It’s time to remember the birthday of Elvis Presley, his 75th. We can only imagine what Elvis would have looked and sounded like at that age…or better yet, let him remain forever young in our memories.
I tried to dig around and see what I could find to connect Elvis with our fine state of New Jersey, this Baby Boomer remembers him well, and remembers how heartbroken some of my girlfriends were when he died. I mean really heartbroken, you’d have thought they lost a family member or someone they knew personally and very well, when the closest they had been to him was to put together scrapbooks, listen to his music, watch him on TV, or if really fortunate, attend a concert.
Last year in New Jersey, they had the first ever Elvis look (and sound) alike competition in Rahway, NJ, here’s a video for you…these guys aren’t Elvis, but they aren’t bad either:
I was also able to find an interview…listen close, it has some rough spots, but not too bad…it was supposed done at Fort Dix in 1960:
And these are some personal favorites of mine:
Always on my Mind - not “polished”, but nice:
The Wonder of You
Can’t Help Falling In Love With You (sing along)
Amazing Grace (with picture montage)
There’s a few of my favorites. I can’t help but notice, looking at him and his pictures in retrospect, he seems unhappy, often as if he doesn’t really look well or “into” what he’s doing, but his voice was always beautiful.
It was such a treat to attend the very first air show not far from our home at the Greenwood Lake Airport here in my home town, West Milford, New Jersey. I have always loved air shows…we’ve traveled miles and stayed over night in hotels to visit some, so having one so close by was an extra blessing.
We were there on Saturday, September 26, 2009, and probably the best day as it rained and was very overcast on Sunday. This is an airport that we brought our children to when they were young to watch the small planes take off. Now they are adults…it’s also a place we occasionally visit for a weekend lunch at their restaurant. Always so quiet and peaceful, nestled in an area surrounded by trees, but last Saturday, the crowds were amazing to see. Parking was up in the parking lot for the old Jungle Habitat, and was handled with great efficiency by our local police dept. and what I believe were members of a unit of the air national guard…correct me in comment if you happen to stop by and read this and I’m wrong.
I have always loved planes, this going back I’m sure to having a grandfather who was a Navy man and a retired US Air Force Captain. Then there was my own Dad who was an electrical engineer all of his working years in the aeronautics division of a large company…designing parts for planes, including an invention or two, as well as designing parts for the space program when that became important to our Nation. So I guess you could say it’s in my blood. The funny part is that I prefer my feet to be on the ground, not in a plane…but there’s no greater sound to me than the rush of a powerful military jet flying low overhead, and nothing more fun than watching extremely skilled pilots make smaller sized planes do things I never imagined possible.
I’m including a couple pictures here, and plan to devote some more time, pictures and detail to the air show through another venue soon, I’ll link to it here when it’s done. You’ll also want to visit http://www.greenwoodlakeairshow.com - I hope this is the first of what will become an annual event.
Just noticed that my son added some pictures to his facebook page, stop by and take a look, he’s a better photographer than I am.
The “Jersey Shore beach Vacation” season will be starting at the end of this month, a favorite time of year for those of us that love the beach. There’s hardly a place in NJ that isn’t within a reasonable distance from one of our beautiful beaches. We are in the very northernmost part of New Jersey, but have made trips down to Wildwood, NJ which is at the bottom of the state, and is always worth the trip!
If you are planning a vacation or trip to the Jersey Shore this year, and will be near Wildwood, New Jersey, please do plan to attend one or more of the FREE concerts offered at Morey’s Piers taking place from June through August. Many of the top Radio Disney artists will be performing. Morey’s Piers is a fun place for the whole family, if you are in need of a place to stay, this link will provide you with some Wildwood New Jersey motels in the area.
You’ll find more information at any of the fun links in this post.
I have to admit that I haven’t quite grasped the Tax Day Tea Party movement, it’s my own fault, haven’t really taken the time to explore it. Not because I don’t care, just distracted by other seemingly more important things lately. To learn more, I’ll be watching some of the special coverage on television. Since this seems to be a conservative movement, FOX News, will probably be the station to watch…the station that claims to be “Fair and Balanced” but is definitely a bit more right-leaning. They are going to have some great coverage today.
I decided to do a search this morning to see what Tea Parties will be taking place in NJ, there may be more than you’ll see on the following list of parties taking place only on the 15th, found at taxdayteaparty.com, so feel free to comment if you know of other NJ Tea Parties taking place….if you live in another State, visit the link above, and find the link to your State:
City: Cape May When: April 15, 6:00 pm - 8:30pm Where: Harbor View Park, Texas Avenue at the harbor Contact:EMAIL Other Info: Participate by land or sea, bring your boat, flags and patriotic American Spirit!!
