Sandy Hook. October, 2015. Paul Goldfinger photo Blogfinger.net
By Paul Goldfinger, MD. Editor, Blogfinger.net
EMILE-CLAIRE BARLOW from her album The Very Thought of You. “Dream a Little Dream of Me.” The song, from 1931, was a big hit with the Mamas and the Papas in 1968.
Sandy Hook is very beautiful in the autumn. Go there—–take Ocean Avenue all the way up for the scenic route. No admission this time of year, and you can take your dog.
“Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you
Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
But in your dreams, whatever they be
Dream a little dream of me”
Fred “Waterseller” Ohleth at the August 22, 2015 postcard and antique show. Auditorium Pavilion. Paul Goldfinger photo. Blogfinger.net
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @ Blogfinger.net
Fred Ohleth, a retired 6’4″ NYC police officer, lives in a tent each summer with his wife Linda. His family goes back in the Grove, so he keeps up the tradition. In the off- season Fred and Linda (no, not Fred and Ginger) have a condo in the Grove.
Fred is the Commander -in-Chief of a small band of water, hot dog and treats sellers who cover a number of events in town, but they are best known for their supply side activities in the shadows of the Great Auditorium on Saturday nights—-tonight it’s the Beach Boys (as if we don’t already have a few of those around.)
Fred and Linda travel to the wilds of Pennsylvania for those dogs. You must try one! These volunteers work hard and party hard when the show is over.
Stop by and say hello to Fred, Linda, Shirley, Barbara, Mike, Ted and all the others who make sure that no one is hungry or thirsty at the GA (right across the street from the bathrooms. ) And yes, you can take bottled water into the GA.
Pray here. Faith Baptist Church. Wickapecko Drive, Ocean, NJ. By Paul Goldfinger September 3, 2013. Click once to enlarge.
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger
I frequently pass this church because Wickapecko Drive is a country road that provides an alternate scenic route coming back from Wegmans to the Grove. Just turn right off Sunset Avenue by the firehouse with Chief Wanamassa painted on the side (see below.)
Indians used to paddle their canoes around there. Sometimes they had to take a detour because of Township road work.
The Chief first met white men when the Ocean Township DPW began paving Sunset Avenue. That historic work continues to this day.
Legend has it that Chief W. had a vision that told him to open a Wegmans nearby. You can sometimes find him shopping there in the Kosher department for lox.
The Wickapecko Indians were Rutgers fans, and that is why they were called red men. They would go to football games with no shirts, painting RU on their chests. They have been upset since the 18th century over Rutgers football misfortunes.
The church has a woodsy setting, and the light often twinkles on the front and sides as the massive trees cast all sorts of changing shadows.
I have photographed it many times, but this image, obtained in late afternoon, after making a carrot, dill, and celery run for Eileen who was working on a batch of chicken soup, is what I had been looking for.
I shot it this time both in color and black and white, but the latter, with a “vintage” tint, looks fine.
THE BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA From the Imus Ranch Record II
Seaside Heights. October 12, 2015. Paul Goldfinger photo. Click once to grab the brass ring and enlarge the photo.
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger (Re-posted 2026 from October 2015)
This carousel horse, photographed after the season in Seaside Heights, reminds me of Broadway—sometimes happy and sometimes sad. I’m thinking of the show Carousel whichproclaims, “June is busting out all over.”
The Fantasticks has a song called “Round and Round” which begins as a gorgeous fantasy—-“Life is a colorful carousel,” but later the song becomes dark, sad, and scary.
However, for the most part, Broadway brings us joy as in “Oh What a Beautiful Morning” from Oklahoma.
I see this carousel, devoid of riders and seemingly sad because the season is over, and yet the scene, like a Broadway set, is bursting with vivid colors and, in a way, with memories of life itself.
So, in wondering about this photograph and how to see it, I decided that it is joyful and not sad, and if the horse could talk he would say, ” Please sir, I want more oats” (sorry for the Oliver joke, such as it is.) I wonder how a child would view it.
