Year: 2016
Looking Toward the New Year
As we enter the New Year, Another Town on the Hudson is gearing up for an exciting and challenging 2017. My first book is scheduled for publication in October 2017. Related events in Jersey City, New York, the metropolitan region, and possibly elsewhere will follow. Between now and then, various tight deadlines command my creative…
Wishing You a Merry Christmas
Another Town on the Hudson wishes you a merry Christmas. Enjoy the company of family and friends. Relish the food, drink, and cheer. Listen to holiday music. Watch classic Christmas specials and movies (my favorite: Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas). If you have a treasured family tradition, no matter how silly or simple, follow and share…
The City of Brotherly Love: a Brief Reflection
This past weekend, my wife and I visited Philadelphia to share an afternoon with an old friend. Instead of “visited,” I should say returned. Philadelphia was our home for nearly five years. In Philadelphia, I spent the more formative years of my young adulthood, met the woman who would become my wife, discovered the joys…
The Power of Words: Winston Churchill
My wife and I, both dedicated fans of British dramas and novels of morals and manners, recently watched Netflix’s The Crown, a dramatic interpretation of Queen Elizabeth II’s ascendancy to the throne of the United Kingdom and the early days of her reign. The Crown is a wonderful series with superb story-telling, gorgeous costumes, luxurious…
Cleaning Up the Garden: a Passage into Winter
During the past several weekends, I have been cleaning up my garden to prepare for the coming winter months. Bit by bit, I approached this annual seasonal project: I pulled up the remaining pepper and tomato plants, pruned bushes and shrubs, dumped potting soil into the compost bin and pile, put away chairs and tables,…
Deadline Looming … Sporadic Writing
With a major publication deadline looming (more details in the future), I’ll be pulling away from Another Town on the Hudson for the next several weeks. In the meanwhile, I would be flattered if you entertained yourself with a few of my older posts.
Election Day: Vote, Vote, and Vote
Tomorrow November 8, 2016 is election day. Make sure to head to the polls and exercise your hard-fought right to vote. Make a choice for every candidate and ballot question–not just for president. Vote as if your voice counted, because tomorrow it does.
Where Have All the Nice Places Gone?
Several posts ago, I discussed the dearth of decent, new public spaces in Jersey City. This problem with new development and construction exists well beyond Jersey City (Alex Marshall analyzes this distressful pattern in a recent article in Governing magazine). My past discussion centered upon public spaces: parks, libraries, and government buildings. The architecture and…
Delightfully Frozen in the Past: Ocean Grove, New Jersey
During our recent vacation—too short, as always—my wife and I stayed at a lovely bed and breakfast in Ocean Grove, New Jersey, right next door to the rowdy and famous Asbury Park. While Asbury Park tempts one with rock ‘n’ roll music, cheap drinks, and the hope of fast women, Ocean Grove offers quiet nights,…
Thoughts on Asbury Park: a Few Days at the Jersey Shore
Wanting to avoid the expense, inconvenience, and utter unpleasantness of flying, my wife and I have planned our weekend trips and vacations around train travel over the past several years. A proponent of the contemporary cult of travel (and any airline executive) would blanch at this practice. The whole wide world awaits you. Why limit…