Meadowlark Lemon RIP

Before the National Basketball Association was on TV 24 hours a day, there were the Harlem Globetrotters television specials and even a Saturday morning cartoon which featured their voices. The Globetrotters were funny and very athletic. They inspired us to go outside and try to do the moves they did. Though it only took a minute of trying to realize these guys were athletes and had practice long and hard to master the techniques they performed on TV and in person around the world.

Meadowlark Lemon was their leader in those days. He was famous for half court hook shoots and for making the lives of his opponents miserable, with his large hands, hugely long arms, and comic persona which everyone had to at least smile at. His opponents really had no chance and nobody cared it was scripted like Professional Wrestling.

According to the Internet:

"Lemon played 24 seasons and by his own estimate more than 16,000 games with the Globetrotters, the touring exhibition basketball team known for its slick ball-handling, practical jokes, red-white-and-blue uniforms and multiyear winning streaks against overmatched opponents."

As a viewer and fan of the Globetrotter art form, it has taken the passing of one of their leaders to cause me to reflect upon the tremendous service they did for society. Do youngsters today even know how he is and how much we looked forward to seeing him on our small TV screens? In an age when we were still coming to grips with segregation of blacks and whites, Meadowlark Lemon broke down barriers and made it okay to laugh at a team of hapless white guys being outplayed by all sorts of means in basketball by a talented group of Ambassadors of Good Will. That was the message and the moral of their story, repeated thousands upon thousands of times. It's as important today and in the future as it ever was when Meadowlark was preaching its gospel.

Beatles Are Streaming!

Whatever you believe, the fact that the Beatles are now streaming on Spotify is a good thing.

Apologies to Taylor Swift, but she is 100% wrong about withholding her so-called music from Spotify. It was all a public relations stunt and the last gasp of the 20th Century music moguls to keep their customers buying overpriced CDs. I much prefer to rent all the music in the world for $9.99 a month to paying $15.95 of a CD of a single artist.

Hello, this is basic math.

Books Read in our Youth

 The books we read in our youth contain the fables, metaphors, and lessons we carry with us the rest of our lives. At this point in my life to go back and investigate the likes of Mark Twain, John Steinbeck, F. Scott Fitzgerald gives me great satisfaction, as it does for many I presume.

The same cannot be said of newspapers. I don't know when they became a seemingly guilty pleasure, but they are now. Maybe when they became $3.00 on the newsstand and the old newspaper boxes were sent to warehouses and converted to other uses. I still read the NY Times and the Wall Street Journal and even have them delivered to my apartment building. The Times, "The Gray Lady", remains a link to my youth and a source of opinions and news from around the world for me.

Here's the opening paragraph of a 1951 Life article entitled "The Gray Lady Reaches 100":

The Old Gray Lady will celebrate her 100th birthday this Sept. 18. The "lady" is a newspaper -- the New York Times -- regarded by many in the world at large (and all within its own world) as the world's greatest. And newsmen generally hail it as "old" and "gray" by way of acknowledging its traditional special marks: starch conservatism and circumspection.

I support the term circumspect but not starch conservatism. I am wary of the risks that some politicians would like to take with our society's safety net and I am firmly in support of government being the mechanism to regulate the greedy, educate our children, build our roads, and provide for the common defense. These ideas cannot be produced and maintained by any private entity. The more people sit back and rail against the poor, malnourished, and ill-educated who are rapidly becoming a majority, the more I find solace in firebrands like John Steinbeck.

 I can also take comfort from reading Fitzgerald who is mostly remembered for the elegance of Gatsby but who was really critiquing a time similar to our own today. The huge parties and the vast income disparity can be seen on today's Long Island just as clearly as Fitzgerald described it so eloquently. He may have been an actor taking part in these outrageous events, especially when he came into money for The Great Gatsby. Though this takes nothing away from what he was writing about and the heartfelt reflection it contains.

July Weather on Christmas Day

Today is Christmas. I can never recall a temperature prediction quite like the one we are receiving: highs in the 70s. Today I will be in Ridgewood to visit relatives and I will be wearing shorts. In honor of the weather here is a Vintage Bergen County photo of Graydon Pool taken in the early 1960s. It is Graydon the way I remember it: filled with people, and much less manicured than today's pool. Graydon was a place to go for hours at a time, in an age when mothers stayed at home, and there wasn't air conditioning in every house and a pool on every block in town. We went to Graydon to escape the heat and see how other people had fun in the water.

Ridgewood (NJ) High School Alumni Association

James Stroker Retirement After 35 Years in Ridgewood Public Schools

It nice to remember that I was in Ridgewood Public Schools and James Stroker was around. Forty years have gone by and while I was away Jimmy Stroker was doing what he had always done: teach life lessons through sports.