City: Flemington When: April 15, Noon - 2:00pm Where: The northwest corner of Main Street and Court Street Contact:EMAIL Other Info: http://flemingtonteaparty.blogspot.com/
City: Hackensack When: April 15, 4:00 pm - 6:00pm Where:Bergen County Court House, Hackensack, NJ (Court Street Side) Contact:EMAIL
City: Jersey City When: April 15, 3:00 pm - 8:00 pm Where: Liberty State Park Contact:EMAIL
City: Morristown When: April 15, Noon Where: On The Green at the center of Morristown Contact:EMAIL Other Info:Yahoo Group Facebook Group:CLICK HERE
City: Newark When:April 15, 12:00 pm Where:Gateway Center One - 782 McCarter Highway, Newark Offices of Senator Lautenberg and Menendez conveniently located in the same building. Contact:EMAIL Other Info: Parking: 66 Edison Place, Newark Google Map: Click Here Facebook Group:CLICK HERE
City:Piscataway When: April 15, 5:00pm Where:Johnson Park (River Road, Piscataway Township) Contact:EMAIL Other Info: http://www.americansforprosperity.org/032409-new-jersey-tax-day-tea-party
City:Trenton When:April 15, 11:30am - 4:00pm Where:New Jersey State House, 125 W State St Contact:EMAIL Facebook Group:CLICK HERE
City:Vineland When: April 15th, 1-4PM Where: 722 E Landis Avenue, Vineland, NJ 08360 E-mail:t@thomassnow.com Phone: 973-406-4688 Web Site:http://tomsnow.serveblog.net Face Book:CLICK HERE
Please add your tea party info in a comment, if you like, and let me know what you think about all of this. I’ll probably do more on this at Married to Politics later today.
With the increase in job loss, or fear of job loss in the present recession, there are support groups beginning to form in New Jersey. I just received an email from a fellow NJ Baby Boomer, and thought I’d share the content with you. If you know of other support groups forming, please leave a comment:
UMDNJ-University Behavioral HealthCare to Provide Free Support Groups for People Affected by the Economic Crisis
NEWARK - Panic over job loss. Fear of unemployment. Profound worry about meeting mortgage and tuition payments. Unfortunately, these are the realities of this severe recession.
If you are experiencing any of these kinds of reactions to the current fiscal crisis, it is important to know that you are not alone; there is a place you can go for assistance.
Beginning March 3, UMDNJ-University Behavioral HealthCare (UBHC), a statewide mental health and addiction services network, will offer free 90-minute support groups, run by experienced counselors, for those affected by the economic downturn. Sessions will be held weekly at the following locations on the days and times specified:
-Newark: Wednesdays at 12:30 p.m. at UBHC, 183 South Orange Avenue;
-New Brunswick: Wednesdays at 3 p.m. at 303 George Street, 2nd Floor;
-Edison: Thursdays at 3 p.m. at 100 Metroplex Drive, 2nd Floor, Suite 200;
-Monmouth Junction: Tuesdays at noon at 4326 U.S. Highway 1.
Sessions are open to the public and no appointments are necessary to attend. Participants may remain anonymous.
People interested in attending may call (800) 969-5300 for more information.
Members of the media interested in more information about this new initiative should contact Zenaida Mendez at (973) 972-7273.
PLEASE VIEW THE COMMENT(S) BELOW if you are viewing this as a single post, or click the “comments” link under the title of the post, for more support group information that has been added since this post was published. Thank you.
Here are more Christmas events to enjoy in New Jersey…continuing the theme of the previous post.
Cape May, all the way at the opposite end of NJ from where we live has a lot to offer:
Dec. 12, 19-20 Enjoy the Lamplighter Christmas Tour - Self-guided, tour 5 beautiful B&B’s and Inns. They are beautiful, too! Adults - $15, Children - $7.50 Tickets at the booth at Washington Street Mall.
Dec. 11-12 Cape May Candlelight Hospitality Nights - Merchants offer treats to holiday shoppers throughout Town. For more information, call 609-884-9565
Dec. 13 Cape May Christmas Candlelight House Tour - Another self-guided tour of Victorian Inns, homes, churches and more all decorated in beautiful holiday splendor. $22 for adults, and $11 for children. There is a free shuttle service. Call 609-884-5508 for more information.
Dec. 13 - Ocean City will have it’s Christmas Parade on Asbury Ave, complete with Santa Claus. This will be at 7:30 pm. from 6th to 11th Street.
