SpeakEasy
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•April 21, 2021
Show Some Love for the Forgotten 22 Percent
There is little attention paid to 22% of the land in New Jersey known as the New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve. I would suspect only 22% of New Jersey population know what it is or where it is.…
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•April 14, 2021
Spring Ephemerals Get Their Moment in the Sun
Take a walk in the woods this month and check out the forest floor. There in the dappled sunlight, popping up through last year’s leaves, you may spot the short-lived flowers of native perennials…
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•April 7, 2021
OA: Accepting Good With Bad, Funny With Sad
In February 2017 I wrote a column called “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Dreaded Old Age.” I shared my discovery that dreaded “old age” wasn’t as bad as I’d anticipated. OA actually had many…
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•March 31, 2021
My Granddaughter, My Hero Makes COVID Fight Personal
We love our heroes. We write books and make movies about them. They have all earned it with unbelievable bravery and acts of courage – everyone from Sgt. Alvin York in World War I to Sgt. John…
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•March 24, 2021
Simple Tips From a Senior Wimp
What’s a wimp? I think I have an answer to the question. I’m a 77-year-old ex-teacher, ex-college athlete, ex-semi-pro baseball player and now wimp. I have trouble even putting my socks on now. When…
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•March 17, 2021
London Calling: Those Good Old Globetrotting Days
Like most people, during these unprecedented days of lockdowns and layoffs, compliments of COVID-19, I’ve had much time to reflect on many of life’s past experiences. One of them has been…
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•March 10, 2021
Love, Food and Holy Water: A Mother’s Legacy
My mother passed away on Jan. 23, 2020. She lived a full, beautiful life and left us peacefully just before the world as we know it began to spiral and change forever.
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•March 3, 2021
Wondrous Winter Walks in the Woods
I’m checking my gear before heading outdoors. Sorting essential items into different pockets that will allow easy access as needed. Car keys and ID, check. Cellphone and snack bar, check. Lip balm…
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•February 24, 2021
Fifty Years of Fun and Friendship With Margaret
Fifty years of anything is a long time. Fifty years with our friend Margaret was total joy.
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•February 17, 2021
From Manhattan Back to My Childhood Bedroom
When I graduated from college in 2016, I heard the same thing over and over: “The world is your oyster.” I had a shiny, new degree, limitless potential and the promise of exciting adventures ahead. I…
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•February 4, 2021
In Search of Unity, Complete This Questionnaire
Greetings from the dreary depths of winter, when the Island turns into a ghost town. Oh wait! That’s not happening this year, is it? You know what else isn’t happening this winter? A return to any…
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•January 30, 2021
Use It or Lose It: Please Shop Local on Changing LBI
As anyone who lives, works or visits Long Beach Island certainly knows, the Island is changing right in front of our eyes. It’s been said that change is inevitable – it’s just a part of life. And…
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•January 6, 2021
Patrick’s Legacy – No Strangers, Only Friends
We have long known that our community (Stafford and LBI) is one that pulls together to support each other. However, when our son Patrick was diagnosed with lymphoma in June 2019, we were reminded in…
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•December 16, 2020
‘Lampy’ Finds a Place in a Minimalist Christmas
Every year, I do battle with the cookie gun. Every year, I lose the battle. My cookies come out looking like objects flattened by Wile E. Coyote and a steamroller. They taste great, but I’ve never…
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•December 9, 2020
Get Outside and Embrace ‘Friluftsliv’ This Winter
Friluftsliv might be hard to pronounce, but it’s a concept to embrace this winter amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
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•December 5, 2020
Don’t Be Scared of Coyotes; Scare the Coyotes
I’m a member of the Little Egg Foundation and head of its local Project IMMA, the Island Mammal Monitoring Association. I have been actively monitoring, filming and collecting data on LBI’s wild…
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•November 25, 2020
How to Celebrate Thanksgiving in Hard Times
Many are struggling with how best to deal with this Thanksgiving. Should we get together with anyone outside our household? If so, who should it be and how many? There are no easy answers, and our…
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•November 25, 2020
It’s the Small Things – We Just Have to Look for Them
2020 has been a difficult year, to say the least. We all wake up to news that would make the hair stand up on the back of our necks, or at least give any one of us a headache: the pandemic, the…
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•November 18, 2020
Interacting With Alex Trebek – A Model of Kindness, Civility
It was just over a week ago when we found out the world lost Alex Trebek. For many, it was another kick in the gut in a year that has beaten us to a pulp. It still stung. Only moments after the news…
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•November 11, 2020
Who I Am and Am Not – and Why I Choose Hope
Before I launch my rocket of righteous vindication, before I plead my case, let me tell you who I am not, so you can decide whether to continue reading.
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•November 2, 2020
Barnegat Lighthouse: A Story of Loss and Reform
One of the year’s last special events took place last month – the Lighthouse Challenge of New Jersey. This event, during normal times, attracts thousands from all over the region to visit Barnegat…
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•October 21, 2020
Mum’s the Word: Lowdown on Unsolicited Calls
It was late afternoon when the telephone rang. At that time of the afternoon, there were several possibilities. It might be my son, needing a babysitter at the last minute. Although not likely, it…
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•October 14, 2020
A Milestone Birthday With Loving Memories of LBI
As the weeks pass, I am fast approaching a milestone birthday. I will be 80 years old on Oct. 22. I am not overly shocked by this, as I have been preparing myself for a long time to accept this new…
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•October 6, 2020
2020 LBI Vacation Is Most Meaningful Ever
The same sun since I was a baby sets once again on this Island I love so much.
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•September 22, 2020
Trekkers Get Some LBI Sand in Their Toes
Challenges are a way of life for this newly married couple, having trekked the Himalayas in Nepal for several years. Andy, who has worked many years overseas in international development, is a…
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•September 1, 2020
Vacation Pictures on LBI Span Photo History
Someday I hope to present to my handsome grandson, Stanley Joseph Wildman, not only a scrapbook of my many columns in The SandPaper, but also a collection of photo albums containing prints of photos…
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•August 24, 2020
‘The Old Surfer Girl’ Still Has Some Spunk
Can you imagine that some people never go to the beach? There are people who reject the sand, the sun, the lotion and the rolling surf! I’m not one of these people; I love the beach, the bay, the…
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•August 18, 2020
Longing for the Days of Hugs and Kisses
France is now in danger of losing its most cherished greeting, “la bise.” We saw it all the time. It’s that double cheek kiss that French people bestow on nearly everyone they meet. Sometimes it’s…
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•August 10, 2020
The Last Day I Surfed With My Father: A Tribute
I grew up in Westchester County in New York. In the early 1950s, my family started coming to Long Beach Island for summer vacations. Whenever I smell the sea, hear the waves, I think of my father, my…
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•July 29, 2020
Reflections on Months Without Botox and Lashes
If you’re anything like me, there was a point during the quarantine in which you became really unhappy with your appearance. For me, it came eight weeks in, when my Botox had worn off and the last of…