I remember him well as an athlete and as an umpire doing the Summer Recreation Softball season. He called a good game, usually alone, but always in command of the diamond, never out of position, or made an errant call. I would have known if he had missed one as I stood in front him pitching, while he called balls and strikes and made the final decisions on all the bases. He was completely impartial and at the same time had a nice smile and demeanor. It was a job for the summer and one he executed with the utmost professionalism.

Yes, life was simpler in those days on the baseball diamonds that are no longer in town. The old dusty ball fields with patches of grass and swamps of mud in the outfield after a good rain have long ago been supplanted by well-cared for fields. In some cases, artificial turf has been installed and no rock strewn infields remain. All we have, as usual, are the memories, and as we grow older a reasonable certainty that our past ways of playing were just as good as that which passes on these new fields. The difference now being we won't have James Stroker on the field as much, and we might not have the opportunity to learn something about life by just watching him doing his job.

RHS Distinguished Alumni Award 2016

The Ridgewood High School Alumni Association is currently accepting nominations for this year's Distinguished Alumni event. The event will take place on Thursday, March 10th, 2016. The deadline for nominations is January 23rd, 2016.

Please submit all nominations via the website (RHSalumniassociation.org) under the Contact Us section. Please make sure to include the full name of the graduate, year of graduation and a brief write up detailing the person's distinguished achievements. Any questions or inquiries can be sent directly to info@rhsalumniassociation.org.

Claire Eddins, Author

Coming soon to a bookstore near you and of course to Amazon. Don't let the pen name fool you. This is Claire Talbot of the class of 1977.

From the book jacket:

"First in a delicious new mystery series about Eva Knox and her family’s Georgia olive plantation.

In the sweet Southern town of Abundance, Georgia, home of the Knox family’s olive farm, gossip isn’t the only thing that can kill you...

After leaving a man at the altar for the second time in her life, Eva Knox decides to head home to her family’s plantation to regroup and soak in some Southern charm. But hiding from her woes is a slipperier proposition than Eva imagined. For one thing, most people in town still haven’t forgiven her for leaving local boy Buck Tanner at the altar and hightailing it up north eighteen years ago. For another, a death on her family’s farm soon makes her the lead suspect in a murder case—and the sheriff investigating is none other than Eva’s old flame Buck.

With the police putting the squeeze on her, it’s up to Eva and her sisters, Pep and Daphne, to figure out who could have possibly left a dead body in their olive grove. And they’ll have to catch the greasy killer quickly—because it looks like Eva has been picked as the murderer’s next victim..."

RHS Class of 2016

At a recent lunch welcoming back the class of 2016, the RHSAA registered the class on our new website: http://RHSAlumniAssociation.org

Turkey Bowl 2015

These old pals of mine have been playing this game at or near Glen School for over 50 years, since they were kids. The players have mostly changed but the non-contact, comradery remains intact. In an age where day by day we learn the truth of what the contact version of football is doing to people's brains long after they have taken off their football pads for good, it's quaint to say that these guys probably are not risking too much other than some sore muscles.

11th Annual Ridgewood (NJ) High School Alumni Art Show

From the Ridgewood Blog:

11TH Annual Ridgewood High School Alumni ART SHOW!

Call for Entries: 11TH ANNUAL RHS ALUMNI ART SHOW
The RHS Department of Fine & Applied Arts will host the eleventh annual Alumni Art Show. The works being shown will be of those created by artists after graduating from RHS.

Entries are due in the RHS Arts office by Wednesday, December 9.
Questions may be directed to the Department of Fine & Applied Arts at 201-670-2800, ext. 20542, or by email to Arts Supervisor Chris McCullough (cmccullough@ridgewood.k12.nj.us).

The show will be mounted in the Carroll Art Gallery, Room 137.  An artists’ reception will be held on Thursday, January 7 at 7 p.m.

All students, alumni, friends, family and staff are invited to the reception as well as to view the exhibition during school hours.
Event information and other news is continually updated on the Arts at Ridgewood Public Schools Facebook page,  www.facebook.com/TheArtsatRPS

Class of 1970 Announces Plans for a 50th Reunion in 2020

News from my old neighbor in Ridgewood, Judy Schoneman Beirne:

RHS Class of 1970, 45th Class Reunion is now a fond memory.... and what a wonderful memory it is!

