Posted in Blogfinger Presents on July 26, 2026| Leave a Comment »
OG Funeral Home undergoes demolition. Blogfinger.net. Paul Goldfinger MD
Two Grovers purchased this property. After a delay, demolition has begun. We have no specifics, but we suspect an impressive single family home will result. They have a big lot. Or maybe a medical facility?
My former office was a funeral home in its past life. Our practice could offer quick service. Later we sold it to a law firm. Chiropracters took over after that.
BOBBY DARIN
Posted in Blogfinger Presents on July 26, 2026| Leave a Comment »
A beautiful summer so far: bikers and teens abound. Paul Goldfinger photo. Ocean Grove. Click once to enlarge.
Auditorium Square Park. Blogfinger@verizon.net
In our North End neighborhood there are so many renters, many from out of state. They are finding vacation lifestyles and especially loving not only our beach, but our porch culture. Despite the hazards of bike riding, cyclers are all over town including young parents with little kids in little bike seats.
The weather has been sunny and cher, and it seems that beach goers from our part of town are relishing walking the long distance east. As always, parking is a challenge. Other specifics that attract visitors include visits to Tent Village and exploration of Asbury Park including restaurants just across the bridges from the Grove.
Compared to when we came here,the CMA is not so obvious with their religious programming. I wonder if the young renters are even aware of that historic factor in town. In addition the secular programming in town fails to feature our history other than house tours
Last night I attended the Silver Screen concert which combined movies and movie music. As usual, the Mid-Atlantic Philharmonic Orchestra was superb led by Maestro Jason Tramm, The movie part was a bit disappointing. I was hoping for a big screen showing movie clips with segments of original movie scenes.
I loved Ben Hur with music from the chariot race. I think my ancestors were there, but if it were me, I would have bought a Lexus.
Anyhow, I surveyed the audience and found few young people. And there were perhaps several hundred in the audience. The CMA fails again to promote their special secular shows . I continue to wish that they would invite high school music students kids to their concerts like this: it would be a win-win idea.
And as for girls in their summer clothes, the style this summer features short shorts with tuggable hems. Also there are flowing long light dresses or kaftans, and long rayon or silky pant suits–all quite beautiful matching up with long straight hair does. Are these pants too tight? Well who’s to say–it’s the fashion. For the boys it’s beards and baseball hats worn backwards. What will they do if a fly ball emerges from in the sun?
And the eateries in town, some of which are new—send us a short review: Blogfinger@verizon.net
LOVE THEME FROM BEN HUR
LOVE THEME FROM CINEMA PARADISO:
Posted in Blogfinger Presents on July 26, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Ocean Grove youth movement at the beach. Ocean Grove, NJ, USA. July, 2026. Paul Goldfinger photo. Blogfinger.net
Frank Sinatra in a duet with Charles Aznavour. It his Frank’s “Duets” album :
Posted in Blogfinger Presents on July 26, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Paul Goldfinger. The Great Auditorium. 2026. Searching for a prince. Click once to enlarge. Ocean Grove, NJ. Blogfinger.net
ETTA JONES. From The Best of Etta.
Posted in Blogfinger Presents on July 24, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Paul Goldfinger, MD. Editor Blogfinger.net
Eileen and I went to a Veterans Day tribute at Ocean Township Town Hall last month. There were veterans, Ocean Twp officials, Boy Scouts, citizens and speakers, but there also were children. I was wearing my Jewish War Veterans hat, and as we entered, some kids spotted my hat and a small girl handed me a folded piece of paper. I gave it to Eileen for safekeeping, and we forgot to open it. Yesterday, Eileen found it and handed it to me.
It was cleverly folded, like one of those paper constructions, and I cautiously opened it, and here it is. (above).
Zeezee signed it “love” and she called me a “hero.” Of course, I never thought of myself that way, especially since I was based in Portsmouth, Virginia (Naval Hospital) during Viet Nam. The only danger I experienced was when some docs and corpsmen played basketball at lunchtime in the medical base gym, and I was in danger of being fouled while shooting.
But ZeeZee reminded me of those heroes who never came back from our wars. And they never got to enjoy another Christmas. But their families get to remember them during this holiday season. And I’m sure Zeezee was also honoring all those who did come back.
