Blogfinger

Ocean Grove beach after 4:30 when folks can enjoy the beach for free. Paul Goldfinger photo.   Click to enlarge.

HMS PINAFORE  BY GILBERT AND SULLIVAN:  “When I Was a Lad.” This could be a theme song for the Neptune Comedy.

Ocean Grove, a monochrome morning.  Sunrise.    By Paul Goldfinger  Undated.  Click to enlarge, but why bother?

Paul Goldfinger, MD. Editor Blogfinger.net

I am not fond of sunsets, photographically speaking of course.   I mean, after all, we must have sunsets.  But, admit it, they are very repetitive.  That is unless there is context. If you are a spiritual person you could see something different every time.

100 years ago Alfred Stieglitz began photographing clouds. He called these images “Equivalents” and he saw something different in the abstraction of each photo.

With sunsets, for example, you could be at Key West, Florida,  where everyone in town goes to watch the sunset.  And there you might see a blond in a baseball hat turned backwards making pop corn, or you might spot a guy blowing fire (His girl friend calls him “Hot Lips”,) or you could be on the beach with a glass of wine, in which case the sunset takes on extra meaning. So sunsets can be seen as each one is different and that is why some viewers find them fascinating every time.

But I still like sunrises best.  Maybe it’s because most of us get to see them so rarely. By the time you roll out of bed, the show’s over. But I think it’s more than that.

The lighting of a sunrise seems to have a magical quality. It is a symbol of rebirth; and no matter what has happened on earth: discovery of fire, Huns invade Europe, Jews invent matzah-ball soup,  the Romans conquer everybody, and so many other amazing events, nevertheless, the sun always rises   (or is it, “the sun also rises?)

So, Eileen loves to ask “why questions.”  Like she’ll probably want to know why I was on the OG beach to make this photograph.   But, to tell the truth, I have no recollection about this image. I have nothing to explain.

It’s sometimes interesting  to hear a photographer discuss a photograph, but it’s also nice to just look at the image  and get what you can from it.   In the case of this sunrise, you can ask why or you can look at the picture and reflect on the view. That’s how Ansel Adams saw nature.

So for those of you who don’t often get to see a sunrise, here’s one from our very own beach in the Grove.  —-Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger.net.

PHIL OCHS   “Changes”

"Moments of magic will glow in the night
All fears of the forest are gone
But when the morning breaks they're swept away by
golden drops of dawn, of changes."

COMMENT FROM GROVER ARTIST/PHOTOGRAPHER CARL SWENSON:

“I like sunrises, too. Insomniacs see more than their fair share.”

Sunrise in Ocean Grove by Carl Swenson. (cardsbycarl.com)

BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA     “Chanson de matin; Op. #15”  (Song of morning)  by Edward Elgar, British composer.

Bunche Beach. Ft. Myers, Fla. Photo by Eileen Goldfinger. 2022. Click to enlarge.

The Nighthawks from their album Cheek to Cheek.

Snowy egrets. Sanibel Island Fla. Paul Goldfinger ©. 2019. Click to enlarge. M-9.

Aaron Copland with The London Symphony Orchestra : “Down A Country Lane”  1962   From the album  “Orchestral Works ” 1948-1971.

This  19th century Victorian house which was part of Temple Beth El in Rutherford burned to the ground this morning.  August 8, 2025.  Thank G-d that the rabbi and his family survived.   News photo.

News photo in Rutherford early this morning.  Beth El fire.

Beth El. 5:30 am news photo 8/08/25 Click once to enlarge.  News photo.

Beth El: What it looked like before. The addition is not shown.    Beth-El history drawing..

By Paul Goldfinger,  MD, Editor,  Blogfinger. net.  8/8/25.   Re-post.

Some years ago I attended a Rutherford High School reunion.   Margaret Andler, classmate and divine cheerleader, came up to me and said, “Paul. Do you remember that we used to ride a bus together after school?   You were going to Hebrew school and I to Catechism class.”

She was correct.  At the end of the line I got off  and walked across the tracks to East Rutherford where the old synagogue was.

But somehow, in 1953,  the members were able to acquire a sprawling   home on a lovely property on Montross Avenue in Rutherford  and they converted it into a synagogue.  Evidently a doctor’s family owned the property before Beth El.

It is a beautiful neighborhood in a wonderful  New Jersey residential town  near the former Fairleigh Dickinson University.    People referred to the town as a “New York bedroom community.”  90% of my classmates went to college.

There were  few member families in the congregation then, so services were held in the old living room.

Today I imagine seeing myself leading a service in Temple Beth El one Saturday in 1954 Rutherford.  And today the memory survives even stronger..

Paul and Mom in Rutherford (Hastings Gardens.) Leaving shortly for Temple Beth El.

In 1954 I had my bar mitzvah there.  I recall entering the large foyer, and off to the side was the sanctuary.

