When I was young, many, many years ago, we had a neighborhood watch. It was called neighbors. The kids in my neighborhood stuck together and everybody’s parents knew everyone else’s. Someone was always home in the neighborhood and watching what was going on and trouble and mischief seldom went unobserved or unreported, much to our own chagrin. These were the days before the Internet, cell phones and even computers. Today things are different. Many families have two working parents leaving their homes empty during the day. While the Internet and social media have opened our access and …
Seasonal fresh produce is readily available in stores and markets in and around Livingston, yet, when I read in Patch that a new "West Essex CSA" was forming, organized by two Livingston women, I wanted to join. I’d been “lurking” on the sidelines, eating and cooking with gusto and reading and talking about healthy foods, sustainable farming, and the environment, but not actually participating in a food co-op or CSA, which stands for Community Supported Agriculture. “A CSA group coordinates with local and regional farmers to bring high quality, locally grown, organic produce into their …
Dear Dad, Thank you for everything.... No really, everything Thank you for the countless sporting events we shared together in-person From the NBA playoffs to those Mets games in the nosebleed seats at Shea. And who could forget the dozens of Bears baseball games we went to in Newark? Our teams may not have won very often, but it sure felt like they did Thank you for playing navigator when the GPS in the car just doesn't work right For making me an expert in parrallel parking or should I say just enough of an expert to get through the DMV road test For making me feel like the David Beckham of…
I had just finished filing my writeup of this Monday's Town Council meeting when I received an interesting email from Livingston Patch editor Marilyn Lehren that essentially said -- a bear in Livingston, are you home? Fortunately, I was in the area and couldn't pass up the opportunity of capturing a bear sighting within the township. Although it certainly isn't an everyday occurence, bears in Livingston are not all that uncommon, as there have been numerous sightings over the years. A bear being chased along the side of Route 10, however, is a whole different story especially when you factor …
Growing up in Livingston and going through Burnet Hill Elementary School introduced me to a lot of different fads over the years. In my younger years, there were the portable Tamagotchi games, which allowed you to care for a virtual pet on a key chain-sized device. Just make sure you didn't get the imitation brand because they just weren't as good. Believe me; I learned my lesson the hard way. As I got older the trend shifted towards trading cards. First there was Pokemon series, which eventually lead to Digimon. The difference you ask? I really don't know because I was never able to get the …
Keys? Check. Cell phone? Check. Wallet? Wallet! That was how this reporter's morning started. Still half-asleep, I rummaged through my clothes hoping that I had somehow placed it in the wrong pocket. Unfortunately, that was not the case. I proceeded to re-trace the steps that I had taken over the previous few days or so and yet nothing. It became clear early on that I wasn't going to be getting my wallet back and I had come to grips with that. What didn't sit well with me was the thought of not having any personal identification on me. What would I do? My credit card, gone. My driver's …