And certainly now, in 2021, with Broadway (and even the London stage) mostly dark for an indefinite period of time, we will have to wait to experience the joy of the musical stage.
Of course, we can still hear the music. We try to keep that music alive on Blogfinger. It’s easy to forget, but we won’t. (Thanks Mom!)
Here is MIMI HINES from a show called “The Roar of the Greasepaint—the Smell of the Crowd.” It is a happy song full of the sort of vivid optimism that we often find in Broadway musicals and, sometimes, in life.
Seaside Heights. October, 2015. Paul Goldfinger photo. Blogfinger.net
Below a scene from Mighty Aphrodite. Paul Desmond’s music was featured. And speaking of the Greek Goddess of Love, today is Eileen Goldfinger’s birthday. Happy Birthday kid!
When I was a high school and college musician, I played a French made Selmer alto sax, as did Desmond.
Paul Desmond was my musical hero. I always tried to emulate his “cool” style. It was a sweet sound which touched me for its floating-in-air quality.
Paul Desmond. The search for a perfect reed is the bane of a sax man’s life. Internet photo. Reed sentiment is mine: PG
He was not only a performer with the Dave Brubeck group, but he was a jazz composer as well, and his “Take Five” was the first jazz song to sell a million copies. Paul Desmond’s sound provided a special flavor for the Dave Brubeck Quartet and was widely emulated by jazz musicians like me as a member of the Fairleigh Dickinson University Jazz Band and leader of the Paul Gary Quartet. (seen below on a Selmer tenor sax)
Bunny, I, Charlie (bass) and Frank (drums) warming up in Frank’s basement in Rutherford. We were college kids. Bunny and I were from FDU while Frank went to Seton Hall. Charlie was a precocious high school senior whose girlfriend was our groupie. Bunny rarely sang, but when she did, it was “Willow Weep for Me.” (We weeped for her singing.) Bunny was so slim that she could play between the white keys. Wallpaper compliments of Frank’s Mom. There are no recordings of our group.
Desmond’s remarkable tempo style was featured in Woody’s 1995 film “Mighty Aphrodite.”
The song below, “Romance de Amor,” is a Brazilian composition by Paul. It is from the album Skylark.
Paul Desmond drank and smoked heavily. He died at 52 of cancer.
Romance de Amor. (Love Song). Written by Paul Desmond.
Monmouth Battlefield State Park. Photograph atop Combs Hill. By Paul Goldfinger 2014. . Click once to enlarge.
Paul Goldfinger, MD, Editor Blogfinger.net
The Battle of Monmouth took place in the vicinity of Monmouth Courthouse in Freehold.
On a blistering hot day on June 28, 1778 the land that is now Monmouth Battlefield State Park was the site of one of the longest battles of the American Revolutionary War.
From the “State Parks Information”: “Here at Monmouth, Washington restored a reputation battered by defeats in 1777. In the day-long battle in the hills, wood lots, farm fields and meadows, the main Continental Army, retrained at Valley Forge, repulsed attacks by the main British Army.
By the end, over 600 men were dead, dying or wounded and the Continental Army held the field.”
The vista above is from Combs Hill where the Continental Army had placed their artillery.
The park is a beautiful place where you can visit, picnic, ride horses or sleighs. The visitor center is near where I was standing to make this photograph. The address is 16 Rt 33 Business in Manalapan.
I enjoy photographing battlefields, although this is only my second. The first is Gettysburg which we have visited quite a few times. Battlefields are evocative of so many qualities of man including bravery, fighting for right and freedom, loyalty and sacrifice.
It seems as if you can time- travel back in such a place as this, and that is an emotional experience.
I tried to capture that mood in this photograph which is much better felt in black and white than with color. —
Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger.net
BAND OF HM ROYAL MARINES: “Main Theme from Saving Private Ryan” (2006) Written by John Williams.