Among those millions was Eileen’s Dad Bernard Harkavy of Brooklyn, NY and then later, of Dumont, NJ. Of course, Bernie got to enjoy many Hanukkahs when he came home, although he was away when Eileen was born. When I met her, Bernie was around to make sure I was behaving. And then in 1984, at his insistence, we all went to France to visit Normandy. It was like a scene from Saving Private Ryan. It was the 40th anniversary of D-Day.
Sgt. Bernard Harkavy. He was in Europe during WWII.
BAND OF HMS ROYAL MARINES: Theme from “Saving Private Ryan.”
Posted in Blogfinger Presents on July 24, 2026| 2 Comments »
Ocean Grove near Wesley Lake. Free parking is allowed for Asburians who leave their cars in front of Paul’s house. Blogfinger photo July 2018. Click image to read the signs.
I like the part about “cleaning up after your dog.” It is an oxymoron, and the idea of it, to clean yourself up once your dog is done, says something about the importance of dogs in Dog-town New Jersey—ie Ocean Grove.
Paul Goldfinger, Editor Blogfinger.net
DAVID CHRISTMAS AND BERNADETTE PETERS. From the off-Broadway original cast of Dames at Sea
Posted in Blogfinger Presents on July 23, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Blogfinger interviews, Blogfinger Presents, tagged Escape from the holocaust, Igor Timkovsky, Ocean Betrayal, Ocean rescue in Ocean Grove on July 22, 2026| 2 Comments »
Blogfinger interviews Igor and Aaron at the OG Bake shoppe. 7/18/19 Paul Goldfinger photo ©
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor. Blogfinger.net. 2019 re-post
Igor Timkovsky is a Jewish immigrant from Russia. He believes his family was part of the great Diaspora of the Jewish people (as was my family) which brought them to western Europe, probably Italy, perhaps 2,500 years ago. Their lives were difficult through the Middle Ages. They experienced the Inquisition, forced conversions, Crusaders, black death, ghetto life, poverty, mass expulsions, invasions, and religious suppression.
The Diaspora Jews were forced eastward out of Western Europe in the 15th to 16th centuries, and Igor’s family settled in the country of Belarus, east of Poland. Igor was born in Belarus in 1962.
When Hitler invaded Russia, many peoples scattered, especially the Jews. Igor’s family escaped into the Ural Mountains for safety from the Nazis. There were some places that the Wehrmacht failed to reach. During WWII many of his male relatives were lost in the war as soldiers, and other relatives were swept up by the Holocaust.
After the war, small numbers survived, and some then migrated to Israel or the US.
In 1992, thanks to a family reunion program for immigrants sponsored by two US Senators, Igor, his wife, daughter and parents escaped Communism and emigrated to NYC, Washington Heights, where they live now.
He had been an engineer in Russia, but here he got a masters degree and became a social worker. His son Aaron was born in 2006 and will be entering public high school. He is a bright young man, personable, bilingual, and with a strong and obvious attachment to his Dad.
Igor discovered Ocean Grove a few years ago and “fell in love” with this “amazing town.” To see the Grove through the eyes of an immigrant is very special. He enjoys walking on the boardwalk at night. He loves the “friendly, polite, and cultured people.” He says that Ocean Grove feels “safe and comfortable” for his family.
Aaron, age 13, told me during our interview at the OG Bake Shoppe that he” loves” the way that they get here so easily: bus, train and the walk over. They are currently vacationing, staying in a hotel near the beach.
But during a July, 2017, afternoon, something happened to cement their feelings for the Grove. Igor and Aaron were swimming in the ocean. They were seemingly fine, but “suddenly” they were apart and had drifted farther out than they thought. Igor quickly discovered that he could not touch bottom and he managed to join up with Aaron. It seems they were caught in a rip tide. They had one boogie board to share.
Before they had a chance to panic, two OG lifeguards were at their side. One said to Igor, “Would you like to join me on a trip to the shore?” The other one gave Aaron a forceful shove with his board, and he quickly found himself on the shore.
Igor was overwhelmed with gratitude for the way the OG guards saved him and his son. He wrote letters of profound appreciation to the life guards at bench 3 and 4–OG Beach Patrol and he even wrote a book of poems (2018) dedicated to those guards, expressing how he feels about what happened and about his love of this town. Even now, two years later, he cannot stop talking about it.
