SONGWRITERS BY THE SEA: A Back Stage View. The Strand Theater. Lakewood, NJ.  By Calvin Schwartz

Author’s Note:  I was so overwhelmed by the electricity and intimacy of this special musical event, that the following words/descriptions you are about to read are designed to make you feel what I felt being there. Of course the words should also move you to find the next ‘Songwriters by the Sea’ yourselves.

I was picturing something new, filling with anticipation and even uncertainty and whispering words of a long forgotten gut wrenching song, “What’s it all About, Alfie?” Why am I whispering words and not singing? Because I can’t sing and I wish I could since the time my Newark elementary school put on a musical play in the auditorium. A picture of then President Eisenhower hung just to the right of the flag. Kids who could sing got special attention and privileges. I wish I could sing.

This night was special. I was driving down foggy misty Route Nine from Springsteen’s Freehold, New Jersey, toward Lakewood’s Strand Theatre for my first indoctrination into a wondrous backstage event. Alas, I can’t sing but I can write visually and sail through streams of consciousness and imagination. I was picturing things as my right hand negotiated a steering wheel. It was ‘conjure-up things’ city on a strangely empty highway.  Suddenly I was at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands (I still call it that). Seventy thousand fans were yelling “Bruce.”  My seats were humble and I was without binoculars. Just to see his face up close would’ve been everything. All of a sudden, as I passed a diner and barren parking lot, I was in a small Vermont town where a veterinarian’s assistant was the mayor.  A group of 44 people were gathered on her green lawn in front of a porch that circumnavigated the house built by relatives of Ben Franklin. A musical porchfest was going on. I parked my car, walked over; everybody greeted me and I saw the lips of the singers moving and felt the exhaled breath of each word.  And I heard every word. They were singing just to me.  Relevance was my new favorite buzz word. The fog was thick; I couldn’t see the porch anymore.

A sign on the roadside welcomed me to Lakewood. Now back in Jersey and about to enter the world of a porchfest on a backstage of an historic theatre. Slip me into the world of art deco and put me next to a radio to hear President Roosevelt or Mayor LaGuardia.  My anticipation was as thick as ketchup; the French banned this red food stuff in their schools; I remembered and smiled about the quirky randomness of my thinking. I was cylinder firing away because of my extreme excitement to be at a backstage event.  I was following maze like theater corridors and magic marker signs leading to back stage at the Strand Theatre. I was really there.

I’m a native Jersey guy who likes history. The Strand opened in 1922 when Lakewood was actually popular with the rich and famous of the day like Rockefeller. The theater was built with a sense of acoustics as many performances of the day were solo acts. And here I was, about to walk onto the stage of the Strand for a magical acoustics evening. The Strand was signed into the National Register of Historical Places in 1982. My tripod, mono-pod and TV camera were gently deposited on the floor as ‘Songwriters by the Sea’ co-founder Joe Rapolla greeted me within my first few steps on stage. In 2008, Joe Rapolla and Joe D’Urso created the concept of ‘Songwriters’ who performed then in Asbury Park at America’s Cup Coffee on Cookman Avenue.  After a year in Asbury Park, the concept grew in popularity with audiences and they expanded to Backstage at the Strand in March, 2009.

I need to qualify my writing style; strictly from the gut and reflective how songwriter performers emote while the surroundings add ambience to my writing soul. Joe Rapolla’s poignant life and musical journey has already hyper sensitized my words and observations. Therefore, this is not a review.

For the first half, I decided to plant my TV camera in the back of the stage which was several rows away from the songwriters. I wanted to feel songwriter intimacy and connections being part of the real audience.  I flicked the camera on auto and spiritually drifted. The old renovated theater was dark and empty; light from the stage managed to illuminate the first few rows of seats.  Dimly lit chandeliers added to surrealism; for me a silence you could see. Silence was part of the history in the walls; Burns and Allen once performed here; so did the Scarecrow, Ray Bolger. I heard Gracie’s shrill voice.