There were about 30 people there that Saturday  and they were mostly family.  I recall both grandfathers sitting with their siddurs  (prayer books)  open,  ready to see if I would make any mistakes.

I looked across the room and saw my uncles, grandmothers, aunts, cousins and my parents.  And  my younger brother Mel was there, always with the jokes.

After the service, I could say, “Today I am a man! ”  But I didn’t feel like one at the age of 13.

In the foyer my mom had set up a luncheon buffet, and after everyone congratulated me, we all  went out and made sandwiches.  There was no party.

We lived in an apartment in Rutherford’s Hastings Gardens.    So I loved to visit that old Beth El  house, now the shul,  and to walk around the property with its big old trees. .

During the high holidays, a renta-cantor  from Brooklyn would stay in one of the upstairs bedrooms.  There was a big staircase going up.

A few years later the congregation built an addition in the back where services were held.  I loved it because they installed a full court basketball set.  Dad attended Men’s Club meetings on Sunday mornings and then came over to watch me play.

I recall one Rosh Hashanah when we went to services while the RHS soccer team was having opening day.   Art Rogoff and I, both on the team,  went outside and complained to each other.

I haven’t been back in years, but I was shocked to learn  that the fire this morning was in that old Victorian house which had become the Rabbi’s home.

As I looked at the images of the  synagogue  burning today, I could not but recall how, during the Holocaust , thousands of synagogues in Eastern Europe  were burned to the ground, often with Jews inside.

It is heartbreaking to see this now, but  my grandparents  had  escaped to America, and we are forever grateful for this great nation. And today we marvel at the firemen who came from all over the region to battle a blazing synagogue conflagration.

“When the Temple is Rebuilt”.    Israeli folk song.  Ami Shavit and Giora Feidman

One reason the Casino is so beloved is that it has been so much fun enjoying the wacky people heading in both directions. Paul Goldfinger photographs the NJ Marathon.  Blogfinger.net

By Paul Goldfinger, MD, Editor, Blogfinger.net, Ocean Grove, NJ, USA.

The media has gotten hold of the turmoil regarding the survival of the Casino which has been on the verge of being demolished by the Asbury Park oceanfront owners: Madison Marquette.  The recent fury has been energized by all sorts of opinions, but especially by a group of Parkers who oppose the proposed demolition, and they have enlisted all sorts of support to save the structure including State level  politicians, public opinion, A. Park politicians, lawyers, and media interest including the Coaster, APP, NJ.com, Tri-City News and  other Jersey sources.  After all, at the Jersey Shore it’s who you know, not what you know.

Ocean Grove voices have hardly been heard because the Casino is in A. Park.  But so many Grovers have enjoyed the Casino over the years that many in town hope that the structure be saved and repaired.  For the Grove, it has been an enjoyable  historic location providing a way to get from one town to the other via the boardwalks, and there are two different worlds as we could go from south to north and visa versa, and that is unique.  And there’s something be said for nostalgia.

And Ocean Grove will be impacted depending on what occurs over there along with the North End Redevelopment Plan.   Do you remember a couple of years ago when the Asburians were talking about a 5,000 seat rock and roll venue on the other side of the Casino?   What happens to this area of real estate has the potential to change our small piece of the Jersey Shore.

At this point, there is considerable confusion about this subject.   Just look at the word salad which propels the talk about the Casino.    Consider the Casino vocabulary:  Waterfront Redevelopment Plan,  “property abandonment, “demolition permit”, NJ  DEP, Madison Maquette changing directions, CAFRA, State Senate, State Assembly, 2004 Restoration Report, 2002 OG Redevelopment plan,  “stalled restoration,”  “abandonment,” politicians, lawyers,  “owners failure to maintain,”  “default,”    “structural assessment by licensed engineers,”  “public outcry” roof  issues,  many millions of dollars,  “historic landmark,”     There has also been some confusion as to the correct name for the “Breezeway, the “Casino,”  or is it the “Grand Concourse.”

Ocean Grove has barely been mentioned by any of the Casino talking heads.  Maybe the Neptune Committee, which has been silent on this,  is afraid that somehow this might cost us some money even though the Casino has impacted the Grovarian quality of life and who we are.

It is interesting to point out that the Casino has allowed walkers to experience two different worlds and life-styles:

This is historic Ocean Grove, totally different from the Asburian world.  But the connection of the two villages is a really wonderful experience in either direction, so those of us who live in the Grove ought to keep an eye on the Casino situation.

A young Grover family returns from AP to OG via the Casino. The differences on the two sides are sudden and remarkable.     Paul Goldfinger photo.  2016.

And finally, the owners might begin work there, sooner than we might imagine.

“The Heather on the Hill” from Brigadoon.

Note that Coaster reporter Michelle Gladden has a fine front page article about this subject on 3/12, but the Casino vocabulary mishmash could use some clarification by a journalist like her.

