SpeakEasy
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•October 17, 2013
Same Time Each Year: Couples Share Memories
The year was 1955. It was 5 p.m. and it was raining. Yes, on my special day, the day I joined my life to the man of my dreams, it was raining. However, my mother assured me that rain was a good omen…
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•October 9, 2013
Pro-Life and Pro-Pope … Forever
I am a cradle Catholic, reared by a mother who was forgiving and not demanding when it came to attending church on Sunday. She showed me, by her actions, how to live my faith. On the other hand, I…
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•October 2, 2013
Saying Goodbye to the Beach House, Not the Beach
I’m never quite right when it comes to the end of a summer season on LBI.
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•September 25, 2013
LBI Puts Best Face Forward for Lifelong Guest
My daughter Claire and I did not know what we would find Monday, Aug. 12, my 41st wedding anniversary and the fourth without my dear husband, Stan. Since his passing, she has started the tradition of…
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•September 18, 2013
Jersey Shore Ties That Bind: Sympathy for Seaside
I had wondered why the kids of the family renting across the street seemed to be constantly screaming all week. But every time I heard their parents yell at them from inside the second floor to the…
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•September 11, 2013
C’mon, Man!
Jon Coen’s reference to “Tumbleweed Tuesday” in a Liquid Lines column last month got me thinking, once I picked myself off the floor where I had fallen from laughing so hard. Jon needs to copyright…
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•September 4, 2013
Sunday in the Bar With Bruce
It was a relatively uneventful day at Convention Hall in Asbury Park this past Sunday, Sept. 1, when I got the following text from the unsung hero of this story, Matt Tiedemann (a.k.a. Tiedes).
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•August 28, 2013
Just an Old-Fashioned Love Story – With an LBI Twist
Editor’s Note: The author of the following story wrote about the day his mother surprised his father with a striped bass she caught off the Long Beach Island beach and wheeled it home in the baby…
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•August 21, 2013
We Watched a Tornado Cross the Back Yard
Tuesday morning, Aug. 13, there were gray skies above, promising a rainstorm soon. My day was planned thus: a 9 a.m. appointment at the dermatologist to do my regular body check, followed by…
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•August 14, 2013
Barefooting Brings Back Memories
I was on my way to the dentist to get another replacement part for my slowly aging anatomy when I had to stop because of a convoy crossing the Boulevard at the “wherever-I-cross-is-the-crosswalk.” I…
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•August 7, 2013
Sandy Shoes Make Their Way Home
It wasn’t long ago that I remember my mother sweeping the last sandy guest out the door of her house in North Beach, as she lovingly complained about the sand on the floors, the sandy dogs and the…
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•July 24, 2013
The Curious Case of Another Zimmerman
The country is abuzz over the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin controversy.
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•July 18, 2013
Rogue Wave
Jay Mann wrote about a meteotsunami striking Barnegat Inlet’s new South Jetty in The SandPaper’s Fish Story column June 19. I had never heard of these rogue waves created by the effects of sudden…
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•July 11, 2013
A Parent’s Worst Nightmare
The year was 1982, my youngest child was 16 years old and we lived in New Jersey. My life was pretty normal before that year. My husband, Robert, and I were kept busy with our growing family and…
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•July 3, 2013
End of an Era: So Happy Were We at 223
Another casualty of Sandy was identified in late May. As a result of the violent tides carrying3 or4 feet of waste water, the foundation of a house that dates to 1904 or earlier was deemed too…
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•June 26, 2013
How a Pair of Swans Helped Me Through Sandy
On Oct. 28, 2012, my husband and I were hunkered down at my son and daughter-in-law’s condo in Monroe Township while Superstorm Sandy flooded our home in Forked River. Our little house on the water…
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•June 19, 2013
Sea Glass and Other Gifts From the Sea
John F. Kennedy once said, “We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch – we are going back to whence we came.” I have often contemplated and written…
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•June 12, 2013
Sandy Yields a Gold Medal Story in Beach Haven West
I have been coming to Beach Haven West since I was 3 months old. My grandfather bought there back in 1967, picking the lot and model house. I loved that small beach bungalow and had so many good…
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•June 5, 2013
Sandy Takes a Toll on Something Else: One Man’s Ears
I don’t hear too well. My lovely wife reminds me of that fact all the time.
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•May 29, 2013
Father Knows Better … Because of His Girls
No noted philosopher is my next youngest brother, but to me he is distinguished for his not-always-quiet wisdom. A few years before the birth of my girls turned my cool single man’s bedroom into a…
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•May 24, 2013
This Family Fish Story Is a Keeper
The house at 1081A Long Beach Blvd. in North Beach once had a cedar roof painted bright orange, and bright yellow, wood shutters. It was frequently referred to as the “Howard Johnson” house. It was…
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•May 15, 2013
Country Rails Take Me Home to the Place I Belong
Springtime always takes me to upstate New York. The area’stopography, geography and natural beauty have become a part of me, qualities that have contributed to my life and my writing. Reflections of…
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•May 8, 2013
‘In the East There Appears an Eastern Star …’
This story is dedicated to my dear friend Koko, the best goofy-footed surfer I have ever known. A friend of mine recently suggested that I take my dog Angel and go for a walk on the beach at 14th…
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•April 24, 2013
No Closure for a Gaping Hole in the Fabric of Life
Around the anniversary of my brother’s death, I try to keep the happy memories foremostin my mind – there are so many. But I also am still so heartbroken over the circumstances of his death, and that…
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•April 10, 2013
Everything Could Change … in the Blink of an Eye
I really want to share what happened to me last Thursday because it could happen to anyone …
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•April 3, 2013
There’s Nothing ‘Secret’ About Good, Old-Fashioned Parenting
Watching “Good Morning America” last week to see who they found for George Stephanopoulos’ look-alike, I was struck by another story that flabbergasted me. Not that being George’s look-alike wasn’t…
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•March 28, 2013
Invasion of the Drones
I have made a decision to cover our bathroom skylight. I hope I can get someone in soon to put eitheran opaque covering or some type of shade on it. The window is quite large, and with the advent of…
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•March 20, 2013
Not All Towns Are Created Equal When It Comes to Disaster Relief
Necessity has taught me how to use a hammer, a saw, a rule and drywall knives, among other tools. I have become fairly competent at doing things around a typical American home, and though I am no…
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•March 13, 2013
Remembering a ‘Best Boss’ and Model Teacher
Patty Ewart and I learned from experience that we should never discuss politics. Our tastes in music were worlds apart, and our sense of style, her with her trim professional suits and heels, and me…
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•March 6, 2013
Real Birders Know Their Wigeons From Warblers
Birdwatching is a popular pastime on Long Beach Island and its environs, but it doesn’t appeal to everyone. For one thing, it seems to involve rising at an ungodly hour. For another, it seems to…