D’Urso (remember we’re dealing with two Joe’s) introduced the first group of songwriters.  Cat Cosentino (from Oceanport and proud of it) and Bobby Mahoney (only 17 and therefore couldn’t avail himself of a real drinking bar in the rear) were the youngest rising stars. Tom Breiding lives in West Virginia while Bill Toms is near Pittsburgh. Bill talked to us like we’re in his living room back home. “The hardest person to get to know is yourself.”  Then the song words , “I’ve made peace now with a stranger in me.” Backstage means stark silence except for voice echoes. He sang to me. Three rows in front, a man on the aisle rubbed his cuticles. Why write about that; because of the intimacy of backstage; sensitivity and in tune with the immediate world. I pinched myself; purist joy what I was part of; affluent, audible, flowing, meaningful words. I was back in the Meadowlands briefly, starved for wordy echoes.

Cat’s first song was dedicated to her parents; her voice melodiously electric. Bobby sang “A Delicate Fall from Grace;” which reminded of a whip ride back in Newark; that sudden acceleration.   Tom Brieding sang about finding one another as we drift between stars. What meant everything to me being backstage is I heard every resonating word. The singers told stories. “You talking to me,” then I told the taxi driver to let me be. I love backstage.  A man on the left, two rows down took a swig of beer; the bottle level was half-way.  Then I saw a leg wearing cargo shorts stretch out in the aisle, moving to the beat of the music; the calf muscle flexed visibly. Gosh, I was in an electronic hyper state. The Strand environment worked magic.  Then I whispered to myself (I do that in states of elation), “Thank you Rapolla and D’Urso.”

Intermission and time to position the camera on the side of the stage; different absorption I imagined. Both Joe’s would sing. And Garland Jeffreys, a living legend; I was a few feet away. Guy Davis; unbridled energy and blues.  Jerzy Jung;( her real name) with keyboard inches away from me. Joe D’Urso, a Bronx native, sang, “I’ll prove it won’t be dark, all the stars will be out tonight.”  While singing ‘Chocolate Man,’ Davis touched the audience.(proximity and sensation). And to hear every breath Garland Jeffreys took while singing ‘Coney Island Winter,’ was nirvana. “Hey Mah,” I was in that place of magic. I don’t know where James Cagney came from. Maybe I do know. I’m backstage clicking my heels.

Then Do-Wop from D’Urso and the gang. He really corralled me all the way back to Newark, New Jersey, with the words, “Why must I be a teenager in love.” The power of backstage music, I thought. The Good-Humor man was selling this new ‘Toasted Almond’ bar.  Jerzy spoke about any woman or girl who ever felt unsure of herself. Soon, I was sitting around a fire place with a few fraternity brothers; Harvey had a guitar and was singing a folk song; ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.’  I tried to sing along. They told me to stop.  I heard Rapolla’s wooden stool scrape along the stage. I was back on stage in awe, amazed at the clarity of the stool scraping noise.

Every word from Garland Jeffreys was heard while he was way down in Spanish town.  And when he wasn’t singing, I watched him tap his feet to the beat. How many singers have I seen do that; certainly not from the running track in Madison Square Garden or standing chest to shoulder in a bar or in a park with a makeshift bandstand and hundreds of beach chairs as forward motion impediments.

Joe Rapolla talked about giving kids advice on love. “Don’t be afraid to throw your heart on the wind.” You’ll never know feelings of songwriters unless you are backstage.  All of a sudden Bill Murray pounded a clock radio alarm at 6:00 AM.  ‘Groundhog Day’ flashed. I didn’t want this night to end. Later Jerzy said that uncertainty wasn’t a bad thing. And the harmonica playing by Davis was riveting.  Jeffreys walked into the audience while singing ‘New York skyline.’ Everybody was singing now. Disbelief; I noticed the shadow that the microphone wire cast on the stage floor. It was a giant shadow.  Jeffreys’ voice was a giant voice.  ‘Wild in the Streets’ with all the cast closed this backstage event. When the show was over, I mingled with the singers. Accessibility was in the theater air ducts.  I thanked both Joe’s for their remarkable vision. And I marveled again about noticing the shadow of Jeffrey’s microphone wire. But that’s this incredible backstage world; heightened awareness and sensitivity beyond imagination.

