Watchung Reservation

My friend, Maggie, sat on a bench at Watchung Reservation with her face toward the sun.  "I'm like a battery," she said, "I need the sun to recharge."  After an endless winter, cold rain two days ago, and a blustery wind yesterday, the weather finally gave us a chance to relax, recharge, rejoice!

The Watchung Reservation is a 2,065 acre preserve in the heart of Union County.  To get there, I drove the Garden State Parkway South to Route 22 West: not scenic.  Inside the preserve, though, it is scenic.   There's an abundance of trails, streams, an abandoned village, a lake, a picnic area and playground.  We hiked the Historic Trail, noted on the map with an "H" and a pink line.  While part of the trail runs along the road, most of it is in the woods along Lake Surprise, which does emerge through the trees  like a surprise! Along the way, historic markers are posted to describe a bygone era of boy scouts, corn fields, a boathouse.

An area such as this in the densely populated state of NJ is a true wonder to me.  Check it out as soon as possible!  Or, better yet, stay away and let it be quiet there for me!

A Morning Run

I was running on Broad Street around 8:00am, Saturday morning.  The road was quiet.  I felt someone on my left side, so I glanced over my shoulder.  There was a man on a bicycle.  This was nothing unusual, until I noticed his clothing:  light brown plaid pajamas (matching top and bottom); thick, gray wool socks; sandals.  His head was shaved.

"You're in your pajamas!" I blurted out.  My first thought was that he must have been in an awful hurry to get out for a morning bike ride.  My second thought was that maybe it was not such a good idea to talk with this person.  After all, a grown man riding a bike in his pajamas might have serious issues.

Without missing a beat, he looked at me and asked, "Did you see a garbage truck go past?"

Now, I saw that his left hand gripped the handlebar and a bag of garbage.  It was a medium sized bag of garbage-- a brown paper bag inside of a plastic bag.  I also saw the vein that bulged on the side of his head.  "No, I didn't."

"It was just 8:01 and I missed the truck.  I can't believe it."  He focused on the road before him, almost willing the truck to appear.

"Well, if you ride up to Shop Rite, you can put the garbage in one of their bins.  You're almost there, anyway," I offered.

He hesitated, turned his head to the right to look at me, replied, "That's not a bad idea", and he pedaled away.  

I continued on my run and felt oddly better about myself.

The Montclair Film Festival 2014

"It's  Sundance. Only Jersier."  That slogan represents both the attitude and the ambition of this local and highly enjoyable annual film festival.  This is the third year of the festival and over 90 films were shown between April 28 thru May 4 in several different theaters throughout Montclair.   I saw four films this weekend on a wide range of topics.  All were a hit with me!

On Friday, I saw "The Dog", a documentary about John Wojtowicz, the bank robber who tried to rob a bank to finance his lover's sex change operation and inspired the movie "Dog Day Afternoon". My friend, who was interested in seeing the movie, couldn't help but wonder why two young directors would want to spend 10 years gathering material for this film.  Wojtowicz had an unusual story to tell!

In complete contrast, on Saturday I saw "Advanced Style", a movie based on the photographs and blog of Ari Seth Cohen, who photographs women between the ages of 62-95 who exhibit a strong sense of style.  Seven of the women were highlighted in the film and two were in the audience!  An exceptionally fun film which played to a packed theater.  Check out his blog:advancedstyle.blogspot.com/

On a similar note, today I watched "Men of the Cloth", about the art of tailoring.  The film focused on three old tailors from Italy and one young apprentice.  (One still lives in Italy, one in NY and one outside of Philly.) The producer is a young female who was a men's fashion editor.  On her trips to Italy, she became fascinated by the men who were "behind the scenes" making the clothes.  The three men she highlighted, were not really "behind the scenes", but true artisans with very successful businesses and teaching careers.  One of the men was 90 and still working, though he died in 2011.  The scenes in Italy were breathtaking- another reason to visit!

So, two of the four films this weekend focused on fashion as art, beauty, and working into very old age.  

I ended the weekend with two other friends watching the closing film, "Wild Canaries", written and produced by a young married couple both from NJ, the wife from Montclair.  The film was a wild and crazy "whodunit" murder mystery/comedy/drama starring the married couple and other more well-known TV actors. The movie was fun and we all wish them the best of luck!

That's it for the 2014 festival.  Now, the volunteers get to rest, filmmakers take their films on tour, and the audience members go back to work, all invariably enriched by the shared experience. 

The Way You Look Tonight

The third Tuesday of each month brings the Silver Starlight Orchestra to an Italian restaurant in Hopatcong.  Last night was a special Tuesday,  since the evening's playlist was largely Frank Sinatra tunes.   A few years ago, I took private dance lessons to practice foxtrot, cha-cha and waltz. In all honesty, I just wanted to dance to Frank Sinatra's tune, "The Way You Look Tonight."  I love it- the big band sound, his voice, the words, the way you can foxtrot across the entire dance floor.    

The orchestra draws a mixed crowd of families, couples who eat dinner and sit through every song, and people who want to eat, drink and dance.  I have very happily joined the latter group, made up of an accomplished group of dancers with an enviable reputation at the restaurant.  The night is fun and lively, but also inspirational.  Always there are couples who are well into their 80's who spend most of the night on the dance floor.  

Last night I watched an elderly couple make their way to the dance floor from the bar area. They were dressed for a night out:  she in a black and white top, skirt, gold earrings; he in slacks, a sweater and blazer.  He moved slowly, with a slight limp.  Once on the dance floor, though, the limp seemed to vanish.  Song after song, they danced- jitterbug, swing, waltz- with enviable rhythm, connection, and ease.  While they were not fast, she could spin and he had cool moves of his own! Toward the end of the night when Ed, one of the fellows at our "dance table",  extended his compliments, he learned that the couple had danced together for 40 years, but never taken any formal lessons.  When I shared that information with Dave, he replied that it was because they lived through the "golden age of dance."  While I didn't leave through the "golden age big band era",  I want to be like that couple, dancing into my own golden age, Frank Sinatra playing as I foxtrot across the dance floor. 

Fitness and the Outdoors

I'm home now, feeling wistful about my days in the mountains.  It's always good to be home, see family and friends, start the intellectual wheels churning again.  But, still...  While I ate breakfast this morning, I read through a free magazine I picked up at the Boulder Farmer's Market called "Boulderganic:  Bringing self-sufficiency and sustainability home."

"In Boulder, people like to move.  While many studies suggest that group fitness and group sports might be the way to go, finding an outlet for group exercise can sometimes be a challenge-- especially in a community as transient and busy as Boulder."  So, a couple of UC alumni created a website designed to connect Boulder's "fitness community".  It's called BoulderActive.com.  You can find a person who shares your hobby, or try something new.

A separate article entitled "Can we stop loving Mother Nature to death?" provided some tips for both enjoying and protecting the wilderness.  "Coloradoans love their outdoors.  This is why people move here.  It's why people stay here.  It's why they live here.  They love visiting wilderness," says Ralph Swain, US Forest Service regional wilderness service manager.  With 3 million people living along or near the Front Range, the recreational activities effects soil, vegetation, wildlife and water. 

How do people protect the wilderness that they so love?  A few tips included- educate yourself; stay on the paths; be sure fires are out; manage food, trash and waste.  Maybe the most important thing is to keep in mind the words of The Wilderness Act.  The Wilderness Act was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on September 3, 1964.  "A wilderness... is recognized as an area where the earth and community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain."  Read that last phrase again-- where man (woman) is a visitor.