VAN MORRISON AND THE CHIEFTAINS
“Irish Heartbeat.”
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Paul Goldfinger. 06/09/24. Blogfinger.net. Click to enlarge.
THE PLATTERS:
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Downtown Ocean Grove in front of Nagle’s. Paul Golfinger photograph s Click all photos to enlarge. Blogfinger.net 2014. Enlarge our photographs with a single click.
MICHAEL CRAWFORD from Phantom of the Opera: “Music of the Night.”
By Eileen and Paul Goldfinger, Editors @Blogfinger. c. 2014. Blogfinger.net
We were downtown last night, and there was a live show in front of Nagle’s. That may seem extraordinary, but for Main Avenue in the Grove, it’s business as usual. This is a very special place on a summer’s night.
A piano is placed in front of the restaurant/ice cream emporium , and tables and chairs are arranged in a rough circle around the “stage.” At the piano is a woman who has been performing her summer show for years. Her name is Alla Axelrod and she sits at the piano, talks to the crowd, makes music, and backs up a variety of vocalists who toss her a key and off they go.
Valerie belts out a few standards. Click on photo to make it bigger. Paul Goldfinger photos.
Alla does a fine job keeping up with the singers regardless of where the tune takes them. Even when the singer’s intonation heads south , north, or both, somehow the music still sounds good.
A sour note? No problem—the audience smiles and claps. It’s musical special sauce which is really about the power to enchant which music brings. Alla Axelrod is having a variety of singers perform with her this night. One is a teenager named Kaitlin, another is Valerie from Manhattan, and then there is Lucille of Ocean Grove.
A man walked up to Alla. He had a dog and a parrot. If he had wandered into a bar, we could have a good joke. He placed the parrot on her head. Then he placed the parrot on Valerie’s head. Then he, the dog and the parrot moved on. Everybody smiled and laughed. Special sauce again.
Last week we spotted a woman on the boardwalk with a parrot—a coincidence? Or magic? Or is it Hitchcock and the birds?
A lively audience had gathered around, and they enjoyed the show while eating ice cream. The Nagle’s ordering window was constantly in motion, and there were lots of small children with their parents and friends—happy to be outside at night.
Nagle’s pick-up window. It sure looks that way.
Heading west on Main Avenue, diners were still eating al fresco at Yvonne’s. At Day’s, the line for their ice cream was long, as usual.
Alfresco at Yvonne’s ©
Ocean Grove on a Saturday night is a unique and special experience. Besides the downtown scene, over at the Great Auditorium, The Beach Boys are singing a medley of their greatest hits, and you can hear them quite well from the lawn seats or even a couple of blocks away by some of the tents or in Evergreen Park at New York Avenue. A woman on a bench there is getting some good vibrations, singing with the boys. You could even hear the audience inside and out singing, “Help help me Rhonda…”
And of course, the special sauce requires a special ingredient which is always present. What? Yes, of course—-the ocean. Walk a few blocks and visit the ocean at night. Go on the beach, listen to the music of the night, put your toes in the water, or walk on our new boardwalk. The total effect is a sense of being in a magical place where everyone is enjoying themselves and everyone feels totally comfortable. The children add immeasurably to that sense, and it is all soothed by the music, the twinkling lights in the shops, the porch people, the tent people, the Great Auditorium inside and out, and by the warm ocean breezes.
It seems like everybody is outdoors. There is no honky tonk or irrational noisemaking. Nobody acts weird, and no kids are screaming at each other. Even the dogs don’t bark. Unlike the magical kingdoms of Disney, this feels real, because people actually live here. It is a hometown unlike many others, even those which are at the Jersey Shore. What other town is like this one? Not too many.
Bewitched and bewildered.
A little girl in a long red t -shirt is standing in front of Nagle’s clutching an ice cream. She seems a little bewildered by all the people, especially in a nighttime setting when she might normally be in bed; and then Mom leans over and scoops her up to safety. Another magical moment in Ocean Grove.
THE DRIFTERS WITH BEN E. KING:
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Ocean Grove, 2009. Paul Goldfinger photo. Ocean Grove, N.J.