‘Songwriters by the Sea’ series is a musical atom; protons, electrons, neutrons firing away. My mind fired away and still does. It moves me to write impassioned commentary for people to escape from sedentary sofas. But what would happen to intimacy and interaction?  I thought of the word ‘secret.’ I also knew I was in a special place with special people for several hours and my atoms were musically innervated like never before.  Then I thought about my not ever being able to sing but it didn’t make a difference anymore. I was part of singing for every millisecond I was backstage.

Here is an old fashioned PS to this article. I went home and found Joe Rapolla’s cover of Elton John’s ‘Daniel.’ I listened several times in a row because I read his bio and I was still in that heightened electronic sensitized state from being backstage all night. So here’s a link:  Joe Rapolla ‘Daniel’

And I’m still listening.

Calvin Schwartz  6-1-2012

SHADOWBROOK HAS A RICH HISTORY AS A NEW JERSEY LANDMARK, DATING BACK TO ITS COMPLETION IN 1907. ORIGINALLY A PRIVATE RESIDENCE, SHADOWBROOK HOSTED ITS FIRST SOCIAL FUNCTION IN 1941. IN 1971 SHADOWBROOK WAS ACQUIRED BY ITS PRESENT OWNERS, THE ZWEBEN FAMILY, WHO BROUGHT TO SHADOWBROOK OVER A CENTURY OF COMBINED HOSPITALITY EXPERIENCE.

Robert and Ronnie both grew up in Lakewood, NJ, where they went through the Lakewood school system. Robert attended the renowned Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, graduating with honors and being a member of Ye Hosts Honorary Society. Ronnie spent her college years on the East Hill of Ithaca at Ithaca College. Robert began working at an early age in his parents hotels in both Lakewood and Bradley Beach, while playing on Lakewood State Championship Basketball Teams. Robert worked at every position both front and back of the house.

Robert and Ronnie started working together managing a famous seashore restaurant and club during their summer breaks from college. Robert and Ronnie married in 1971 and later that year purchased Shadowbrook with Robert’s dad and brother. They have developed Shadowbrook into the landmark that it is today, acquiring sole possession in 1985. Robert and Ronnie support and contribute their time and resources to many local, state and national charities and organizations. They are willing to help anyone in need and through Shadowbrook, assist scores of charities each year. They have been honored by many organizations for their community work. Each year they donate meals to over 1,000 children with cancer for the Francis Foundation.

Robert and Ronnie would like to thank their dedicated family of employees at Shadowbrook for their support. They have employees that have been with them since 1971. There are over a dozen employees with over 20 years of service and over a dozen with over 10 years of service. Because of their employees, they have been able to obtain the time and resources to help others!

Robert and Ronnie live in Holmdel, NJ and have two daughters, Ali and Daryl, both Cornell University Hotel School graduates. The family shares interests in sports and vintage sports and racing cars. The Zweben’s travel extensively and attend food events all over the world. They incorporate new ideas in décor, cuisine and service that are culled from their experiences. The Zweben Family’s goal is to provide a menu, a service and an ambiance that are unsurpassed for you special occasions. Their dedication to excellence is evident in every aspect of Shadowbrook.

Frank Holmgren will never forget the roar of the water when his Navy ship sank beneath him in the early days of World War II. He won’t forget the sharks circling around his raft as he waited nearly seven days for rescue either.

Holmgren, 79, was just a 19-year-old captain’s orderly, not quite eight months into active duty on the USS Juneau, when it was hit and sunk by a torpedo from a Japanese submarine in the Pacific Ocean 59 years ago this week.

He said the torpedo was fired at another ship in their group, the San Francisco, but slipped passed its bow. The San Francisco had all its communications knocked out in a battle both ships had been in with the Japanese earlier that morning, and could not message the Juneau that a torpedo was on a trajectory toward it. Holmgren was on deck on the fantail when the torpedo hit.

“We went down in a minute,” the resident of Byrnes Lane said.

“I went up in the air, and when I came down my hand hit a life jacket,” he said. He quickly put it on, he recalled. “I heard the roar of the water and I thought I was going to die. I did go down with the ship — I don’t know how far — but the next thing I knew, I came back up. That life jacket saved my life.”

Holmgren also kept his mouth closed when he went under and didn’t swallow much salt water, which he feels helped him survive. He also did not drink any salt water while drifting in his raft, relying instead on rain for sustenance.

