Palisades Amusement Park

How can you reminisce about the 1960s and 1970s and omit Palisades Amusement Park? It swang all day and after dark, as the old theme sang went. 

From Wikipedia:

Palisades Amusement Park was a thirty-acre amusement park located in Bergen County, New Jersey, across the Hudson River from New York City. It was situated atop the New Jersey Palisades lying partly in Cliffside Park and partly in Fort Lee. The park operated from 1898 until 1971, remaining one of the most visited amusement parks in the country until the end of its existence. After the park closed in 1971, a high-rise luxury apartment complex was built on its site.

Site dedicated to preserving the memories of Palisades Amusement Park

I remember the park and the incredible hot ride home in the car before air-conditioning was ubiquitous and cooled your car instantly. If you were in the back seat like I was it would feel like an eternity before the cool would start to overcome our station wagon.

Our visits to Palisades Amusement Park were always fun times and even included a bit of freedom to roam around by ourselves. Though not too far from our parents and the cash they had for cotton candy, sodas, and tickets for rides.

These trips and those we made to State and local fairs were a close up look at a more desperate side of life. There were never too many smiles among the people working these events in the heat for long hours at a stretch. In retrospect you have to wonder if they chose this life consciously or had it thrust upon them. We never stopped to ask.

Laura Fleming

Courtesy of Tom Thurston who had a son graduate this past week from RHS. This is from the RHS Weekly View:

Laura Fleming has been teaching at Ridgewood High School for thirty years as a member of the History/Social Studies Department. She holds a Bachelor of the Arts in History, and a Master of the Arts in Social Studies Education. She is also currently continuing her education in the field of history.

One of Your Favorite Memories of Your Time at RHS:
One of my favorite memories was judging the pie-eating contest at a pep rally two years ago. I tried to give the seniors a chance to win, but the freshmen were too quick for them!

What Advice Would You Give Every Student:

My advice to students is to remember that nobody is perfect, but every one of us is perfect.

Something You Don’t Know About Me:

I was raised in Ridgewood, went through the entire school system, and was one of the first 1st grade students to attend Hawes School when it was built. I even had the chance to meet Henrietta B. Hawes.

Summer Days

If there was a summer time novel/movie for me it would be The Great Gatsby. It takes place during a lazy summer during the 1920s and is filled with observations about summer. A couple of examples:

And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.”
― Nick Carraway

“Do you ever wait for the longest day of the year and then miss it? I always wait for the longest day of the year and then miss it!” 
― Daisy Buchanan

The Daisy Buchanan quote always sticks with me because I usually miss acknowledging the longest day of the year and someone has to remind me or I think of it after the fact.

Though this year was different.

The summer of 2013 began for me returning from a short vacation at the Jersey Shore. Most times it would be the other way around and I would be planning a trip or wishing for a trip, once summer began.

This year we visited Atlantic City and I was able to feast my eyes on two of the remaining hotels from the Gatsby era: The Claridge and The Ritz.

Both of these gems have seen better days. The Claridge is part of Bally's and has a connection not depicted in this photo. The Ritz is now a condo. Neither of these facts takes anything away from my imagining them in their prime or wanting to stay at each for a night. This yearning would be for no other reason than to say I had stayed in a once magnificent hotel on what was once a premier vacation and honeymooning spot. I realize this makes me a throwback to another era but I don't mind that distinction, especially since we all know it's just in my mind and little else.

Yes, I have completed my summer sojourn to the Jersey Shore and feel the optimism of what the rest of the summer may bring. Hope you are able to do whatever it is that makes you feel like summer is here. Though don't wait for the longest day of the year as you have missed it!

What's Up With the July Jam?

After we captured lighting in a bottle at last year's reunion by forming a band of musical all-stars from the local area, we thought what a great idea it would be to do it again this summer. One super storm later and much contemplation of how much time, money, and energy this would require, the idea hasn't had much traction. That is until this week when it was brought up on FaceBook on our Class of 1977 page.

Now I realize not everyone uses FaceBook for social networking and I am fine with it. Though as a technologist and network engineer I find it curious that people would have such strong feeling about it and never participate. We have all seen in the news the wonders of "Big Data" and how governments use it to draw conclusions, whether it's the IRS or the NSA. FaceBook has been depicted as another organization which uses the information it collects, and no doubt it does. I simply accept this a fact and realize that both good and bad will result from the gathering of data of the findings which this sort of activity generates.

Anyhow, the July Jam is seeking volunteers to help organize and coordinate a smaller get together this summer. The band is raring to go according to JV and needs help with finding a location to play. If you are interested in helping contact JV by any means you feel comfortable: email, phone, or FaceBook. Hope to see you!

RHS Girls Volleyball Team 1976

RHS Volleyball Team Fall 1976.

Memorable Commencement Speaker

Borrowed these words from our classmate, Bob Rahm, who posted them on FaceBook:

Drew Houston, cofounder of Dropbox, MIT'06, was Phoebe's commencement speaker. He said his cheat sheet for life would have 3 things on it, a tennis ball, a circle, and the number 30,000.

The tennis ball reminds him that you have to find that idea that you will run through anything to capture, like a dog after a tennis ball. A problem that you will work on solving because you have to, not for money, not because someone tells you to, but because you have to for self satisfaction.

The circle is to remind himself that you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with. Choose people that inspire you to achieve.

And 30,000, the number of days, roughly, in a lifetime. Use your days like the limited consumable resource they are. All of them.

He went on to say that the goal should be to make life interesting.

I would agree, the only thing we have to spend, that we can't get back, is time. The only thing we can get for it is memories. Choose wisely.

Definition of Home

The place from which we originated and the place which we return, occasionally. Much like this blog and the nether reaches of my mind where memories of growing up are stored. I go there from time to time when something or nothing at all prompts a recollection of a simpler time long since past.

My ability to recall may fade but the number of events is a constant. Hopefully I can continue to do them justice. Thank you!

The Sting-Ray Bicycle Turns 50

Good article in today's Wall Street Journal about the trendsetting Sting-Ray bike which turns 50 this week.



As you may recall this bicycle had butterfly handlebars, a banana seat, and optional sissy bar. I rode Tyler McCray's a few times around the neighborhood and loved it. It could do wheelies, patch out, and come to a fish-tail stop.

As the article points out, it was designed for show-offs and kids who desired an outlaw image. Looking back on it, it's easy to connect the dots and see it as the predecessor to the next big thing--all-terrain biking.