Blogfinger

The day after Labor Day in Ocean Grove. Ted Aanensen, Blogfinger staff.

It looks like Ted Aanensen was hiding in the shrubs when he obtained this shot of forlorn lifeguards sitting out a cloudy, rainy September 4 — the day after Labor Day.

The Tuesday after THE MONDAY in this summer town always seems to be a bitter-sweet experience. For those of us who live here year round, it couldn’t come soon enough. Magically, each year, everything changes on this Tuesday. It’s like someone waved a magic wand this morning, changing the Grove into another place. The crowds are gone, parking is easy, traffic is less, and everything seems to be moving slower and sounding quieter. But there also is that vague shadow that lurks around town that says summer is over.

The magic reminds me a little of Brigadoon, the Scottish village that appears for only one day every hundred years. Lerner and Lowe wrote that show, “Brigadoon,”  in 1947, and then there was a film in 1954 with Cyd Charisse and Gene Kelly.

So, for me, Ocean Grove today seems to be mostly happy while also a little bit sad. It’s almost like being in love. Oh…that’s a song from Brigadoon.

Here is Johnny Hartman with an upbeat version — much better than the slower and sadder tempos that make “almost like being in love” a negative instead of a positive. On a day like this, optimism is a better choice.

—Paul Goldfinger