Historic Ocean Grove. Just take a walk around town. The OG Historical Society offers a walking tour. Paul Goldfinger photo. 3/20/23. Click to study the details.
You will observe that we are slowing down during the dates above. Our archives are open, and you can search for topics of interest. And there will be some posts pre-scheduled every day.
You can still contact us by email (Blogfinger@verizon.net or by commenting at the bottom of each post).
There may be delays in our responses. We will catch up after 4/4/23. We do like to make waves in this shore town, so we will continue that when we return.
MILEY CYRUS from her album Endless Summer Vacation. “Flowers.”
Sunday, August 28, 2016. A remarkable musical event occurred tonight at the Great Auditorium where Elijah, by Felix Mendelssohn, was performed by the Adelphi Chamber Orchestra, the Great Auditorium Choir, Dr. Gordon Turk on the Hope Jones organ, 4 soloists including Monica Ziglar (soprano), Martha Bartz (mezzo soprano), Ronald Naldi (tenor) and Justin Beck (bass-baritone) with Justin Gonzalez (tenor section leader.) The entire ensemble was conducted by Dr. Jason C. Tramm, Director of Music Ministries in Ocean Grove.
The sound of the combined components was spectacular as it all came together resonating off the wooden walls and rafters of the 122 year-old Great Auditorium. Musically it is all very dramatic, and the music soars with beauty and emotion. The oratorio is quite long, but it is considered to be one of the greatest choral musical compositions. It was completed in 1845.
The story of Elijah, of course, is taken from the Old Testament about the life of the prophet as he struggles to deal with the idol worshipping Israelites back in the day. The six page program spelled the composer’s name wrong on the cover and never mentioned his first name. But Mendelssohn, who was born into a prominent German Jewish family and was converted to Christianity at a young age, would probably have been pleased with this remarkable event in Ocean Grove. Unfortunately, he died at age 38; they say he was exhausted from writing this piece.
I was up in the balcony, near the choir, when Jason Tramm began the performance with the bass soloist and the orchestra. After a big opening, things got somewhat quiet, and I was lulled by it. All of a sudden there was a huge roar, and I jumped and then realized that the choir, a sleeping giant, had come to its feet, and its sound was big and dramatic, sufficient to wake up anyone dozing after dinner (the concert began at 7 PM.) All the soloists were wonderful, and none of the participants seemed to need amplification.
After climbing down from the rafters, I wandered outside, trying to figure out the source of a buzzing sound that distracted from the performance.. It quickly became apparent that the loud buzzing was originating in the trees—probably a swarm of insects trying to hum along with the music.
I reentered the GA all the way in the back to try and appreciate the sound of music at that location. The acoustics were successful even there, and quite a few people chose those seats. As Jason Tramm moved the oratorio along (It was divided into two parts) I noticed that there was a nun sitting back there, a local retired music teacher, a few African-Americans, and an infant who would intermittently squawk but not cry. I also noticed that cell phone bright lights, provided by some members of the audience and one choir member, to read the programs, was a source of distraction. But to balance that, Jason Tramm did not allow applause during the performance–only at the end.
By some miracle created by the Camp Meeting, this remarkable event was free. There was an offering requested.
Outside the GA, there were some fans on the lawn seats, and there were no people noises. Sea breezes floated around, and those who walked by seemed amazed by the pageant inside.
Over at Days a small line had formed. One woman berated the guy she was with for daring to suggest that she not get whatever she pleased, like a big hot fudge sundae. A couple with two small red headed children had to leave the line because “Daddy needs to drive home now and we can’t wait on line. We’ll go to our special no-wait place.”
Two guys moved forward and were discussing this family’s bailing out: “There is nothing I would rather wait for than Days ice cream.” It didn’t seem like anyone there was aware that Felix Mendelssohn’s Elijah was being performed in the big wooden building across the park. I bet John Phillip Sousa, whose portrait hangs in the museum next to Days, probably woke up to hear that glorious music come wafting in his direction.
PHOTO GALLERY FOR THE MENDELSSOHN EVENT: I recommend that you start the music and then begin the photos. Click on one image and then follow the big arrows. Click on the little X at the left side to return here.
Delicious Orchards has an amazing selection of produce along with fabulous baked goods (espec. their famous pies,) coffee, chocolates, soups, and first class meats and fish. In some cases their prices are better than Wegmans, as with scallions: one bunch for $1.29 at Wegmans; two bunches for $1.25 at D.O. But the green beans were much more expensive at D.O.
The first reader who correctly identifies the vegetable above wins a signed black and white print by me. These prints are mounted on an art board and can be displayed without a frame—just sit it on a shelf. A selection of these prints is available for sale. Contact me if interested for more information.
Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger.
AIMEE MANN from Season II of the HBO series Girls. “How Am I Different?”
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger.net—-maker of waves at Ocean Grove NJ. Re-post from April, 2022.
When the subject of a dog beach at the North End was proposed and denied by the CMA, attention was called to a special area of the OG beach, at the North End, which has been set aside for surfers.
