These Halloweenies showed up at our house during the day last Halloween–2021. (Mt Hermon Way near Delaware)
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor, Blogfinger.net
You may recall that a worrisome event occurred after dark last Halloween. The small kids had come and gone, and some older kids began to show up, coming from Asbury Park. This is not a new phenomenon. They want to get as much candy as possible. Many did not even have a semblance of a costume, but we stayed the course.
However, as it got seriously dark, a mob of big kids came marching down Mt. Hermon heading east. They were shouting and moving aggressively towards our porch. Those “kids” were smug and were laughing.
A bunch of them, about 8 to 10 in number, surrounded an adult who had the goodies while sitting on our porch steps. They shoved their way towards him, surrounded him, and ripped the candy out of his hands, throwing the empty bag back at him. He was not touched , but it was scary and intimidating.
In the middle of all that tumult, some of them stole a car, about half a block west of us. The car revved its engines and tore down the street past us. We were sure that they would crash. We learned that the thieves sped into Asbury where they crashed the vehicle.
The police did not show up, but we heard that detectives were investigating.
Subsequently we never learned if anybody had been detained or arrested over this incident and we never learned if anything would be done in 2022 to prevent a repeat.
We thought that at least a curfew should be imposed this year. And we thought that no Grovers would stay on their porches after dark in 2022. Also we wondered if the police would offer a preventive presence this Halloween after dusk in the Grove, especially at the North End.
But, as is their style, the 5 caballeros on the Neptune Comedy never showed any interest regarding what happened and what would be done for 2022 to avoid trouble in our neighborhood.
Here is exactly what happened last Halloween (2021) Blogfinger report:
THE ANDREW SISTERS—Just change the song from three to five:
blogfinger.net 
This year marks the centennial of the destructive Halloween of 1922.
“They overturned and broke the large iron urn that topped the mound in Auditorium Square [the Young Peoples Centennial Vase of 1876], threw a dozen or so of the boardwalk benches over on the beach, tore down the rustic bridge at Fletcher Lake near Broadway, broke several globes and electric light bulbs on the boardwalk, and numerous other stunts.”
This gang of 22 young men from Ocean Grove and West Grove was arrested when they tried to activate the town fire alarm and were fined.
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No one called 911 at the time of your story. .? That is scary…..some one should have. .
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Meredith. It happened very fast. We were shaken and went into the house, locking the door. Then we peeked outside, and the gangsters were already deep into the park and heading to Main Avenue. I think the stolen car attracted the police next in Asbury.
You should move back to the Grove to help protect us from evil candy fressers.
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Years ago, when the OG Citizen’s Patrol was active, I recall seeing the CP car and an NPD car cruising the streets on the south end during the hours of 6 and 8PM. There was an egg throwing incident and a woman called the police. Car came right away.
Suggest those interested in a visible police presence this Halloween address it at a Township Committee meeting–and keep up the pressure.
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Thank you Janet. One of the doctors I worked with was famous for his vocal and biting complaints whenever something bothered him.
That practice was disturbing to those on the receiving end, but they seldom fought back. And it did not have to be an earth-shaking complaint. It could have been about something in our office, in the hospital, something interpersonal or whatever.
I asked him why he did that. Most people let things slide that bother them. They don’t want to cause a problem or ignite a firestorm. It’s like public-speaking, most people won’t do it.
But he had to “say something” because otherwise he would be haunted by the issue. It was psychotherapy for him, but also, being a brilliant guy, he was usually correct with his complaints, and the end result often was to solve a problem.
And so it is in this town, where no matter how I try to provoke discussion on Blogfinger, very few citizens respond.
Albert Ellis, Ph.D, a famous psychotherapist, developed a therapeutic approach called “Rational Emotive Therapy.” He founded an institute in New York City to train doctors and patients. I learned about it from a fellow physician, an internist, who was one of the few who tackled emotional problems in his patients. These days doctors barely have time to use their stethoscopes much less to ask about one’s mental status.
I wouldn’t dream of discussing Ellis in any detail, but one of his principles and methods for dealing with anxiety was to analyze a problem and then come up with a solution. Even just having a plan to understand and solve an issue can itself be therapeutic. Letting it go can be corrosive emotionally.
So JW, thank you for thinking about l’affaire Halloween and offering a solution. If nothing else, it will make you feel better–it makes me feel better.
For those of you who think we complain too much on Blogfinger, I will continue what I do, even if only a few of you speak out on our site.
But you should try it…this is a good place to vent, and you can share it with hundreds of viewers each day.
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