Yesterday at Wegmans, they were offering samples of their new chocolate chip bagels. I told the bakery supervisor that she will never see me buying one of these travesties of justice. “They are against my religion,” I told her. I would rather eat cow on a Main Street in Bombay then munch one of these in public at Wegmans. What would my grandmother think?
This is a form of cultural assassination. Bagels were brought to this country by Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe after several centuries of baking authentic bagels–mostly in Poland. Where is the respect? Can you imagine gefilte fish in an Irish bar? Or matzoh ball soup at an Italian deli?
The original kinds of bagels from the “old country” were plain, onion, poppy, salt, and sesame. Later a few other kinds were added and have…
They used to have wonderful Civil War reenactments in the Grove. The camp set-ups would be at the Ocean Pathway, but they would have African-American soldiers replay the “Glory” battle on the beach. That battle was about the all black 54th Massachusetts Regiment who heroically attacked the Confederate Army holed up at Ft. Wagner in Charleston, South Carolina. The movie “Glory” was about that.
This image was originally posted on Blogfinger in the summer of 2016. And now, while we are on the subject of revealing bathing suits, let’s take a close look at this photo.
Sure the yellow suit is interesting, but it’s not everything it’s cracked up to be. No this image also tells us something about the broad-minded folks in A. Park.
Maybe we can borrow some mojo from the A.Park crowd and let’s nag the CMA until they grow some wider boundaries and offer a dog park or a dog beach in the Grove. Sure you can take your dog on the beach in the winter, but it is in the prime season that we have huge numbers of dogs–resident and tourist owned.
And here is a musical tribute to the lovely woman in that yellow bathing suit:
Regarding the Kate Moss portrait, made without makeup, do a BF search: type in Kate Moss into the search box upper right.
We all know this song. Carole King and Jerry Goffin wrote “You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman,” and Aretha Franklin had the hit record. But listen to the lyrics and explain to us what “a natural woman” is.
Please send your own comments and avoid copying internet opinions.
The Blogfinger cow: “Moo do something to me.” Blogfinger photo
a. Warehoused cars. I heard of a house on Mt. Zion where a truck sat in the same place, being moved slightly once in a while, for 3 years. The Township could do nothing because the vehicle had valid registration and insurance.
I have a car sitting for 3 weeks in front of my house. It doesn’t bother me if that space is used periodically by others for temporary purposes, but to warehouse is offensive because it deprives a homeowner of important convenient every day functions.
The Township has a 30 day rule, but it is essentially impossible to enforce. Even if the car is moved one inch, the count begins again, and it is nearly impossible to document the 30 days.
The most you can do is to prevail on the owner, if you know the person, and explain that there is such a thing as neighborliness in OG.
But if a car sits there and has expired documentation, then it can be removed. Sometimes residents are gone for more than 30 days, such as on a prolonged vacation, but it would be good if they informed the police.
b. Contractor frustrations: We have known for a long time that homeowners and their contractors are often frustrated by the paper work required to get even the simplest project approved.
The HPC is frequently the source of the trouble. They have a reputation for double standards and for unusual delays so that some contractors find it impossible to reliably schedule subs to do a job. We have also known that some contractors refuse to accept work in the Grove for theses reasons.
Now we learn that certain established contractors who are known for working here are considering turning down OG jobs. Evidently it is easier to function in other towns.
c. The giant rock concert coming this weekend to A. Park (Sea.Hear.Noise) will create more parking woes in the Grove. Best to park and don’t move your car during those two days. There will be a glut of Airbnb renters in town along with their friends. And the performances go as late as 9 pm each day (9/21 and 9/22)
We not only have the parking pressures of Grovarian events, but we also have to be wary of big doings in Asbury. Why is this good for their city?
Asbury used to be a Jersey Shore town with rugged, quirky charm—bars and music joints, inexpensive accommodations, down-home restaurants, artists, and all sorts of people—-in other words a true American iconic place with its own personality and character. But now, as it has risen again from the ashes, it seems to becoming Long Branch…..and it will take its toll on OG.
AP reminds me of Times Square where people still long for the “Midnight Cowboy” version of midtown—-some are still nostalgic for that rough and tumble and fascinating New York. But now it is a glossy , plain vanilla, sterile magnet for white-bread tourists. Gone are the dives, the characters, the all-night lights, the huge movie houses, and the delightful and variable visual smorgasbord.
Will the future of OG come into focus? Paul Goldfinger photo.OG. Summer 2019.
The giant “fall” flea market is over. Soon to occur: Another craft show, dog parade, trolley tours, Cabaret on Main, Harvest Festival–close down Main Avenue on October 5, Victorian house tours, and then Commercial Christmas will reappear, done large.
The Chamber of Commercials is currently driving the bus, promoting down-town businesses. They don’t care about residential OG. CMA is taking a break, but not for long. The Home Groaners don’t wonder about these things, but they don’t wonder much about anything having to do with lifestyles in the Grove. And the elected officials don’t care.
So what will define Ocean Grove in the future? Will it be behaving like a historic village in small town America.? It looks like it will appear as a sort of junior Disneyland where bored outsiders can come and do this or that, and investors can exploit the real estate market with rentals and condos.
The events and crowds keep multiplying, and, in addition, we are becoming a bedroom community, an appendage, for Asbury Park where they know who they are. And the CMA infrastructure will continue to enlarge its mostly religious calendar.
The beach scene is welcome and expected and is a given–not part of this conversation.
Next summer the CMA-sponsored classical music will be great again—with tiny audiences. And the town will be burgeoning with religious events and tourists. Maybe the CMA will get its wish to restore the old predominant religious focus here, even though the town’s residents are largely secular. The residents don’t exactly know who they are.
At the end of this month, Red Bank will have an Oyster Festival on one day, September 29, from 12 to 6 . Otherwise they have no large events. And what they have through the summer are for the residents, such as jazz and movies in the park. They have a large downtown and a bigger town, but they keep the spirit of the place for the sake of their residents.
And Neptune is soon having a concert at the Shark River for the River area residents. When did Neptune offer a musical program for Grover residents? Why do they ignore us?
So, again, what is the point of this constant barrage of tourists in Ocean Grove–a town with an identity challenge?
–Paul Goldfinger
GUY LOMBARDO AND HIS ROYAL CANADIANS From the soundtrack of Woody’s movie Zelig.
This post gets hit on about every other day, so it seems to still have some relevance for bike riders on the boards. So let’s repost it now and see if anyone has anything new to say about it. If you do, click on “comments.” Click on the word “Blogfinger” below. Thank you, the Management.
Most of us are, at least, vaguely aware of the rules about bike riding on the boardwalk in Ocean Grove. Bikers know that bicycles are banned on our boards except for 3 a.m. to 10 a.m. daily in season. After Labor Day we think that soon we will be able to ride our bikes whenever we want on the OG boards.
For some, the best boardwalk bike ride is from OG all the way south to Spring Lake, while others look forward to riding through the Casino and continuing north along the Asbury boards. That’s a nice ride to take with someone on a trike or with a couple of kids.
This afternoon I went to Asbury and walked my bike on the boards. As soon as I arrived on the north side of the Casino, a sign was present that said bicycle…
Wegmans Ocean store, April 27, 2019. © 
