This week marks the 10th anniversary of my father's death. I can't believe it's been that long; I can't believe it's only been that long. Time is weird that way.
We are gathering as a family on Friday to watch Groundhog Day. It was my dad's favorite film; after having the stroke, it was a film that was easy for him to grasp plus it's funny. We actually contemplated going to PA to celebrate the actual Punxsutawney Phil doing his job but since Groundhog Day is on a Friday this year... and it's about a 5 hours drive, we decided to wait on that.
Some people may think that we're being weird, gathering together on a "death date" to celebrate his life. That we should be mourning instead. But although grief is good for a while, we're not the "you must wear black now" type of people. And you only have one life that you are currently aware of, you might as well be happy in it.
I receive the NJ My Way daily email and today... Mrs. RockinC was mentioned!!!
Her vintage store in Red Bank, Backward Glances was featured in the "Dreamgirls" themed email as THE place to get a vintage 60s frock.
SaveTillie reclaimed a Palace photobooth which was sold to a Vermont store years ago. Some photos were stuck in the booth's exterior and according to the Vermont owners, came with the booth when it left NJ. So now, they are trying to ID the probable NJ residents who left their mark. Please click on the photo to see other portraits. If you know anyone, please email Bob Crane at the email provided on the site.
Atlantic City's famous Steel Pier family amusement area will be demolished in late 2007. The ever-caring Donald Trump has let the family that owns the concession area but not the property (that belongs to the Taj Mahal) have another season before it's demolished to make room for a "shopping-gaming-condo" complex. It was initially supposed to be taken down this month. Hmmmm... why the delay? Perhaps it's because the AC Historical Commission has begun a lawsuit as the AC Info Center lady suggested? Or maybe, it's trying to get the right permits to build a permanent residential structure on the OCEAN?
PS: Lucky and I were in AC this weekend (after driving down to DE for a surprise 30th birthday party) for the Philadelphia Candy Show. Got a lot of great info... too bad I don't really care for chocolate!
united civilly!
I am very excited that NJ has become the third state to allow civil unions. It wasn't until I became engaged that I started thinking about the importance of civil unions... you know that stage when you want everyone to do what you are doing because it's so great? (Lucky has a friend who loves to do this... although he still hasn't convinced Lucky to go kiteboarding). I realized that some of my friends who were in loving stable relationships could never be officially together. Just because they were gay?
There is a separation between church and state. So it should be easy to understand that marriage/civil union through the government is not the same as receiving the marital sacrament. But for some reason, many can't get past that. ARGGG.
Anyways, now there's a competition going down with who is going to be the first couple to be united under the new bill (If Lambertville's mayor will officiate the initial union, it will be a lesbian couple who wants to remain anonymous... like that will stay long!). I'm not sure I'd want to be in the first one... the Vermont couple who was the first couple in the US to be civilly united have now separated; and the whole world knows about it!
How will civil unions affect NJ heterosexuals? So far the only thing I can come up with is this... many mayors have said that they will not perform civil unions because it conflicts with their religious beliefs. That's just fine because mayors are not required to perform any ceremonies. However, if they only do traditional weddings and not civil unions, they are violating anti-discrimination laws and can be removed from office. So... if you are planning on getting married in NJ by a mayor, make sure they are doing civil unions... or you might be left at the altar by a government official!
Yesterday, we went to Gumby's annual New Year's DAY party.
It's a great idea... everyone has New Year's Eve plans (heck, last year, Lucky and I went to two of the three NYE parties we were invited to) but no one has plans for January 1st. Except for people wanting a deal on mattresses, furniture or cars.
So Gumby doesn't take excuses... he knows that his friends are probably not working and to avoid people cancelling because they have to go to bed early, he holds it from 12noon-7pm.
It was really nice and low key. Because there was no rush of making sure that you didn't miss the ball-drop (we came close to missing it this year because there was so much fun at JonJon's place... PS: doesn't Carson Daly look like he's morphing into Dick Clark?), or need to run to another shin-dig, everyone got to enjoy the family-style holiday dinner. This year, FOUR turkeys were deep-fryed out on the patio away from the kids running around inside.
Gumby created a 36 foot long table, using a plywood table topper that connected conference tables with his pool table (which he covered as well). The table stretched through two rooms with enough chairs for his 44 guests; it belonged in a Vanderbilt house, it was so long! It made it difficult for conversing with many people but definitely created a wow! factor.
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