“Once you drink that salt water, you are finished,” he said.

Holmgren is the last remaining survivor from the sinking of the Juneau, which is best known for having been the graveyard of the five Sullivan brothers of Iowa. He said there were 10 survivors from the crew of approximately 725, five of whom were from the life raft he called home for a week.

With the exception of his military service, Holmgren has lived his entire life in Eatontown, beginning on what is now Throckmorton Avenue, formerly Railroad Avenue. He went into the Navy in March 1942, after graduation from Long Branch High School.

Holmgren went through boot camp at Newport, R.I., and was assigned with his buddy from Eatontown, Charlie Hayes, to the Juneau, a fairly new ship.

Hayes survived the sinking of the Juneau but was not among those finally rescued, he said.

Holmgren said he and Hayes boarded the Juneau together in New York City after completing basic training, and initially worked the Atlantic Ocean side of the war, escorting ships to Africa.

Eventually, he said, they were called to the Pacific Theater of the war and went to Guadalcanal to supply the Marines there. While in the area, he saw the Wasp, an aircraft carrier, get hit by torpedoes and sink, and he became engaged in the battle of Santa Cruz, in which the Hornet, another aircraft carrier was hit.

His ship returned to Guadalcanal to take troops to land

SURVIVOR OF THE U.S.S. JUNEAU

Flash Mob Belmar N.J. 2012

A great way to kick off the Memorial Day Weekend! The Jersey Shore Convention and Visitors Bureau planned a flash mob to kick off the season on the Belmar Boardwalk on Ocean Avenue. Attending the exciting event was Mayor Doherty, local shop owners and many energetic Jerseyites! With the music pumping the crowd danced to a choreographed “Flash Mob” performance!  Check out the Video!!

Tara-Jean Vitale Reporting

When I received an email about the Salt Creek Grille‘s new menu that emphasized locally sourced produce, bread, pasta and more, I decided to pay a visit to their Princeton location. What I found, was not only an exciting new and healthy menu, but some really great people who are all part of the Salt Creek family.

When Curt Ciumei (Producer NJDiscover.com) and I first arrived early Saturday morning, we were greeted by a smiling Robert Strasser, the Assistant General Manager. Being my nosy self, I immediately started asking questions. How long has the Chef been with Salt Creek? Where is he from? (with a name like Fabian Quiros, I had to know.) How long have you, Robert, been with Salt Creek? etc, etc. To me, the food is just one part of the story of a restaurant. I also want to know about the people who help pull it all together.
What I discovered, was a really great story about a company who believes in its employees and in nuturing and empowering them to grow. Fabian came to America in 2000. He didn’t speak any English, but he did know how to speak “food.” His Mother owned a bakery in Costa Rica where he helped out and his Grandfather had been in the food business as well. His first job in the U.S. was as a dish washer at the Salt Creek Grille in Rumson. Fabian learned to not only speak English there, but to also cook exceptionally well. He met his wife along the way who was working her way through Physical Therapy school as a waitress. They recently (last month) welcomed to the world little Lucia Quiros.

The hiring from within story is a common one at the Salt Creek. The oh-so-capable-and-professional Assistant General Manager, Robert, started as a server at the Rumson location eight years ago. As he balanced his time cheerfully between babysitting us and making sure his crew was putting the pieces together for the lunch time crowd and a private party, it was very obvious that he loves his job and the company he works for.

Our visit culminated with a tasting of some of the new menu items like the Spaghetti Squash Ravioli locally sourced from Lucy’s Ravioli in Princeton with slivered almonds, snow peas, cherry tomatoes, capers, kale and tomato marmalade and the Chicken Suckatash which Quiros prepares in the video below. Above you see the Ahi Tuna Stack and the Smoked Ahi Salad. All were delicious, fresh, and packed with a wide variety of tastes and textures. To check out the complete dinner menu, follow this link SCG – Fresh Reinvented Dinner. At the end when I asked Chef Quiros my final question, “Why did you come to America?” he said with a big smile, “For the American dream.” I can say that I for one am sure happy he made the journey and heartened to see him fulfilling his mission.
Princeton Forrestal Village, One Rockingham Row
(along U.S. Route 1 next to the Westin Princeton)
Princeton, NJ 08540
Phone: (609) 419-4200 Fax: (609) 419-4280