MICHAEL PENN. “Good Girl Down.” from the HBO series Girls, Vol III. Last posted 2016.
“You can’t keep a good girl down
No you can’t keep a girl down
I’ve been lost and I’ve been found
You can’t keep a good girl down.”
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Paul Goldfinger portrait of a BMW Z-4 in Deal, New Jersey.
This is a BMW Z-4– 2009. It is one of the best looking sport cars on the road today. It wasn’t even broken in until it reached 30,000 miles. It has a high performance engine and is a stick shift. It was first introduced in 2009 when BMW redesigned the Z-4 for that model year. It has a retractable hard top. The interior is red.
Joni Mitchell (live): “In France They Kiss on Main Street.” Note that Joni sings about kissing in the back seat, but not in this car.
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March 13, 2016. Asbury Park. By Jean Bredin © Blogfinger staff.
St Patrick’s Day parade. By Jean Bredin , Blogfinger staff. Asbury Park 3/13/16 ©
THE DUBLINERS “Whiskey in the Jar:”
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Paul Goldfinger. Asbury Park 2018 Blogfinger.net. Click once to enlarge.
Paul Goldfinger. A. Park 2018 parade.
THE IRISH ROVERS: A tribute to our grandson Noah.
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Ocean Grove. Silver gelatin darkroom print. By Paul Goldfinger © 2016. This is the Fitzgerald Fountain before it was refurbished in 2019. Click to enlarge.
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger Re-post from 2016.
The Story of Ocean Grove, 1869-1919 by Morris S Daniels. Published in 1919 by the Methodist Book Concern in New York City:
“In a little old dingy tent, one of ten erected on the sand drifts of what was later to be known in Ocean Grove as Thompson Park but now called Founders’ Park, there occurred on the night of July 31, 1869 an event of immense significance.
“What happened was not unusual of itself, and the surroundings were not such as to impress one that history was making within the confines of the poor little tent, illumined, as it was, by a few tallow candles; but ‘Great oaks from little acorns grow.'”
Morris Daniels tells us that about 12 people gathered in the tent which belonged to Mrs. Joseph Thornley. They all had arrived the day before and pitched their tents there. There were no chairs, so they all sat on rough pine boards.
Daniels says, “The night was dark, save for the stars which twinkled brightly from overhead, while the few candles within cast a weird shadow upon the scene.
“Some had come directly from their own tents while others had preferred to wander over the yielding sands to the edge of the dune overlooking the sea to watch the moon rise from her briny bed.
“But shortly after nine o’clock all had gathered in the little dimly lighted tent for Ocean Grove’s first religious service—–a prayer meeting.”
WARREN VACHE´ “Stardust”. (He performed in the Great Auditorium.)
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Paul Goldfinger. OG boardwalk. Click once
CAL TJADER. “The Night We Called It a Day”
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Blogfinger cow herd. Lancaster, Pa. Moe Demby photo for Blogfinger.net. Nov. 1, 2022.
TOM PETTY. “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”
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Faith Baptist Church. Wickapecko Drive, Wanamassa. Ocean, NJ. 1/16/24. Paul Goldfinger photo. Click to enlarge.
Paul Goldfinger, MD. Editor Blogfinger.net.
I have photographed this evidently vacant Baptist church many times in different seasons. I’ve never seen anyone there. It is a place that has intrigued me for years.
Link to history:
2026 update. This church has been brought to life by a new congregation, and you can drive by and see the cars and the congregants on Sunday. It is called the “Living Stone Church.” We will look forward to photographing it this summer as it is restored back to life.. And the new name? Who knows? Let’s find out.
Amen Choir of the First Baptist Church and the National Philharmonic (Kennedy Center, Washington DC)
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Eileen’s meatballs and spaghetti.
The problem with the American College of Cardiology is that they don’t have a football team.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Meatballs:
2 lbs ground meat (I used ½ beef and ½ turkey)
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp red pepper flakes
½ tsp dry oregano
¼ cup Eggbeaters (or 1 large egg, beaten)
¼ cup water
½ cup panko bread crumbs
4 tbsp grated parmesan reggiano cheese
2 tbsp vegetable oil
In a sauté pan heat oil until it starts to sizzle. Add onion and cook until onion begins to soften. Add garlic, and sauté for 1-2 minutes. Do NOT let garlic burn. Remove from heat.
