SpeakEasy
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•December 14, 2021
Snuffing the Lanternfly – Stomp, Now Scrape?
You may have noticed New Jerseyans doing a strange “dance” before the weather turned cold. It’s the Spotted Lanternfly Stomp, and it was performed in a variety of outdoor settings, including…
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•December 1, 2021
Barnegat Inlet Jetty Fishing: Risks, Rewards
The jetties at Barnegat Inlet are popular places for anglers – with good reason. Before I tell you about an incredibly dangerous situation in which I found myself at the inlet some 15 years ago, I…
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•November 25, 2021
Finding Gratitude in the Mystery of the Seasons
The change of the seasons is upon us. From the warm air and cooler nights to shorter days and longer nights, we know winter is coming.
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•November 17, 2021
Stepping Back in Time at the Fisherman’s Cottage
Have you ever wondered what life was like 100 years ago on Long Beach Island? I had a time warp when I visited the Fisherman’s Cottage in Beach Haven. It was built in the late 1800s. One hundred…
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•November 3, 2021
To Err Is Human … But Pick a Side
The older I get, the more experienced I get, the more I know that there is no simple right or wrong answer, to almost anything. There is seldom a clear-cut, no-doubt-about-it option. There is always…
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•October 28, 2021
Sweet Memories Are Good & Plenty – Kinda Corny Like Halloween Candy
I have nothing but Almond Joy when I think of the Butterfingers I consumed way back when. I was a bit noisy when I opened a wrapper of Jujubes in the movies of my childhood. My friends and I always…
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•October 20, 2021
Handing Down 50 Years of Terrace Traditions
For the past 20-plus years, my children along with 30 other kids have spent their summers in our Beach Haven Terrace neighborhood. Most of the families we know have had a Terrace connection for over…
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•October 6, 2021
Beach Replenishment Is Costly in a Couple of Ways
Beaches may be enjoyed by swimmers, sunbathers and tourists, but they are celebrated by beachfront property owners, surfers, marine biologists and anglers. These categories of enthusiasts appreciate…
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•October 2, 2021
Riding High on a Lifetime’s Waves of Strength
“Local Summer” is here with beautiful weather, warm water and waves – a gift of nature we enjoy each year. It doesn’t get any better than September into October on LBI. As a lifelong surfer on LBI, I…
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•September 29, 2021
Turn Off Social Media’s Low Road
Six years ago my wife and I made the decision to move to Little Egg Harbor. We chose an age-restricted community to purchase our home. It has been a wonderful experience thus far with a few bumps in…
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•September 22, 2021
It’s Hard to Let Go of Summer – But We Must
It’s not an easy thing to to do. It kind of creeps away from me a little at a time, hardly noticeable at all. I guess the first realization is the children starting school in September, then the fall…
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•September 15, 2021
Here’s to All the Grammas, Pops and LBI Traditions
September – my birthday month. This year, the final year of a decade for me, is a particularly difficult time because in 2022, I’ll enter a decade I’ve always considered old. I find myself frequently…
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•September 9, 2021
Saving the Bay One Little Baby Clam at a Time
Most people remember their first kiss or the first time they drove a car. Rick Bushnell remembers his first clam.
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•September 1, 2021
Shucks, It’s Closing Time for Nel and Clam Bar
Nel Lally has shucked approximately 1.4 million clams and oysters at the Harvey Cedars Clam Bar in Beach Haven since it opened Memorial Day 1992. The traditional shore-style eatery is closing forever…
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•August 25, 2021
Life Succeeds Between the Extremes
It’s apparent that a growing number of Americans are becoming increasingly more inclined to choose and support one “extreme” side of a controversial issue instead of carefully evaluating all the pros…
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•August 18, 2021
LBI Cannabis Effort Is Local and Health Oriented
It’s very likely that if you spend any time on this Island that we all share a love for that you are aware of the recent conversations around permitting cannabis businesses in our towns, specifically…
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•August 16, 2021
We Who Host at the Shore Have to Have Rules
I always say I love visitors in the summer. What a joy to see relatives and guests bearing wine, beer and snacks along with their suitcases! Am I kidding myself? The older I get, the longer it takes…
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•August 9, 2021
Celebrating a Love Affair in ‘Favorite Place on Earth’
The setting sun on Long Beach Island’s Spray Beach was truly the perfect backdrop for a family celebrating 40 years of unwavering devotion and closeness. A reflection of the sun’s waning light off…
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•July 28, 2021
Part of Papa’s Legacy: Watch the Tomatoes!
Like many other families, ours has a few signature sayings or phrases that have endured for years. What typically originated as a knee-jerk reaction to what was happening at the time, or perhaps a…
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•July 26, 2021
Sounding the Alarm About Bodysurfing Danger
A few weeks ago, I had a visit from my old friend Nick, who was my college roommate. Nick and his family arrived here on Long Beach Island in the midst of a long road trip. We had lunch and began to…
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•July 14, 2021
Middle. Middle. Middle. Age 52 and Counting!
It’s fun to say the word “middle.” It’s like little, but with an M. And I guess D’s instead of T’s. But they sound almost the same when I say them. Middle. Middle. Middle. Try it.
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•July 11, 2021
No Sweeter Launch in Life Than at Ship’s Wheel
My family was staying with my grandparents in Harvey Cedars one fine summer day in 1973 when my friends and I gathered our money and rode our bikes to the Ship’s Wheel to indulge in penny candy and…
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•July 5, 2021
Farewell, Carolyn Ann … Thanks for Memories
It was truly a sad day when I heard that the party boat Carolyn Ann III was leaving Barnegat Light to become part of a whale watching fleet in Cape May. I know the Carolyn Ann III because I lived…
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•June 29, 2021
’60s Beach Kid Life: Nonstop Fun
For me, a child of the ’60s, the last day of school in mid-June was particularly exciting. Mom drove us down the shore from Pennington to our summer home in Beach Haven Crest.
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•June 16, 2021
Act II: We All Scream for Ice Cream. Or Not.
Author’s recap of Act I in last week’s SpeakEasy column: My first summer job began and ended on the same day at the Westmont Theater, when I caught the manager and the candy lady in a compromising…
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•June 9, 2021
Act I: As They Say, Some Movies Don’t End Well
Author’s Note: The following is tragicomedy about summer jobs in two acts. The dramatis personae include: teenage me, job hunting; Charlie, my employed friend; Mr. S, the manager; and the Candy Lady…
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•June 2, 2021
Extra Anticipation Building for Summer 2021
Hello, God. It’s me, Patty. I’ve been praying really hard over the past 15-plus months, hoping that my prayers would finally be answered and, lo and behold, they have.
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•May 19, 2021
George Clooney, Maybe, But Don’t Call Me Walter
My husband thinks he looks like a movie star. With pandemic masks starting to come off, I am reminded of the following story.
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•May 5, 2021
Special Gift Adds to Joy of Giving on Mother’s Day
On our coffee table sits a pyramid of connected four clear, solid glass balls 5 inches high. When the sun hits them through a window, the glass balls burst into a rainbow of colors. As long as I can…
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•April 29, 2021
Nature’s Seasonal Changes Fittingly ‘Phenomenal’
Peering out my window, I can’t absolutely recall – has this year flown by or dragged on? The grass and trees appear to spell it out: Time has simply moved on and spring is here!