Deborah Smith , Founder and Executive Editor of JerseyBites.com. Launched in 2007 as a home for her growing collection of recipes, Jersey Bites soon grew into a hub for all things edible in the Garden State. Deborah is also the owner of 3SquareDeals.com a Deals program that benefits Hunger Relief organizations in New Jersey. In her spare time, (Ha) she works as a Social Media consultant and speaker. You can learn more about her services and marketing through social media on her blog www.DeborahLSmith.com

NJ Discover is thrilled to announce the launch of the Jersey Fit show that will launch on cable TV this summer, 2012. In addition to being exciting and refreshing  – Jersey Fit is also educational. The show is geared toward an audience whom is interested in being healthy.

Our talented and fit host, Eraldo Maglara, is a certified trainer with high energy and charisma. He earned a degree from the National Personal Training Institute and obtained an additional certification from the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Eraldo has appeared on Jersey Couture and is presently publishing his first book.

All of the Jersey Fit segments will be filmed in local country clubs, sports clubs, stores and outdoor venues throughout the New Jersey Monmouth and Ocean County area. These local “hot spots” will also be highlighted and will draw an additional audience that is interested in seeing beautiful New Jersey locations, relevant stores and sports club scenes.

This program will run each month twice a week; a total of 8 times per month. This reaches an audience of up to 400,000 subscribers in NJ(areas include Monmouth, Middlesex & Ocean). In addition, Jersey Fit will be accessible on our website and promoted on Facebook and the NJ Discover Youtube channel. Our fan page and website increase the viewing audience to an additional 15,000 viewers per month. Bringing the total audience reach of 415,000 viewers per month!

At this time we are producing :30 second commercials which we will air during the Jersey Fit show. This program offers an incredible opportunity for local businesses to promote, inform and advertise for an initial low cost.  Each commercial will have a total air time of 8 times per month. In addition, businesses can use their commercial on their website page. Each commercial will be shot on sight at their respective locations/businesses.

We are also offering sponsorships for the program as well. These sponsors will be recognized as the Sponsors of the TV segment and will have the opportunity to promote their business during the Jersey Fit show with Eraldo.

In addition, sponsors will be recognized again in the closing credits. Sponsorships call to get on the hottest new local workout show.

Best regards,

Tara-Jean Vitale
TV Host & Producer
NJ Discover TV Show

Sickles Market 1 Harrison Ave Little Silver, NJ 07739 Phone: (732) 741-9563

This 30sec. spot will air on Fios of NJ and Comcast of Monmouth County.

NJ Discover at Prom for ROBIN (Recreation Old Bridge In Need). American Hotel, Freehold. May 18, 2012

NJ Discover at Prom for ROBIN (Recreation Old Bridge In Need). American Hotel, Freehold. May 18, 2012By

Calvin Schwartz

A few weeks ago Barbara Anderson contacted me and asked about the feasibility of NJ Discover TV covering a very special event; a Prom for special needs young adults;  part of Old Bridge Township’s amazing program, ROBIN. Barbara has been involved in the program since 1986 which shares and provides much joy, care and love. The prom, greatly anticipated, has been going on for eight years; this was the first time in Freehold. A few seconds elapsed before I knew NJ Discover would be there.

The ROBIN program has grown into a comprehensive system, offering both therapeutic and diverse recreational activities. The goal of year round programming is to provide a basic introduction to recreation opportunities and lifetime skill development. The adult program has been expanded to provide opportunities to participate in some of the township’s most popular recreation programs such as fitness and yoga, cooking, crafts, computer classes, and the ever popular Friday Night Fun Program.

We watched exuberant prom attendees alight the bus and head into the hotel. Old Bridge Mayor Owen Henry personally greeted everyone with a prom favor. The mayor was thrilled and emotional; occasionally speechless over the great success of the program; the support and love the township residents provide.  Dr. James Anderson, township council and Barbara Anderson, who runs the non-profit ‘Special Projects for Special Children,’ welcomed us.  When the DJ started playing music, “Rockin Robin,” for a first dance, the dance floor filled with pure joy as did we at NJ Discover.

