So I was back in NJ, again. Flew out last Friday (March 23rd) to see my Aunt in Monroe Township.
She was gravely ill ...and actually passed away a few days after her 90th birthday. But I got a chance to see her again along with a bunch of cousins...it was good for the soul.
I had mixed feelings about coming back. I'm not the world's best traveler, and #'s had been predicting snow storms (he was right) for about a week before my flight. As a result I grew more and more intense, irritable, anxious... and put off the original flight date from March 22nd to March 23rd.
The party for my aunt started at 1pm March 24th and lasted for 11 hours +. She was on oxygen, dying from Pulmonary "something it-is. My cousin, Jodie, hosted relatives from Atlanta (Jews from the South: Shalom Y'all), as well as NYC, NJ and of course me (So. Cal / Portland). Jodie also hired a Frank Sinatra impersonator (he sounded great) When my aunt was surprised with this presentation she asked jokingly if he could do Vic Damone . They attended the same HS and were "friends".
My aunt was very pretty and apparently Vic had a crush on her. They would often be sent to detention (don't know why)....and they had a deal where whoever got there first would save a seat for the other.
Regardless, the Sinatra impersonator said "No", he only did Frankie, and he was about to launch into his act.
I gave my cell to my aunt who was sitting in a recliner with oxygen constantly flowing and still she found it exceedingly hard to say 4-5 words without gasping. Handing her my phone I told her it was Vic Damone, for her on the line. She looked at me and shook her head : "Vic passed away about a month ago, she said" (she was still sharp).
We partied the rest of the day until 12:30 am and then returned again on Sunday for another marathon. Pearlie was surrounded by her two children, grandchildren, a great grandchild, cousins, their spouses, friends ...it was truly a testament to how much she had given and how much she was loved.
On Monday I drove from East Windsor to Bloomfield, to meet with RutgersAL and finally meet Zappaa along with childhood friend, Nova Kenny. We sat at Holsten's in Bloomfield in the now famous Soprano Booth and had a great time talking about our football program : what could we do, will Ash / Co. get it done, what could we DO?, why NJ kids leave, WHAT COULD WE DO?
Tuesday I took a other cousin and her daughter to the opening of Rocktopia. Don't know if you're a maven of music, a professional, whatever...I loved it. Since 1968 even before I heard the NY Rock and Roll Ensemble's Faithful Friends and Flattering Foe (available on YouTube), I always thought that Classical / Rock could be / should be fused. LOVED IT (forget the reviews....you either get it, it gets you or you pass and watch Hamilton, Phantom , Dolly etc.).
That brings me to Doremus Ave. It was now Wednesday and I visited another aunt who will be 92 in May. We had a great visit. And now the journey begins.
I had to return my car before 9 am Thursday and thought it best to do so the night before to cut down on admin time. So, around 1:30 pm I left Toms River, and headed up the Garden State Parkway. Immediately some question popped into my mind. Coupled with the fact that my IPhone's battery was losing power at increasingly faster rates (just replaced yesterday in CA) and my map function did not provide me with a verbal coach , I had to read the instructions, I thought it best to stop at the CASH only booth and ask the attendant for information. WRONG. There was not attendant. And my EZ pass didn't register because this booth was CASH only. I had no change. So i drove through and figured I'd take the consequences later. Boy did I.
About 10+ miles up the road I rethought the experience and figured I could pay for my crimes at the next toll both. WRONG. No one was able to help me. But I did notice a brick admin building off to the right hand side of the road. So pulled in there, and noticed a road, with a chain link fence that was open. I parked my car in there and headed toward the management. Bad move. As i exited the parking area, the chain link fence doors swung closed and now my car rental was locked inside some gulag.
I frantically approached the admin building and picked up a phone but the voice on the other end was unintelligible. I banged on the thick double pained darkened bullet proof glass window and I could make out 2 vague figures inside. One motioned to go away while the other picked up the phone and asked incredulously, why I was there .
I shouted "I need HELP" (you all know that already). Within a minute the door flung open and two people came out. I tried explaining that I owed them .75 cents from my "Caper" in the cash only booth in Toms River. They gave me a envelope to mail in summons when received....and asked why I had parked inside the closed gates. I told them they weren't closed when I got there and I didn't notice anywhere else to park. It was now 2:58 and apparently the workers closed shop at three. I begged them to call their supervisor, and ran out toward the gates...they were open and two cars were getting ready to leave. I put my hand up in a STOP motion....and lucked out. My car was back on the road and this was just the beginning of my day in HELL.
Back on the Parkway with an gimpy smart phone that couldn't speak, I headed toward Newark to return my car. Stay left, merge right, veer toward the exit for the 9 / 22 but take 78 East / West, and then don't take another or suffer the consequences. I somehow made it to EWR (Airport) and passed Terminal A / B. I noticed the signs for Car Rental Returns...and then my phone miraculously starting speaking to me - in English. Things were looking up. As I followed the directions I noticed that cars on a street that ran parallel for a time / then crossed UNDER my street said "Car Rental Returns"...How did they get there? I wasn't able to turn.
The next thing I knew I was on some route that mentioned Union, Elizabeth, next right or left, so I somehow navigated back to the airport, figuring I could make it the 2nd time. WRONG. This time the ONCE smart phone (with battery life rapidly draining away like water down once clogged drain) told me the same thing as before...with the same results, except this time I turned on a exit and wound up on the Pulaski skyway. I was headed toward Jersey City (and the Wizard of Oz). I was starting to lose it . It was now around 3:30 ....so I tried again.
Left, right, Merge, 9. 22, 278? East, West, 95 Hut one, hut two...blue dog...wtf. Passed the terminals A/ B... and wound up heading toward Bayonne. Bayonne! Somehow, I managed to get to an exit that said "Doremus" Street.
Filled with potholes, mud, old buildings that had seen their work in the 1930's-50's and were now deserted, I pulled over. I called Enterprise and asked if they could guide me back to EWR. Nope. They were a call station somewhere in the Midwest, or Appalachia ...what difference did it make since they had virtually never heard of Newark (NEW YORK?) ....and were of NO help.
So I called back again and told them that my car worked, but I needed to be towed to Newark Airport. I set it up with Mitzi, a great customer service rep who actually tired to help. It would take something like an hour - hour and half.
I sat in the car and had my 5th nervous breakdown of the day. Then I looked across the street. I noticed I was on Doremus St. (#184). Directly opposite me was a muddy trench with a chain link fence and a ton of large tractors, trucks and other equipment. I saw a man. A human....and got out of my car and ran toward him .
I said a few million words (core dump) ...and he told me to wait there. He told me to pull around to the front of the lot, toward the gates that were open (I wasn't going to get locked in again)... and stopped my car. Immediately a large truck got behind me and wanted to pass...but I had inadvertently blocked them in. The keyless start button ...WASN'T~. The driver beeped gently once.
Then the man came back in his white car with NY plates and we were off. He was going to take me to EWR. But what if he didn't know the way. F' it....it was my only chance or I'd have to start looking up Rivals board members for assistance / a place to crash!
We drove for about 7- 10 minutes. We passed Terminal A, Terminal B...and for the 4th time I noticed the ramp below me that said "Car Rentals" ahead (with no apparent way of getting there...where the hell were they coming from?). We headed toward the same sign I had passed 3 times before. It was now around 5 or 5:30. It crossed my mind that the Twilight Zone wasn't fiction and that Rod Serling really wasn't all that creative. This time though instead of veering to the right and going to Jersey City, or taking the exit and heading back to either Union / Elizabeth of Bayonne, we drove to a third prong in the road....and there before me was the GREEN ENTERPRISE sign. I drove toward the entrance and motioned to the man to follow me....I had stated I would pay him $50 dollars to get me to the returns.
He shook his hand and waved goodbye. I never got his name.
As we celebrate Passover / Easter...and LIFE...I owe this man a lot. If you know the area on Doremus Street, could you get me the name of the company and address. I'd like to call him, thank him and send him a gift.
The lord works in mysterious ways....YES HE DOES!
MO
She was gravely ill ...and actually passed away a few days after her 90th birthday. But I got a chance to see her again along with a bunch of cousins...it was good for the soul.
I had mixed feelings about coming back. I'm not the world's best traveler, and #'s had been predicting snow storms (he was right) for about a week before my flight. As a result I grew more and more intense, irritable, anxious... and put off the original flight date from March 22nd to March 23rd.
The party for my aunt started at 1pm March 24th and lasted for 11 hours +. She was on oxygen, dying from Pulmonary "something it-is. My cousin, Jodie, hosted relatives from Atlanta (Jews from the South: Shalom Y'all), as well as NYC, NJ and of course me (So. Cal / Portland). Jodie also hired a Frank Sinatra impersonator (he sounded great) When my aunt was surprised with this presentation she asked jokingly if he could do Vic Damone . They attended the same HS and were "friends".
My aunt was very pretty and apparently Vic had a crush on her. They would often be sent to detention (don't know why)....and they had a deal where whoever got there first would save a seat for the other.
Regardless, the Sinatra impersonator said "No", he only did Frankie, and he was about to launch into his act.
I gave my cell to my aunt who was sitting in a recliner with oxygen constantly flowing and still she found it exceedingly hard to say 4-5 words without gasping. Handing her my phone I told her it was Vic Damone, for her on the line. She looked at me and shook her head : "Vic passed away about a month ago, she said" (she was still sharp).
We partied the rest of the day until 12:30 am and then returned again on Sunday for another marathon. Pearlie was surrounded by her two children, grandchildren, a great grandchild, cousins, their spouses, friends ...it was truly a testament to how much she had given and how much she was loved.
On Monday I drove from East Windsor to Bloomfield, to meet with RutgersAL and finally meet Zappaa along with childhood friend, Nova Kenny. We sat at Holsten's in Bloomfield in the now famous Soprano Booth and had a great time talking about our football program : what could we do, will Ash / Co. get it done, what could we DO?, why NJ kids leave, WHAT COULD WE DO?
Tuesday I took a other cousin and her daughter to the opening of Rocktopia. Don't know if you're a maven of music, a professional, whatever...I loved it. Since 1968 even before I heard the NY Rock and Roll Ensemble's Faithful Friends and Flattering Foe (available on YouTube), I always thought that Classical / Rock could be / should be fused. LOVED IT (forget the reviews....you either get it, it gets you or you pass and watch Hamilton, Phantom , Dolly etc.).
That brings me to Doremus Ave. It was now Wednesday and I visited another aunt who will be 92 in May. We had a great visit. And now the journey begins.
I had to return my car before 9 am Thursday and thought it best to do so the night before to cut down on admin time. So, around 1:30 pm I left Toms River, and headed up the Garden State Parkway. Immediately some question popped into my mind. Coupled with the fact that my IPhone's battery was losing power at increasingly faster rates (just replaced yesterday in CA) and my map function did not provide me with a verbal coach , I had to read the instructions, I thought it best to stop at the CASH only booth and ask the attendant for information. WRONG. There was not attendant. And my EZ pass didn't register because this booth was CASH only. I had no change. So i drove through and figured I'd take the consequences later. Boy did I.
About 10+ miles up the road I rethought the experience and figured I could pay for my crimes at the next toll both. WRONG. No one was able to help me. But I did notice a brick admin building off to the right hand side of the road. So pulled in there, and noticed a road, with a chain link fence that was open. I parked my car in there and headed toward the management. Bad move. As i exited the parking area, the chain link fence doors swung closed and now my car rental was locked inside some gulag.
I frantically approached the admin building and picked up a phone but the voice on the other end was unintelligible. I banged on the thick double pained darkened bullet proof glass window and I could make out 2 vague figures inside. One motioned to go away while the other picked up the phone and asked incredulously, why I was there .