Was this another example of favoritism in the Grove? Dog owners vs surfers?
Surfers in this town are like a fraternity, similar to the lifeguards and the firemen. They are protective of their privilege at the North End even though surfing around here isn’t as glorious as some places.
Once the public gets a whiff of favoritism (as in Mary’s Place zoning) the bar gets lowered for suspicion of more of the same.
We made some inquiries and learned that the decision to establish a surfer beach came from a desire to improve water safety. Some swimmers had been knocked over by surfers, and the surfers beach restricts surfers to that location while banning swimmers at the same place. Despite the lack of swimmers, a life guard station is posted there anyhow.
Ocean Grove’s beach popularity has been growing, and it gets pretty crowded at peak summer season. Some wonder if surf safety could be improved while making the north beach open for swimmers.
Once the lifeguards leave the OG beach, however, all bets are off for swimmers and surfers. Swim and ride the waves at your own risk from north to south.
BRIAN STOKES MITCHELL. From his album Simply Broadway. “The Impossible Dream” is from Don Quixote. The song is dedicated to the surfers who go out alone to challenge the ocean and dream the impossible wave.
Bob Bowné, whose photograph is shown above, is a Grover who used to make a profession of photographing surfers for magazines.
Georgia on Route 95 heading south, stopping for gas and looking around. It seems we reached a crossroads. PG photo. Left click for full view.
By Paul Goldfinger, MD, FACC. 2013 on Rt. 95 Re-post 2020.
Sometimes in life you reach a crossroads, and in this case you can choose between a drink or a no-needle, no-scalpel vasectomy. If you are in the market for a permanent pregnancy preventer, then maybe you would consider doing both.
When I saw that billboard, however, my interest as a physician was raised significantly (perhaps “raised” is not the ideal verb) because I couldn’t figure out how that promise could be kept.
For those of you unfamiliar with this procedure, the vasectomy is a surgical intervention performed on the male to prevent any of his sperm from ever reaching the promised land. It is the most commonly performed urological procedure. About 500,000 are done each year in this country. The operation is minor and safe in the hands of an experienced surgeon. It rarely fails to work, and it frees up the female from using contraceptives or having surgery herself.
So, when I got to a Wi-Fi zone, I had a Starbucks and checked out the new method. In the traditional form of the technique, a local anesthetic is administered by a thin 1 1/2 inch needle which is gently used to numb the scrotum skin and then penetrates further to reach the vas deferens (ie the spermatic cord) a long tube whose job is to transmit sperm from the testicles to the penis. An incision is then made, and the vas deferens is cut and tied off. There are two vas deferenses, so usually two incisions are used.
The new technique was developed in China where a lot of men are fearful of the needle/scalpel method. The numbing is accomplished using a high pressure spray device (“a jet injector” made in New Jersey) which numbs the skin and the deeper tissues—thus, no needle. Then, the scalpel incision is avoided by creating a self sealing puncture hole which allows the surgeon to do the job. As you might imagine, this procedure requires a lot of experience, but it attracts many men who fear the needle and the scalpel more than their wives. Side effects including bleeding and infection are less with this new method. It also feels like you are dragging your scrotum around for two weeks.
The bottom line is that the surgeon still has to anesthetize the area and he still has to cut the vas deferens. But this new technique gets the job done with less discomfort, less psychologic distress, and reduced risk of side effects. If you consider this procedure, make sure that the surgeon has had a lot of experience. If you are a married woman who has had all the children she wants, you might suggest this to your spouse, and then go with him to the doctor and don’t let go of his hand.
Note that they do it at NYPresbyterian Hospital. It is an outpatient procedure and it takes about 30 minutes or less. Dr. Stein (the urologist on the billboard) charges $490.00, but, if you want it reversed, the charge is $4,900.00. However, reversal surgery doesn’t always work.
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN with DARLENE LOVE: “A Fine Fine Boy”
When I would go for my semi-annual urology checkup, my urologist would say. “Could I interest you in a digital rectal exam?” Not too many doctors can succeed in finding humor in such a situation. The (DRE) examination has been routine for years as a way to screen for prostate cancer.
In medical school at the George Washington University, Dean John Parks was a surgeon who demanded perfection from the students. When he was a patient at GW University Hospital, one of my fellow students, Bill Adams, was assigned to conduct a physical exam on him. He nervously examined the Dean and concluded that the exam was normal. But as he turned to leave, the Dean called him back and said, “You forgot to check my prostate.” So Bill did it, and the story made its way quickly to our entire class.
We were taught that a digital rectal exam was important in men, but they even required it in women. In Gyn they told us, “A pelvic exam without a rectal is a half-assed examination.”
But it has been especially important in men because that’s how we detect early prostate cancer.
I was always skeptical of the value of that test because, if you study the anatomic drawing above, you can see that the doctor’s finger can only readily feel the superficial part of the prostate where it is adjacent to the rectum. During that exam which only lasts for about 30 seconds, the doctor feels for lumps in the gland.
It was also thought that the rectal exam was a good way to screen for colon (large intestine) cancer, but again the digital exam only allows access to a very small part of the colon.