     Fifty-five classmates gathered to laugh and recall wonderful times at Ridgewood High School and the old neighborhoods on Saturday, October 10, 2015.  The gathering at Double Tree in Mahwah, NJ was a success! About the same number of some different faces gathered at the Elks Club on Friday night for a more casual event.  Again, although damp, a success!   Alas, the tailgate was rained out, but Chuck's RHS varsity football team managed to cream Clifton (30-14)!  Besides those opportunities to meet and greet, I know small groups walked through town and met at friend's homes or familiar restaurants; a tour of George Washington (now) Middle School, a gathering of Willard friends and another for Ridge, HoHoKus friends united, several outings to The Fireplace, ice cream at VanDykes, and familiar, yet classic delis and diners were revisited. Saturday was so clear you could see the cables on the GW bridge from Crest Road as well as the new World One Tower!  Thank you to those who came out to help us celebrate!
     Even if you were not able to attend in person, you have the opportunity to see your classmates through some of the photos we captured from the weekend.  Please enjoy (and tag yourself in) the photos on our Facebook page.  Also updated, is our Shutterfly website initiated 5 years ago for our 40th reunion.  Relive the pictures from then and check out the new photos recently added. You may download pictures from the Shutterfly site and/or you can add your own!  This site also has the added feature of a conversation page.  Let's start a dialog of what you would like to see at our 50th and what you enjoyed about the 45th. Or start your own conversation and let's keep it going!  Stay well so that we can do this again in 5 years!

SAVE THE DATE: 10/10 in 2020 for our 50th Reunion!

Halloween

Found these thoughts on FaceBook written by Robert Eisenhardt an RHS graduate from the 1970s.

"There was a time when we were young, and our parents trusted the world. We would be dressed up in costumes, often made last minute by our elders, and just let out into the local neighborhood to collect candy. That was all there was too it. We came back alive and looked forward to the next year when we would tramp those same streets through odd leaf piles and wonder what was ahead of us. Then ... one year ... we decided to pass it all by and at that moment, we began to grow up. Such was Halloween."

I would like to add that often times the costumes were made at the last minute and took the form of a hobo. It was easy to grab one of our father's old hats, rub charcoal on our faces, and stuff leaves into our shirts as if we had just awoken from a nap in a leaf pile. I think it was the simplicity of the effort which captured our fancy, running around the neighborhood with our friends gathering candy from all our neighbors without a thought as to what might be hidden behind the doors of the houses we visited. If the lights were on we came to visit. We knew that after a while people turning their lights out meant they were out of candy.

RAHP (Ridgewood Academy of Health Professionals)

This is exactly the sort of program I envision the RHS Alumni Association creating, sponsoring and providing volunteers for. Until today I had never heard about this program for students interested in health care professions. It is in its 10th year. Please read:

"Dr. Earl Wheaton, RHS '46, returned to school to talk with Caroline Richards' (RHS '91) current 10th grade RAHP students about medical ethics. Dr. Wheaton, who helped initiate a medical ethics department at Valley Hospital spoke about the need for such a department and how doctors and staff use four basic principles to negotiate tough ethical decisions regarding patient care. Here he explains the possible scenarios one might consider as he or she fills out an advance directive. The issue of medical ethics connects to the 10th grade curriculum through four texts - Flowers for Algernon, Frankenstein, Better and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - as students try to answer the overarching questions, "Just because we can do something, should we?" and, "What responsibilities do we have to those to whom we commit ourselves?"

RAHP (Ridgewood Academy of Health Professionals) is a three year, interdisciplinary program for students who think they might be interested in the health care professions. Students enjoy group explorations to Valley Hospital and 1:1 mentorships with its professionals, as well as integrated English, science and health classes. The program is celebrating its tenth year."

When The Mets Win The World Series

When the NY Mets win this year's World Series we will all be happy for Woody. The following was written by a friend of mine who grew up in Jersey in the 1960's and 1970s. He and I went to college toegether.

The Mets Will Win the World Series and I Will Be Happy (For Woody)

"Perhaps it’s a bit absurd, but several friends offered condolences to me the past few days for the Mets going to the World Series because I’m a quite public life long Yankees fan and Mets hater. It’s in my genealogy. My father hated the Brooklyn Dodgers and adored the Yankees. The Dodgers moved to the sunshine of the west and the Mets appeared in Queens, providing a new target for my father’s sports induced wrath. My brothers and I soon followed his passions and displeasures. When I was 11 years old, the Yankees were in last place and the (Miracle) Mets won the World Series. We sat around the dinner table like someone had died, and then my father simply stated “I’m happy for Woody”. Woody is Bill Woodworth, a lifelong friend of ours and lifelong Mets fan. Every Mets victory after that (well, just 1986), I consoled myself with the mantra, I’m happy for Woody. Woody eventually married SueEllen and along came two more Mets fans, in their children Katie and Meg. They are extraordinary people and devoted Mets fans. But, most importantly, in terms of my emotional well-being, they give me an out. I won’t revert back to my 11 year old self, when I threw my first punch at the newbie Mets lover, Peter Coyne. I will enjoy the Series and hope the Mets win. I can’t say I’ll be rooting for them, because that would be disingenuous. But, when they win it, which they will, I will be so happy for Woody, and Sue, and Katie, and Meg, and Father Ken, and….."

RHS Alumni Association Umbrellas and Blankets Coming Soon for the Holidays!

RHS Alumni Association Umbrellas and Blankets coming soon for the Holidays!

RHS Class of 1976 40th Reunion

Attention Ridgewood High School Class of 1976!!

You are invited to join us to celebrate our RHS Class of ’76 40th Reunion on July 30, 2016!!!

Reunion Agenda

July 30, 2016 Day Event: Ridgewood High School Picnic, Tour and the RHS Class of ’76 ‘Owimpics' from 11:30am-2:30pm. 

July 30, 2016 Evening Event Woodcliff Lake Hilton (http://www.hiltonwoodclifflake.com) Dinner and Dance from 7pm-11pm.

Our dinner/dance includes great food, drinks, DJ, a Photo Booth and quite possibly, towards the later part of the evening, Musical Chairs, Pin the Tail on the Donkey, Twister....yup.

Please register via our EventBrite page: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ridgewood-high-school-nj-class… or, please send your $130 check to Kathy Gabrielle, c/o RHS Class of 1976, 396 Frances Place, Wyckoff, NJ 07481

We need to pay the hotel 5 days before our event. There will be no ‘day of’ registration.

The Hilton (http://www.hiltonwoodclifflake.com) has set aside 15 rooms for Friday, July 29, 2016 and 30 rooms for Saturday, July 30, 2016 at our rate of $139. each. Please contact the hotel to book your reservations under ‘RHS Class of ’76 40th Reunion.’

Some of our Metro NY/NJ RHS classmates are willing and able to house (RHS Class of ‘76 B&B) our classmates during the reunion.
Please let me know if you would like the details.

We have ‘found’ about 50% of our classmates and we need your help finding more. Please email mitchell.morrison5@mac.com with the name and email address of your buddies.

Also, we are willing and able to digitize your old hard copy pictures for our FB site .  Please let us know how we can help you!!

Thanks,
-Mitch

Mitch Morrison (RHS Class of ’76)
mitchell.morrison5@mac.com

RHS Class of ’76 Facebook page with 241 members and approximately 2,000 pictures (https://www.facebook.com/groups/116671658084/

What's Old Is New

Given that I do a great deal of thinking, idle and otherwise, my impending layoff in the summer of 2016 (that will be another post) has provided me much food for thought. My "little grey cells" as Hercule Poirot might have said, Agatha Christie's fictional detective, have been working overtime on what my next job and/or career will be.

With any new beginning comes new habits. These can be stress-filled at first, but later become so entrenched that you wonder what the worry was about in the first place.

After a lunch last spring in Asbury Park, it was the casual remark of a mentor of mine and lunch companion that day which caused me to consider why I had stopped my life long habit of reading The NY Times every day. When I moved to Forest Hills, NY in 2002 there were newspaper vending boxes on two corners near our apartment, and I befriended our newspaper vendor on nearby Queens Boulevard. It probable cost about $6.00 a week to read it everyday. Then the price inched up again and again where it became an expense I started to notice. Today it would cost closer to $23.00 a week to buy it at the news stand.

I have enjoyed having The Wall Street Journal delivered to my door since 2002 when I inherited the former tenant's subscription. Shortly after it ran out I discovered one of my credit cards offered Wall Street Journal subscriptions in exchange for the points you earned for using your credit card. It didn't take me long to do the math on that one and I have had "free" newspapers ever since. Sometimes I would see the person in the early morning who delivered the paper and would tip him to also leave any extra NY Times he might have on a given morning. The NY Times appeared fairly regularly so I knew I was getting my money's worth.

It was when my regular delivery guy changed that I started to miss reading both the Journal and the "Grey Lady" as the NY Times is known. Then when the merger of my current company was announced I decided that reading the NY Times would be an excellent investment. I've rediscovered that it gives me great joy to leaf through one of the best english language newspapers in the world. Who would have thought that such a trifle would bring such pleasure. Besides feeling more connected to the city I call home, reading The NY Times keeps me in the know on the Art World and local happenings. I read about a local Italian market in Corona that we are going to visit for supplies such as olive oil and cheeses. What's old is new couldn't be more true.

RHS In the Early Evening

Taken by Andrew Halperin, Class of 1985

30th Reunion Tour of RHS Class of 1985

The RHS Class of 1985 on the now seemingly obligatory tour of RHS. Tour was given by RHS Principal Tom Gorman, Class of 1987.

RHS Alumni Association Web Site Launch: 1 October 2015

http://RHSAlumniassociation.org

Our story in a word: JOBS!
Whether it was one of my college or high school friends, alumni have given me numerous opportunities over the last 30 years. These have manifested themselves in internships, apprenticeships, scholarships, and tremendous amounts of mentoring.
A great deal of good is the usual result when people of all backgrounds and means of employment unite in their efforts, each supplying a particular talent or strength, in this case towards the work of the newly formed RHS Alumni Association.

This all means we need give some deep thought, while recollecting in tranquility, our time in Ridgewood. I hope readers of this post will notice the advantages we have been given over our entire lifetime. Subsequently, I wish you all will feel a sense of "noblesse oblige" and want to give back to the society which has been so generous to us.

Give me some feedback at paulmccubbinATgmail.com if your would like to continue the conversation, I am anything if I am not flexible.
Peace.
Paul
PS Thanks to Wordsworth, Shelley, Keats, and Yeats.

RHS Alumni Association Web Site!

It's official!             RHSAlumniAssociation.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Ridgewood High School Alumni Association announce website launch

Ridgewood, NJ - September 30, 2015 - The Ridgewood High School Alumni

Association is excited to announce that its website is now live. You can visit it at:

www.RHSAlumniAssociation.org.

Please take a moment peruse through this awesome tool designed to highlight current

alumni and support the future efforts of our alumni community. And don't forget to

register so you can be a part of our next steps.

We look forward to connecting with all of you.

Sincerely,

The Ridgewood High School Alumni Association Board of Trustees

Mr. Tarabokia, RIP

I never knew the relationship to Cindy Neidig Myer​. Though I do remember the man well, as I was summoned to his office at Willard when I was in the third grade. Our regular principal, Dan Daly, was on sabbatical and Mr. Tarabokia was his replacement for the year. I had been "fingered" as the one responsible for splashing paint on the music room windows. When in fact I had showed up after the fact and was an innocent passerby. My time within the principal's office was short that day and angst-filled. After only a question or two I was judged innocent of any wrongdoing.

Thank you, Mr. Tarabokia. You stared into my eyes and heard my knees knocking together, then did the right thing. RIP.

September Summer Rains

We'd be sitting in our classrooms at school staring outside at the rain and wondering to ourselves how much longer we'd be able to wear short pants to school. Once we began wearing long pants we knew that summer was over.

The rains would take all of the summer heat out of the atmosphere, which was good and bad. Good in that our days would be pleasant and not filled with stifling heat in our classrooms which at the time lacked any sort of air-conditioning. Bad in that there wouldn't be many of these before autumn gales made themselves known to us and summer became a faint memory.

I can look at these same rains now from my desk at my office and realize none of these same thoughts and feelings. I tend to fall back on the old adage about nobody being able to predict the weather and that is good enough.

When we were young these rains while we were attending school seemed predictable and seemingly manageable, if we only allowed ourselves to get a little wet.

As adults we tend to mind getting a little wet, and carry umbrellas to ward off any slight  inconvenience a soft summer rain will cause us. I think children have the right idea. Whenever I see them jump in puddles and run from tree to tree allowing themselves to embrace the warm rain, they are the wise ones, not us adults who value dry shoes and cloths over the stimulating feeling offered by a moment under a September Summer Rain. Gene Kelly had it correct:

Ridgewood High School Alumni All-Star Band 2012

This is how the RHS Class of 1977 rolls. We gathered a band and were gifted a bar in downtown Ridgewood for our 35th Reunion in 2012. Here is our friend, Joanne Hunter Currey ,giving her all on the flute. You will recognize the tunes, "This Old Cowboy" and "Can't You See" by Marshall Tucker. Please keep Joanne in your prayers tonight as she made this evening special. 

Tony Napier

Tony Napier's son, Manny, expressed these words on Facebook upon the death of his father:

"I am sad to say that my Dad, Tony Napier passed away today at the age of 78. My Dad was a physical education teacher for 35 years, coach of the gymnastic team for 32 years. He was larger than life and anyone who had him as a coach or teacher will tell you. He was a mentor, a teacher and best of all the best Dad in the world."

 

I was told it was a volleyball net which caused him to lose one of his fingers as a young coach. It didn't slow him down one bit and he was later inducted into the RHS Athletic Hall of Fame.
All my life I have never worn a ring, wedding or otherwise. When someone asks me I always mention Mr. Napier. Funny way to remember a legendary fellow like Mr. Napier but it's true. RIP.

Larry Coyle

Larry Coyle, a low-key coach who built a boys’ cross-country juggernaut at Ridgewood High School, died Saturday at a Manhattan nursing home. He was 74.

Larry Coyle 

 

He had Alzheimer’s disease, his family said.

“Larry was this quiet guy who never raised his voice, never lost his temper, but had this way of commanding kids’ respect,” said Mike Glynn, his successor as cross-country coach.
“He would do anything for his kids, and they would go through a brick wall for him,” Glynn said.
Mr. Coyle taught English at Ridgewood and coached cross-country for all his 29 years there. His Maroons won state Group 4 championships in 1991 and 1992, a dozen Bergen Group 4 championships and a slew of Bergen Meet of Champions and other titles. He also coached track and field early in his Ridgewood tenure.

Suburban Bergen County may have been the last place James Lawrence Coyle imagined finding himself. The Bronx native went to Iona College on a track scholarship — Glynn was a teammate — and began his teaching career at a Catholic high school in Harlem. He was hired by Louis D. Brandeis High School on the Upper West Side, but a citywide teachers strike sidelined him and he wound up working at a Coca-Cola bottling plant.

A job placement agency found Mr. Coyle a teaching position in Ridgewood, a town he never heard of. “New Jersey was completely foreign to my parents,” daughter Audrey Siciliano said. “Their world was the Five Boroughs.”

Mr. Coyle started at Ridgewood High in 1968 and immediately commenced coaching. He commuted from New York City for a few years before settling his family in Midland Park.

In retirement, he and his wife, Sandra, known as Patsy, moved back to Manhattan.
Mr. Coyle is survived by his wife of 48 years; his daughter, of Winchester, Mass.; a son, Patrick, of Atlanta; and four grandchildren.

Arrangements were by Cremation Consultants in Brooklyn. The family is planning a New Jersey memorial service in September.

Old Friends: Frank O'Connor and Barry Gainey, Class of 1977

The Ridgewood Country Club 2015:

Moon Landing

If you are too young to remember where you were this day 46 years ago, try asking someone older than yourself. No doubt they will have a memory of waking early, adjusting the rabbit ears (antenna) on the TV set, and watching as Neil Armstrong become the first human we know of to step foot on the moon.

I'm not sure it is possible in this day and age for this country to come together and collectively hold our breath while someone does the seemingly impossible. Yes, it was extremely difficult to go to the moon, but don't forget nobody had ever returned from the moon either, and that was their next challenge.

Ridgewood High School Alumni Association (RHS AA) Update

We are on track to launch the RHS AA website during the summer of 2015. Expect to see plenty of photos and ideas on how you might contribute to this 501(c)(3). With an estimated 25,000 graduates spread across the globe there will be a myriad of ways and opportunities to further this lofty venture along. I expect many goals and ideas to be proposed, some more locally significant than others. Here is my hope for the RHS:

My goal for the RHS AA is to create opportunities for alumni in our connected age. To facilitate their coming together to solve collective problems through mentoring, networking, and revealing a wide variety of role models as to what it means to be successful and a contributing member to our common welfare.

Connections and Laughter

Isn't that's all we are looking for in this life: "A little connection and a little laughter."

Connection can from a variety of sources. The above quote is from Bob Lefsetz. We
have never met but I look forward to his email every week. He is a 21st century phenomenon, the curator. Curators assist people with sifting through the myriad of information available to us in a wide variety of formats.

In the 20th century we made appointments to watch TV programs, listen to radio DJs, go to
the movies, and check out books from the library. Now entertainment and culture is all on demand when we want it and the younger generation cannot fathom how we oldsters lived without this convenience. And the older I grow I tend to agree with them. How did we stand the wait?

I do know what we did while waiting in line for the movies or for a show to come on TV.
We talked and observed the world around us. We connected with one another and tried
to make each other laugh. 

Now we are heads down in our entertainment, while our movie theatres, book stores, 
and live TV shows become a thing of the past.

There is a trade off for everything in this life. I'll miss the grand old movie theatres
which played one movie at a time on a huge screen. We would then all have something to
talk about for a while, and maybe even consider seeing again.

Today we see an increasing number of opportunities to outsource our communications. 
I read on the Internet that for some people, eliminating the need for one-on-one contact is appealing, and many young people prefer online conversations instead of face-to-face exchanges. I guess you cannot miss what you have never experienced. There is also no definitive way to measure whether or not this new type of connectedness isn't producing just as many laugh, if not more, than the old style I can easily recall. It's just different, no better or worse is how I view it now. Maybe I'll change my mind as I grow even older.

Father's Day 2015

My Dad gave me much good advice over the course of our time together. He always said to buy good clothing as it would wear longer, look better, and save you money. Spot on.

He also gave me a poem at one of the low points of my young life which helped me that day and many times in the future. I am glad to have these words to console me whenever life sometimes gets too hard, as it always does, for everyone.


If

-Rudyard Kipling


If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream---and not make dreams your master;
If you can think---and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:.
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings---nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And---which is more---you'll be a Man, my son!

Longest Day of the Year

Seemingly, every year at this time I remember what the F. Scott Fitzgerald character, Daisy Buchanan, from one of my favorite novels The Great Gatsby, said about the Summer Solstice,

"In two weeks it'll be the longest day in the year....Do you always watch for the longest day of the year and then miss it? I always watch for the longest day in the year and then miss it."

Tomorrow is the longest day of the year 2015 above the equator. Like the aforementioned Daisy, I usually miss the event and rue the fact just like she did. Though this year will be different as by blogging about it, and spending the time to give this some thought I most certainly will consciously watch it come and go. Some people view it sadly as the days inevitably grow shorter, until the Winter Solstice in December when the whole process reverses itself. I've thought about it now and it appears to me that the old chestnut about life's events is true: it's not what life hands you, it's how you react.

Here's a picture from the RHS 2015 graduation which was held this week. Nobody does High School graduation better. Just hope these newly minted alumni are ready for all the goodbyes that graduation necessitates and the heart break that ensues. Maybe they will take some solace in knowing that graduation is difficult for everyone in every place.  For what it's worth, these graduates do look sharp with the guys in their white tuxedos and the gals carrying red roses while wearing their own choice of white dress. The tradition is for the guys all to go to Biltmore Tuxedo on Ridgewood Avenue and rent the first tuxedo most of them have ever worn. The thing I remember about the outfit was the shoes were made of cardboard. The shoes matched the tuxedo perfectly but probable nobody at Biltmore expected them to be returned in the same shape as when they were rented out. They knew about the after graduation parties, the customary dip in Graydon Pool at sunrise, and the trips to the Jersey Shore the next day. The shoes were the least of their worries when you think about it. Just like the days growing shorter truly is the least of anyone's worries, especially if they miss the longest day of the year.

Stay Connected Via FaceBook

Every once in a while it seems there is a new "scientific" study as to why people should quit using FaceBook. The reasons they site like privacy and that it can use up a lot of your time are valid.

I also agree nobody cares what you are eating but the pictures of people which are posted are priceless. 

If FB is the social medium for a certain age group and demographic that is a good thing in a world where very few things seem to bring us together, like civic responsibilty.

I agree that we all have friends in our friends lists who we might remember very well, but who's to say this is a bad thing? I've received some great advice from people I haven't seen in over 30 years. Does the passage of time make their words any less authentic. I think not.

I am going to remain connected for a while longer, or until one of these aforementioned studies changes my mind.

Mr. Harmon

A George Washington Junior High School Teacher we are still talking about in glowing terms long after he has passed. There are plenty of teachers across the entire history of the Ridgewood Public School System who are worthy or our acolades.

In Mr Harmon's case, everyone who ever met him only hopes to live up to the high standards he set personally in an era when tolerance and compassion were hard to come by. Mr Harmon lived every day with a Shakespearean single mindedness, "Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them?"
I met Mr Harmon in 1971, when my brothers Peter and Don McCubbin took home the plants in his classroom for the summer. He referred to each of us as "Mr McCubbin" from the moment I met him and for all the time which I was ever within earshot. He always said this with a knowing smile as to not intimidate, because between his perfectly tied bow tie and his noteworhty eloquence, Mr Harmon was an imposing figure to a junior high school students and a perfect gentleman.

There was never a moment in his presence when you did not feel respected. I only wish that our nascient RHS Alumni Association will be emblematic of the rightenous and saintlike patience he lived every day.

BBQs on Memorial Day

Today is Memorial Day. The unofficial start of summer and with it the BBQ season. I have always liked to BBQ on charcoal, and this is how I remember it from my youth. Today with propane we have a more even heat and it reaches whatever temperature you desire by the turn of a knob. I like the challenge of figuring out the temperature of the flame by waving my hand over the charcoal and looking to see their color. It makes for a more intense BBQ experience for the chef and what I believe is a tastier flavor for the food. Always use Kingsford.

A little Memorial Day history courtesy ofthe San Francisco Bay View, of which I was unaware:

"As we pause to remember the nation’s war dead, it’s worth remembering that Memorial Day was first celebrated by Black Union troops and free Black Americans in Charleston, South Carolina at the end of the Civil War.

Memorial Day was started by former slaves on May, 1, 1865, in Charleston, S.C., to honor 257 dead Union soldiers who had been buried in a mass grave in an upscale race track converted into a Confederate prison camp. They dug up the bodies and worked for two weeks to give them a proper burial as gratitude for fighting for their freedom. They then held a parade of 10,000 people led by 3,000 Black children, where they marched, sang and celebrated.

As historian David Blight recounts in his masterful book, “Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory” (2001), Charleston was occupied by Union troops in the spring of 1865, most white residents having fled the city. In this atmosphere, the free Black population of Charleston, primarily consisting of former slaves, engaged in a series of celebrations to proclaim the meaning of the war as they saw it.

Happy Mother's Day

My Mom second from left. Circa 1945 at the Jersey Shore.

''Heeeeeeres Johhny''

From 1955 through 1985 he was always introduced the same way,  ''Heeeeeeres Johhny''!

When he finally left the stage for the last time there were no dry eyes in the studio, including Johnny's.

It was the end of an era where people stayed up late to at least hear his opening monologue, so they could talk about it at work the next day. It seems strange to consider this sort of appointment TV, or "linear television" as they say in the trade. We have exchanged this common meeting for a world of unlimited choices and TV on our own terms. It's hard to describe and explain to younger generations who can record and watch the late night shows the next day, or later that night and avoid all commercials.

When I consider that Johnny Carson was on TV for 30 consecutive years it always makes me stop and think how rare a phenomenon this is in any profession or occupation. I like to comment whenever someone tells me they have done something for 30 years that they have accomplished a "Johnny Carson." If they had ever tuned in for his show they would know of what I speak and usually give me a shy smile. They know how hard it is to work at something and not throw in the towel when the opportunity suggests itself. This is not to say I would want to try this feat, only that I recognize the perseverance that it takes. I saw what it took for my father to work 30 years at the same law firm, the sacrifices, the long commutes, and finally walking away from it all enjoy the fruits of his labors. 

RHS Class of 2015 Tribute Video

Congratulations to Ridgewood High School's Class of 2015. Made by Spencer Muhlstock and Hayes Walsh.

Gardening in Ridgewood Public Schools

Here is an idea I want to see happen.

This is not to say the Ridgewood Public Schools don't teach gardening, only that they might need some help from parents and alumni.

I wonder how the Ridgewood High School Alumni Association (RHSAA) might be able to help this idea along. My earliest memories of gardening include the wild berries which used to grow along the fence at Willard, and the sunflower plants we would grow in the area now used as a playground. Not to mention all the wisdom imparted by teachers such as Gene Ricci. I still refer to the medium which plants are grown in as "soil" and not "dirt." I guess you would have had to been corrected by Mr. Ricci to fully understand. Just one of many gardening lessons I remember well to this day.

More details to come...

You Know You Are From Ridgewood

This list I retrieved from a FaceBook forum so it stands on its on merits:
Beth Roman said,
"I used to attend RHS Alumni luncheons in Sarasota Fl., with my father back in 1998 - 2001. There were a lot of graduating classes represented from 1933 - 1978. My father graduated in 1938. I graduated in 1974.
The longing for real Jersey food came up in conversation among these RHS Alumni's each time I attended with my father.
Top of the list for Pizza was By The Slice from Renatos. With the follow up instructions of how you ate a slice LOL

Mama Rosa's pizza would be mentioned, but mostly in connection to it being closer to Graydon Pool, Vets Field and the Library.
Diners was a toss up between the Suburban and Mathews.
Crumb Coffee Cake from the Bakery across the street from the Library.
Footlong hot dogs all the way from Johnny and Hanges in Paterson.
T&W Ice Cream
Van Dykes Ice Cream
Real Kaiser hard rolls with butter by itself
Real Kaiser hard rolls with butter and a sunny side up fried egg
Talyor Ham (Pork Roll) fried on a hard rolls with butter by itself or with a sunny side up fried egg. Most said Al n Harrys made the best Fried Taylor Ham Sandwiches.
Beefsteak Tomatoes with mayo as a sandwich.
Beefsteak Tomatoes sliced with sugar sprinkled on it
Beefsteak Tomatoes sliced with salt n pepper sprinkled on it
Sweet Jersey Corn boiled in a huge stock pot with melted butter on the top so the corn was buttered as you pulled it out of the water.
Hero Sandwiches
Jersey Blueberries
Jersey Peaches with ice cream on waffles
Jersey Asparagus with butter
Jersey Strawberries with whipped cream or just rinsed with sugar
Bagels
Egg Creams
Last but not least as it was discussed over and over was Donuts and Cider from Tices Farm."

What We Loved As Children

Advice to a nephew who's growing up fast:
Hold tight to those things you loved as a child, or at least when you were younger than you are now. 
I say this because we all have a tendency to lose touch with what we loved as a child. Something about the social pressures of adolescence and professional pressures of young adulthood squeezes this passion out of us. We’re taught that the only reason to do something is if we’re somehow rewarded for it. Remember when simply playing outdoors was its own reward. You may not be able to comprehend life without air conditioning but there was a time when being outside on a hot day made you feel cooler than being inside the house, except maybe in the basement.

Best thing to do with yourself at any age is to find a problem you care about and start solving it. Obviously, you’re not going to fix the world’s problems by yourself. But you can contribute and make a difference. And that feeling of making a difference is ultimately what’s most important for your own happiness and fulfillment.