Contact Information:

Pete Pero, Camp ROBIN Coordinator

732-765-0968

http://www.oldbridge.com/content/137/187/2905.aspx

N.J. Environmental Federation Annual Conference. Rutgers Law School. Newark.  By Calvin Schwartz. (“I’m Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired”)

I wonder why more citizens here in New Jersey don’t make the time to attend the New Jersey Environmental Federation Conference; an annual event held at Rutgers Law School in Newark. At very least, it’s an exercise in expanding the mind, by learning, listening, growing; it’s just a better thing to do than sleeping to 10 AM on a Saturday, watching television for an hour and making two passes around Costco’s bakery department. One summer back in 1967, I worked in an industrial bakery in Newark and I fell in love with the bakery smell; so that’s why occasionally I make two passes through Costco’s; it’s a close enough smell and it takes me back to the days of the  ‘Lone Ranger.’

So where does this expression come from? “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired” One of my heroes, Fannie Lou Hamer said this. She was instrumental in organizing Mississippi Freedom Summer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and later became the Vice-Chair of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, attending the 1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey.  She believed fervently in the righteousness of the cause of civil rights. This past Saturday, I attended the New Jersey Environmental Federation Conference in Newark at Rutgers Law School. I’ve been going for years, especially looking forward to Dr. Nicky Sheats talk about environmental justice; one of the causes that mean so much. For me, being in college during the decade of civil rights in the 1960’s and then attending the very first Earth Day on April 22nd 1970 and now seeing civil rights and environment become concentric circles of commonality is painfully relevant in 2012.

After breakfast and introductory speeches, the conference separated into workshops. I circled the ‘Enough is Enough’ workshop;  needed to learn how the cumulative effect of pollution in water, air and food is making people sick and what we can do about it. The speakers were amazingly credentialed; Dr. Nicky Sheats, Phd, Center of Urban Development, Steve Anderson, Research Scientist, Peter Montague, PhD, Environmental Research Foundation(I love listening to his rational dire global warming warning words) and Henry Rose, State Coordinator, NJ Environmental Justice Alliance. Henry was passionate and right on when he uttered “environmental apartheid.”   I learned that Hess (Oil) Corporation plans to build a 655-megawatt natural gas power plant in the East Ward (Ironbound) section of Newark, a city and a section dangerously overburdened by an onslaught of environmental affronts, degradation and pollutants.  By a 7-1 vote, the Newark board approved a measure last Thursday night and despite grass roots opposition, the board gave the project the go-ahead in a 15-minute meeting. When I heard this, I raised my hand and suggested that the title of this workshop should be changed to “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.”

My using Fannie Lou Hamer’s words simply mean I’m sick and tired of hearing year after year about blatant examples of environmental injustice. There are enough graphs and statistics which clearly show the amount of pollution is related to the color of skin and how much money someone has in their pocket.  People’s health around this new Hess energy center is going to be impacted again. Since the 19th century, Newark Ironbound has been a manufacturing hub, producing everything from iron to beer to paint. In the 1950s and 1960s, Ironbound’s Diamond Alkali/Diamond Shamrock Chemicals Corp. produced Agent Orange, a carcinogenic chemical weapon used extensively in the Vietnam War.

Last year at the Conference, I was outraged when PurGen wanted to build a coal firing plant in Linden and the reason officials gave me was that Linden(already off the charts in asthmatic rates) had the infra-structure in place to support a plant which needed an ocean to dump waste into and railroad tracks to move coal. I raised my hand and pointed out that exactly the same railroad tracks and ocean run up and down the rest of the east coast. There was silence; always silence

Environmentally our time is running out. I voiced this to one of my favorite PhD speakers after his talk.  Global warming and climate change is so here. The Pentagon even knows this and is beginning to project huge population shifts from coastlines and how it impacts our future security. I’ve been observing attitudes that if we put a man on the moon so fast, we can do anything but maybe once we can’t.  Then I got cute. I told the PhD scientist about the movie ‘The Graduate’ when Dustin Hoffman’s character, Benjamin Braddock hears the word “plastics” at his graduation party.  I’ve done the same thing to a myriad of graduates over the years. Most graduates never know what I’m talking about when I whisper, “plastics.” I recently whispered, “water” to my son instead.  “America will get out of debt with China one day when we start shipping them water,” I said semi-seriously. But then the PhD smiled at me.