People would kid me that I should be a rectal surgeon or a gynecologist with my name Goldfinger.
During my residency in internal medicine at Mt. Sinai we were always advised to conduct routine digital rectal exams.
Back then I had a moonlighting job with a company that did physical exams on teachers. They all were encouraged to undergo a sigmoidoscopy exam with a rigid scope with a light to check the lower colon.
They gave me the job of doing those exams, one after the other. It wasn’t pleasant for the patients, but we were looking for cancer of the colon. I got really good at it, but rarely found anything suspicious. Once again I was skeptical because that scope only was about 10 inches long. So you can only examine a small part of the colon. But 10 inches is better than 10 cm, the length of most index fingers.
Eventually that was replaced by examining the entire colon with a flexible scope. (colonoscopy–a very good test to pick up potentially risky polyps or actual early colon cancer.)
When I was practicing cardiology, I would ask all the men if they had a prostate exam. And if they said “no” I wouldn’t let them leave without it. Physicians never stop being physicians.
Recently a huge study of nearly 50.000 men in Germany revealed that the digital rectal exam is essentially useless to screen for prostate cancer. Now the best approach is the PSA blood test, checking yearly after the age of 45. And if imaging is needed an MRI is a very good test.
So now it looks like the DRE will eventually be eliminated as a screening test for prostate cancer, although many doctors will continue to do it routinely.
So the bottom line for men is DO NOT NEGLECT TO HAVE A PSA TEST AT LEAST ONCE PER YEAR. And if your doctor wants you to drop your pants and bend over, don’t be so smart—-let him do it and then thank him. Do it all because metastatic prostate cancer is horrible and usually fatal, and, as it says in our book, “Prevention Does Work.”
Nagle’s for lunch. March 18, 2015. By Jean Bredin, Blogfinger staff.
Nagle’s stays open year round, but it is most memorable in the summer when the lines stretch out around the corner waiting to step up to the window for ice cream. It is an old fashioned touch, because in the New York metro area, years ago, you could go to the window of a luncheonette or soda shop to order an egg cream, a malt, or an ice cream. And remember, since the egg cream originated in New York, it has no egg and no cream.
Nagle’s is also memorable for its summer Saturday night music al fresco on the corner of Main and Central. That’s my kind of town.
Also click on the link about there nighttime scene at Nagle’s.
–Paul Goldfinger , Editor @Bloginger
Here is a link to a BF piece called “Magical Summer Nights at Nagle’s.”
Ocean Grove July 4 , 2018. Paul Goldfinger photo. His white shirt says, “Freedom is not Free.”
Blogfinger photo. July 4, 2018. Ocean Grove Main Avenue.
2016 July 4 parade in OG. Paul Goldfinger photo.
Paul Goldfinger, MD, Editor Blogfinger.net. March 21, 2023, Re-post from 2022.
What this national holiday is supposed to commemorate is the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, by delegates from the 13 colonies.
This is the day we are supposed to be celebrating the birth of the United States of America.
The Ocean Grove parade on July 2 is sponsored by the OG Camp Meeting Association. They call it the “Independence Parade,” but that is not the actual theme which the sponsors have in mind. Look what they do and not what they say. They should have named this event “Ocean Grove Day.” And, they should be honest as to what they mean by “Ocean Grove.”
In the official CMA document regarding the “Independence Weekend” they say, “Our annual parade is an event symbolic of the rich tradition and customs that make Ocean Grove unique.” What?
They also say, “The parade and evening concerts are opportunities for us to gather as a community and celebrate the wonderful things and people that make Ocean Grove a special place to live, work and visit.”
“We are inviting parade participants to help us celebrate Ocean Grove’s special community by incorporating visual elements or musical selections that invoke the tradition of Ocean Grove, the theme of community and/or express what Ocean Grove means to you.”
But the CMA statement does not mention the real reason for an Independence Day parade.
The participants in the parade include not a single true marching band (a terrible omission), no active military, no Boy Scouts , or Girl Scouts, no Cub Scouts waving flags in uniform, no Neptune HS band with their color guard, no fireworks, and nothing to visibly celebrate the birth of the United States of America, except perhaps the two color guards and flags waving all over town.
But there will be religious figures, politicians, noisy fire engines, and advertisements by real estate agents, a plumber, corn growers, a landscaping company, and an assisted living facility.
However thank goodness for all the enthusiastic flag wavers in the crowd and all the marchers who will joyously celebrate America and wear the flag.
Next year the Township should take over this event and they should invite all citizens of Neptune Township. The audience and the marchers should represent America and not just OG. Ocean Grove is over 90% white. It’s time for more racial diversification, and the July 4 parade is a perfect place to reveal diversity in Neptune under the umbrella of we-the-people of Ocean Grove.
As a veteran and a patriot, I say we should have a parade and not a charade.
KURT ELLING “An American Tune”
“We come on the ship they call The Mayflower We come on the ship that sailed the moon We come in the age’s most uncertain hours And sing an American tune”