Igor is a Blogfinger fan, so he contacted me about his book Ocean Betrayal. He is a social worker , a teacher, and a poet. His story and poems have been published in Blogfinger.net.
His book has 24 pages and 8 original and charming poems, punctuated by drawings and photographs. It is especially remarkable because English is Igor’s second language. Searching the Blogfinger.net archives, one can find some posts about Igor and the Grove; and his poetry.
If anyone is interested in contacting Igor about his book, just email Blogfinger and we will forward it.
ART GARFUNKEL “A Heart in New York.”
ADDENDUM. JULY 20, 2026. Once again poet Igor Timkovsky returns for his annual OG vacation. He lives in New York, but he has friends in the Grove including our family. Again he stays at the Majestic Hotel. We met him yesterday and enjoyed his updates including the fact that he is now retired from his life as a New York City social worker.
He returns now filled with joy in describing the tall ships which sailed by his home near the George Washington Bridge. Igor is a true American patriot, celebrating those tall ships as they came bye for the US 250th. H is someone who found freedom for himself and family, and now this is his tenth anniversary visit to OG.
Igor photographed this tall ship from near his home by the GW Bridge
He brought us up to date regarding his brilliant son Aaron, now a student at Baruch College, a college in the City University of NY. Baruch is highly regarded, and Aaron is excelling there, studying finance. He will be leaving for England to study for one semester.
Igor emailed me to say:
“Dedicated to the 10th anniversary of my arrival in Ocean Grove
“I opened the window to let in fresh air.
“I felt a/c air is not truly fair. I came all the way from New York for a breeze. I hoped a breeze put my breathing at ease. I am asking myself why I use a/c air. It seems it’s not me and myself I won’t dare.
“One thing that I heard and it took me right in. The blinds’ played tune sent me back to begin.”
Igor loves to catch the sun and the views on our OG beach.
He got up at 5 am to photograph our sunrise: (below)
Ocean Grove July sunrise by Igor from the 2nd floor porch of the Majestic Hotel. 5 am. He meets folks on the beach at that hour. 7/20/26
And here is Igor (below) on our Mt. Hermon Way OG porch. He is thrilled with his stay this July.
July 19, 2026. Paul Goldfinger portrait of poet Igor Timkovsky. Ocean Grove. He “loves” our town
Rufus Wainwright and Teddy Thompson. From the movie: “Brokeback Mountain.”
Posted in Blogfinger Presents on July 22, 2026| Leave a Comment »
OG boards. July, 2020. Paul Goldfinger photographer.
By Paul Goldfinger, MD, Blogfinger.net. Ocean Grove, NJ, USA.
The streets of OG are wonderful for cruising around town—-not racing. The best times of day are early morning, late afternoon, and twilight, especially in summer during the week.
Most bikers like to explore in small groups and they sight-see and chat with little danger. But there always are risks especially for those who don’t wear helmets, go down wrong way streets, speed or be reckless on the boards, and pop out of side streets onto Main or Broadway.
Our network of narrow village streets, with all the stop signs, poses a risk that must be met by alertness. And then there are the unpredictable openings of doors by parallel parked vehicles.
Biking on the boardwalk is safest for small children, many of whom have their small bikes for safety.
THE LATIN CASINO ALL STARS from the movie The Irishman.
Posted in Blogfinger Presents on July 22, 2026| Leave a Comment »
By Paul Goldfinger in Bradley Beach. These are angels making celestial music. Christmas in July at the Jersey Shore. Blogfinger.net. Ruding and Wood.
THE KINGS COLLEGE. “In the Bleak Midwinter”
Posted in Blogfinger Presents on July 21, 2026| Leave a Comment »
One of the “old familiar places.” Paul Goldfinger photo. Ocean Grove Tent Village. Click to enlarge
FRANK SINATRA:
Posted in Blogfinger Presents on July 21, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Neptune City. Paul Goldfinger © June, 2020. Blogfinger.net
LUCIA MICARELLI: “Lady Grinning Soul.” From the album Music From a Farther Room.
Posted in Blogfinger Presents on July 20, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Rainstorm sends everyone scattering this afternoon at the OG beachfront. Paul Goldfinger photos 7/24/20. Click once to enlarge.
Blogfinger photo. Ocean Grove, NJ July 24, 2020.©
EVA CASSIDY:
