My wife and I decided to bike ride yesterday. Starting off from our
home in Oakhurst, we peddaled east to Ocean Avenue, then north thru Long
Branch along the ocean. The board walk and adjacent path was filled
with joggers, walkers and bikers. We saw a few people we knew puffing
along the boards. The new businesses at the north end were hopping,
too. A wedding reception party was gathering outside McLooons...
although it was simply a beautiful day, I could not help thinking this
was not the Long Branch I recalled as a child. We cruised around
MTOTSA. (I have 7 "End Eminent Domain" tees, all in the laundry...)
Then we aimed our old bikes into the wind toward Asbury Park.
Outside Convention Hall, we ran into and talked with a Mom we knew whose
husband was struck and killed by a car a couple of weeks ago. On
parting, she advised us to "look both ways before crossing." Good bye,
Rob.
We locked our bikes outside the Twisted Tree, and had a cup of corn
chowder before walking through the antique shoppes. We got a couple of
scones at the place next door... the pineapple and coconut scone was
worth the trip. One of the best I've ever tasted. I saw things
advertised as "antiques" and recalled them as everyday applicances when
I was growing up. The sight of a gleaming, plastic motorized Juicer
brought back a floodgate of childhood memories. Good memories. I
remembered every August or early September my folks taking me to
Steinbachs, and National Shoes for school clothes. And everything else
Asbury Park. Remember Mr. Peanut?
My wife, a CPA, had volunteered for free tax clinic in Asbury, in the NJ
Natural Gas office (which is right next door to "Under the Sun") before
expanding the clinic into the Asbury Library where she, and one or two
other volunteers prepare hundreds of tax returns without charge during
late March and April.
We spent an hour or so with"Under the Sun" owners Tony and Michelle who
have some beautiful art pieces as tributes to the architectural history
of Asbury Park.... perfect for hanging in local businesses. DO YOU HEAR
THAT (Old Man Raffertys) MARK! They can take an antique era p0stcard or
photograph, and replicate in on a type of silkscreen... although it is
more like a fine, metal screen material and wrap it in a complimentary
antique frame. A modern way to remember the past.
Michelle, an expert in collectibles and a custom jewelry designer, and
her husband Tony, a craftsman (and arguably the best basketball player I
had ever seen) exemplify what's going right with Asbury Park. I felt at
home and comfortable as I would in Lambertville, New Hope, or Lahaska.
Sure, the transformation along the waterfront hasn't been pretty, but
the downtown is, in my opinion, going in the right direction.
Long Branch vs Asbury? For me, Asbury conjurs up good feelings while
the Long Branch experience left me thinking, "What Happened?"
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