Paul Goldfinger. A photo taken from the OG side, looking north towards the Casino.    Photo:   Blogfinger.net. March 14, 2026.     The fence on the right shows the “White Whale” site relative to the Casino, and to the left  is  the most famous erection in Monmouth County.  The “White Whale”  site is now just an empty lot.  On the left is the North End Redevelopment  site.  Click to view the anatomy,

This is what the White Whale building looked like after the fire in April, 2019. The rubble was eventually removed. Paul Goldfinger photo.

Paul Goldfinger, MD, Editor, Blogfinger.net.   USA.

If you have been following the coverage surrounding the fate of the Asbury Casino, you will find that Ocean Grove is almost never mentioned except for BF posts and the recent Coaster post, March 12, front page.

The sources of Casino information from the Asbury side fail to mention that the southern side of the  Casino opens to Ocean Grove.  On our side of the Casino (owned by the Parkers but occupied by  Grovers) we find  Grovers and Grovarian visitors who love to connect with the AP boards by walking north through.

Do the Asburians have any idea of what is planned on the OG side and how it will affect them?    Should Asbury continue to ignore us when they start to plan their presence on their side of the Casino?

And should OG fail to think about how the proposed North End Redevelopment Plan will be influenced by what goes on the Asbury side?  What about that 5,000 seat music venue mentioned last year for the AP side of the Casino?

Asbury is so busy becoming the most wonderful beach town at the Jersey Shore that they have failed to realize how important  the Grove is to them and why.

Finally, we have to pay attention to what might happen within that White Whale fence which encompasses some of the OG beach. Study the photo above.  There is a rumor that a plan for that site is about to be unveiled .

Music from the movies:

Ocean Grove property:    No man’s land between A.Park and the Grove. Paul Goldfinger photo. August, 2017.

2017:    Hello ladies and germs:  On your right is the fashionable and charming Ocean Grove North End Redevelopment Zone. On the left is the White  Whale, and down the middle are some OG girls in their summer clothes.

BOZ SCAGGS:    “Mixed Up, Shook Up Girl”

Sammy’s parents take him to see his first movie. Sammy was afraid to go, but as he watches, he becomes astonished.   MaxSpace jpg.

Eileen and Paul Goldfinger,   Editors, Blogfinger.net. 2022:  Review.

We enjoyed this movie very much.  It is set in the 1950’s in New Jersey, Arizona and California.  It is about a family, and during the two hours, we discover so much about their lives together.  They are a Jewish family, but that is not the main theme nor is this a biography of the amazing movie man Steven Spielberg.  Yet it contains some elements that resonate with his life.

After seeing a train crash in his first  film, young  Sammy Fabelman  is amazed and mesmerized, and the experience ignites a desire to make movies which transports  him over the years and never abandons him.

There is another genius in the story and that is Sammy’s dad Burt  who is a brilliant scientist climbing the ladder of success working with the earliest computers, but he is rather dull as a character in the family’s story.

Mitzi, Samy’s Mom is a live-wire with  4 children, and she does her jobs well as wife and mom, but she could have been a concert pianist, and she is full of creative energy.  Mitzi  is the most fascinating character and she has a secret.

We meet a close friend of the family named Bernie, some other relatives, and then, in a brilliant but brief role, Judd Hirsch, now in his 80’s, appears as Mitzi’s uncle Boris. He is a former circus performer. One of the best parts of the movie is his interaction with Sam regarding personal passions and the need to pursue them.

Judd Hirsch arrives and surprises the Fabelman family.  Blogfinger photo from the movie screen.

There is a terrible surprise within the family that contributes to its breakdown.  The characters are so fascinating , and how they interact with life and with each other is remarkable.

As Sammy grows older, his abilities as a movie maker grow too.

There is no sex, religion, politics, or violence in this film;  it is just totally absorbing as you watch the dynamics of the story play out on the screen.  Plot lines include anti-semitism, a secret kept and revealed, life styles and values during the fifties which we can relate to, Sam goes to his prom with his Christian girl friend, and what happens when he deals with high school bullies.   And then there are his increasingly complex interactions and successes with the art of film making.

There are lessons to be learned by observing the Fabelmans and thinking about their situations. Discuss these elements with your spouse or close friends, because you can find wisdom as you dig deep.

Especially look at how Sammy discovers the power of movies not only to tell stories but to influence people and to reveal truths seen through the lens,  especially using tools such as editing and  music.

We loved the disclosures about Mitzi  as to how she relates to her family and how she must  reveal truths about herself.  Michelle Williams once played Marilyn Monroe in a movie.

Go see The Fabelmans.   And don’t read reviews until you see the film and think about it yourself, with family and friends.

There is a soundtrack.   Here is John Williams composition called “The Fabelmans”.