I was pleased later in the day at the second workshop when I heard NJ State Senator Jennifer Beck mention how she voted against her Republican Party and Governor on certain environmental issues. We need more courage and commitment like that. I keep looking at big picture of things; the planet and how we keep ignoring, violating and nothing changes.

Amy Goldsmith, State Director, was honored for her amazing dedicated years of service and unlimited energy. Lisa Plevin, Chief of Staff USEPA, Gray Russell (a former rocker too) Environmental Coordinator, Montclair, John Weber, Northeast Regional Manager, Surfrider Foundation and Robert Westreich, Esq. (he never lost a case with First Amendment right to canvass neighborhoods throughout the state for over 20 years) all received Conference Awards. By the way, the luncheons are worth the price of admission alone.

In the keynote address, Retired Brigadier General Steve Anderson electrified with his candor and passion for environmental change. Here’s a few of his quotes rapid fire. “We’ve got to get off oil. We won’t exist.”  “The increased competition for oil is a threat to our security.”  “Green economy is where the money is.” “President Obama was absolutely right when he stopped the Keystone pipeline.”  General Anderson made a point as soon as he started to speak, saying he was a Republican.  Sometimes he fooled me and other audience members.  He just cares.  “It’s a 20 year process to get off oil. We need to do it under our terms.”  “1000 Americans died moving oil around over there. We spend $20 billion a year on oil. The Pentagon is the world’s largest consumer of energy.”  “We are funding both sides of war. We buy oil and the money ends up in Iran.”  “What troops need is renewable energy.  Afghanistan has 340 days of sun; so harness solar. And wind, geothermal and waste to energy systems.” “How do we help?  Pressure the Department of Defense (DOD).”

At the birthday party after the conference for the 40th year of ‘Clean Water Action,’ General Anderson was quite accessible. I managed to pay him my highest compliment, when I said, “Listening to you, I don’t think anyone could tell what political party you’re in which means you care about doing the right things for people.” He smiled and we took a picture together.  Finally my exhortation to all those within earshot of me; “Get thee to the NJ Environmental Federation conference next year. And join the organization in the meantime.” I’ve heard it through the grapevine that both actions increases cerebral vascular circulation which makes you smarter.

Calvin Schwartz

The morning of the festival, cold rain fell and dispelled notions of heading to Red Bank for Sunday fun. Then the magic weather wand whisked and by 2 PM, sunny blue skies and warm breezes arrived as did thousands of festival fans.  The festival, sponsored by Asbury Park Press and Heineken had help from Red Bank River Center, Red Bank Visitors Center and the Borough of Red Bank.

No matter how many times I go to Red Bank, each opportunity to stroll down Broad Street, with abundant old architecture from the turn of the next to last century, I feel as if I just got off a Rod Serling train into a slice of American history, and its springtime, early 1940’s. I loved being downtown in another century before I hit White Street parking lot for the food, drink and music.

The aromas and sounds of the festival filled the air. Two soundstages on the western and eastern sides of the parking lot provided first rate entertainment  to huge crowds. On the All American Stage ‘King Casino Band, Brian Kirk and the Jirks, Runaway (Bon Jovi Tribute band) and Quincy Mumford and the Reason Why rocked the packed house. What could be bad? Rock music. Food 360 degrees. Beer (A plastic bottle of Amstel Light approached 30 feet in height).  A booth that rolled cigars. And a Bagpipe marching band.

The International stage featured performances by Kathryn Barnett School of Dance, Random Test Reggae, Steve Reilly Band (Irish sounds) and The Funktion (Latin and Salsa). More eye catching attractions: booths for; cheese, chocolate, hand-made sea glass jewelry, a camp for dogs, rock music school and almost every kind of gourmet food. Near the exit and my 94 minutes of absorbing the festival, I found a booth for fresh shrimp cocktail. It put me in the mood. We had dinner in Red Bank on Broad Street sitting outside. The sky was still blue.

by Calvin Schwartz