In a large bowl place meat. If you are using more then one type of meat gently mix the meats together. Add onion and garlic to the meat. Add all the other ingredients to the meat and gently combine. If you mix too vigorously the meatballs will be tough.
Roll the meat into golf ball sized balls and place on an aluminum lined baking tray.
Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
Sauce:
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp dry oregano
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup unsalted chicken broth
1/4 cup dry red wine
1 28 oz jar Rao’s marinara sauce
1 28 oz can San Marzano whole tomatoes, crush with your hands
1 tsp sugar
½ cup fresh basil
½ cup fresh flat leaf Italian parlsey, chopped
In a 5 quart Dutch oven heat oil until it simmers. Add onion and cook until onion wilts. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add Rao’s marinara and San Marzano tomatoes, stir and cook until tomatoes begin to simmer. Add broth and wine, stir together and simmer for 15 minutes. Add all the other ingredients, except the parsley and basil. Stir together and cook for 30 minutes. Add the cooked meatballs to the sauce with the parsley and basil and simmer for 30 minutes.
Serve over pasta of your choice.
This recipe makes approximately 30 meatballs.
DISNEY STUDIO CHORUS. From Lady and the Tramp “Bella Notte.”
You can comment on this post by email: Blogfinger@verizon.net
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Ocean Grovers enjoy walking to downtown Asbury for restaurants, special events, music and a lively bar scene. Paul Goldfinger photograph for Blogfinger.net.
Main Street at Asbury Avenue—a big disappointment. Someday Main Street will come to life. Blogfinger photo. 12/2/23.
This photo (A Sunday in July 2016) was part of a NY Times article; photo by Tony Cenicola. Asbury Park had a Mermaid Parade (a la Coney Island). Posted 2018 in Blogfinger. The Ocean front in A. Park is a huge summer success as is Cookman Avenue year round.
Lesbian and Gay Big Apple Corps produced a fine big sound heading east on Cookman Avenue for the Pride Parade. All photographs by Paul Goldfinger, Blogfinger.net. 6/7/15 . Click on all photos to enlarge.
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor@Blogfinger.net. 2016.
In 2016 we posted an article about the praise being lavished upon A. Park.
Last spring Money Magazine named AP as having the second best beachfront in the US, ahead of many famous locations in California, Texas, etc. “Asbury Park offers the classic combo of beach and boardwalk,” the magazine says.
The Asbury Park Press also reported that list. Asbury has also been ranked high for the city’s “cultural scene.” In 2017 it was named the “coolest small town in America.”
And also they have fine parks, an artist colony, a famous musical destination with a historic pedigree, many civic and religious organizations to help the town and the poor, and a wide variety of fascinating restaurants, coffee shops and specialty food stores such as the Creamery for amazing home made ice cream on Cookman. The restaurants in and around Cookman Ave. are a draw for tourists year round.
As a place to live, the condominium scene is excellent and growing, and there are some wide and beautiful avenues to the west of the tracks where restored single family homes prevail.
But, not so fast. Asbury has recently been reported to have the second highest violent crime rate in the state. And, according to the AP Sun, the city has been named this February to the “top 50 worst cities to live-in across the nation.” Similar reports have been mentioned in articles in the AP Press and the AP Patch.
Main Street hasn’t grown up yet; it has many low brow businesses and at least 6 Mexican restaurants. Parking in A. Park is still difficult, and restaurant tourism on Cookman relies on customers coming and going by Uber. Some visitors and workers park for free in Ocean Grove, much to the dismay of residents of that historic town to the south of A. Park.
There are quite a few charter schools around in the hope of rescuing the many poor and under-educated kids around. The high school is beautiful, but the test scores are not.
Among the statistics, the city is reported to be high in poverty rankings, low median incomes, and high median home prices.
So, which is it: best or worst?
Blogfinger: The best or the worst? “It depends on where you stand.”
NANCY LAMOTT: “Not Exactly Paris.”
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