I shouted "I need HELP" (you all know that already). Within a minute the door flung open and two people came out. I tried explaining that I owed them .75 cents from my "Caper" in the cash only booth in Toms River. They gave me a envelope to mail in summons when received....and asked why I had parked inside the closed gates. I told them they weren't closed when I got there and I didn't notice anywhere else to park. It was now 2:58 and apparently the workers closed shop at three. I begged them to call their supervisor, and ran out toward the gates...they were open and two cars were getting ready to leave. I put my hand up in a STOP motion....and lucked out. My car was back on the road and this was just the beginning of my day in HELL.
Back on the Parkway with an gimpy smart phone that couldn't speak, I headed toward Newark to return my car. Stay left, merge right, veer toward the exit for the 9 / 22 but take 78 East / West, and then don't take another or suffer the consequences. I somehow made it to EWR (Airport) and passed Terminal A / B. I noticed the signs for Car Rental Returns...and then my phone miraculously starting speaking to me - in English. Things were looking up. As I followed the directions I noticed that cars on a street that ran parallel for a time / then crossed UNDER my street said "Car Rental Returns"...How did they get there? I wasn't able to turn.
The next thing I knew I was on some route that mentioned Union, Elizabeth, next right or left, so I somehow navigated back to the airport, figuring I could make it the 2nd time. WRONG. This time the ONCE smart phone (with battery life rapidly draining away like water down once clogged drain) told me the same thing as before...with the same results, except this time I turned on a exit and wound up on the Pulaski skyway. I was headed toward Jersey City (and the Wizard of Oz). I was starting to lose it . It was now around 3:30 ....so I tried again.
Left, right, Merge, 9. 22, 278? East, West, 95 Hut one, hut two...blue dog...wtf. Passed the terminals A/ B... and wound up heading toward Bayonne. Bayonne! Somehow, I managed to get to an exit that said "Doremus" Street.
Filled with potholes, mud, old buildings that had seen their work in the 1930's-50's and were now deserted, I pulled over. I called Enterprise and asked if they could guide me back to EWR. Nope. They were a call station somewhere in the Midwest, or Appalachia ...what difference did it make since they had virtually never heard of Newark (NEW YORK?) ....and were of NO help.
So I called back again and told them that my car worked, but I needed to be towed to Newark Airport. I set it up with Mitzi, a great customer service rep who actually tired to help. It would take something like an hour - hour and half.
I sat in the car and had my 5th nervous breakdown of the day. Then I looked across the street. I noticed I was on Doremus St. (#184). Directly opposite me was a muddy trench with a chain link fence and a ton of large tractors, trucks and other equipment. I saw a man. A human....and got out of my car and ran toward him .
I said a few million words (core dump) ...and he told me to wait there. He told me to pull around to the front of the lot, toward the gates that were open (I wasn't going to get locked in again)... and stopped my car. Immediately a large truck got behind me and wanted to pass...but I had inadvertently blocked them in. The keyless start button ...WASN'T~. The driver beeped gently once.
Then the man came back in his white car with NY plates and we were off. He was going to take me to EWR. But what if he didn't know the way. F' it....it was my only chance or I'd have to start looking up Rivals board members for assistance / a place to crash!
We drove for about 7- 10 minutes. We passed Terminal A, Terminal B...and for the 4th time I noticed the ramp below me that said "Car Rentals" ahead (with no apparent way of getting there...where the hell were they coming from?). We headed toward the same sign I had passed 3 times before. It was now around 5 or 5:30. It crossed my mind that the Twilight Zone wasn't fiction and that Rod Serling really wasn't all that creative. This time though instead of veering to the right and going to Jersey City, or taking the exit and heading back to either Union / Elizabeth of Bayonne, we drove to a third prong in the road....and there before me was the GREEN ENTERPRISE sign. I drove toward the entrance and motioned to the man to follow me....I had stated I would pay him $50 dollars to get me to the returns.
He shook his hand and waved goodbye. I never got his name.
As we celebrate Passover / Easter...and LIFE...I owe this man a lot. If you know the area on Doremus Street, could you get me the name of the company and address. I'd like to call him, thank him and send him a gift.
The lord works in mysterious ways....YES HE DOES!
MO
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