do there. I want to sit with my feet buried in the sand while I sip on an ice cold Corona and chew on the lime. True, I don't actually sip beer but I like the thought just the same. I want Fred's. I want to drive Foxy with the top down, the stereo blaring, and peeps thinking I must be totally insane. I want to buy sunscreen and not just need it for my face because the snow is too damn bright.

I want to sit on the roof in a tank and shorts and watch the stars all night.

Now that I have probably totally jinxed myself I do have one realistic thought that is warming. Phillies pitchers and catchers report Sunday. Maybe spring isn't that far off after all.

Sheryl Crow - Anything But Down

Observations from the Shore 6.19

Top down, tunes cranked to jet engine level, cruising down back roads I know like the back of my hand. Through endless fields of tomatoes and peppers, past roadside fruit stands, than finally through the Pine Barrens, it’s the back way to the shore I have taken for years.

As the sun rises higher and higher the ocean beckons, the scent of salt water begins to fill the air. That’s when you know, when you know it isn’t far now. Down the long straight road leading to the bay, finally the water tower rises in the distance, and the drawbridge is just ahead.

Lacuna Coil's Manifesto blares as I cross the bridge onto 96th street, and pass Fred’s on the left. Than I have to laugh as I look in the rearview mirror and see something a little different than my normal entrance. A robin egg blue car behind me with my sister driving, shades on, and her fist pumping in the air. I might be in trouble here.

Finally we pull up to the house with the ocean just behind it. The waves crash as we walk out onto the deck on a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky. And so I’m back yet again. MTV be damned, this is my Jersey Shore and always will be.

Only one thing left to do. Fred’s.

Lacuna Coil - Enjoy the Silence