Stories I never finished - a purging
One of the disappointments of a being a writer is never being able to finish a story. Another is getting a story published because of everything from not having time to devote to such work to editorial interference.
There are three that pop into my mind that I want to put out there in the world so I don’t have think about them again. And they are going onto Tumblr. Let me know what you think. Thanks.
There's something thrilling about pulling the plunger to propel a steel ball through a playfield and into a world of flashing lights, targets and other obstacles to get a score.
Yes, I like the occasional game of pinball since I never got the hang of video game classics like Pacman or Space Invaders in my youth.
When people mention New Jersey and pinball in the same sentence, it’s usually a reference to the Silverball Museum Arcade in Asbury Park, practically a mecca for pinball enthusiasts with hundreds of games to be played.
But a trip to the Jersey Shore can be a bit of trek and a whole day gone.
What if you want to get in a game while having your breakfast or try being a wizard with a nightcap?
Across northern New Jersey, there are places that have a pinball machine hidden in a corner or out in plain sight that can lead to some quarters being spent and points being tallied.
Here are just a few that I found as I ricocheted across North Jersey in search of a pinball machine.
The roadside stand on River Road near the entrance to Route 3 West has obtained near-legendary status since it was opened in 1928 by Abe Rutt and his wife, Anna.
One morning in June, a small group came in to order several of its renowned "rippers," deep-fried hot dogs complimented by homemade relish.
What they didn't yabba dabba do was check out the Flintstones pinball machine, made by WMS Industries in 1994 based on the movie that came the same year, which features such details as four game modes, "smart ramps," and the voices of John Goodman as Fred Flintstone and Rick Moranis as Barney Rubble.
It's a can't-miss if you come through the front door of the establishment.
Bill Chrisafinis, one of the members of the extended family that has owned the place since they purchased it from Rutt since 1974, said the Flintstones game is one of the many that has been in Rutt's Hut for the more than 30 years that he has worked there. And it is still popular with customers.
"Because it's old school. Old school plays old school games," Chrisafinis said. "People like to come here and play pinball."
Chrisafinis said while the Flintstone machine isn't played very often, when it is played it has been memorable. He cited a recent visit by a man and his young daughter as he showed a photo of them.
"See this little girl, she's three years old. Her father walks in with his own little step stool. She's eating and she's playing pinball," Chrisafinis recalled. "She did OK, she's three years old."
It would not be too much of a stretch to call Bergen County the land of shared services.
The county government under its executive, James Tedesco, has a shared services division that oversees the service partnerships between the county and various municipalities.
Through interlocal agreements and resolutions, three co-operative groups made up of a total of 35 Bergen County towns share equipment too costly for one community to acquire on its own such as a sewer vacuum, garbage trucks, and a hotbox/infrared heater unit.
Other shared services collaborations include the county with 62 towns and Boards of Education for the borrowing of Emergency/Non-Emergency Equipment like water pumps, light towers, and security barriers.
Tedesco said many of the shared services agreements, which came about during his term starting in 2015, fulfill a goal that he has a mind since he was the mayor of Paramus from 2003 to 2010.
"We can control taxes, we're not having a tax increase on the county ... There's absolutely is no tax increase, but yet we are providing more services," Tedesco said. "People say, 'How do you do that?' and you do it by doing these kinds of things."
Tedesco said what has surprised him in a positive way was how the towns have gravitated toward shared services with county government.
"I didn't anticipate how much activity and how much the local school districts have wanted to partner with us and to share services with us," Tedesco said. "I thought there was more of that in their local municipality, and we've come to find that those school districts like Englewood and Ridgewood, and even the bigger ones have chosen to come to the county."
Roberta Sonenfeld, like Tedesco, sees shared services as the way forward for municipalities to achieve tax savings.
Sonenfeld, the former village manager for Ridgewood, in an editorial for The Record in July wrote of how state leaders such as Governor Phil Murphy and State Senator Phil Murphy have been leading separate initiatives exploring the same ground - shared services and municipal consolidation.
She pointed out in the editorial that while "sharing services between municipalities has generally been viewed as a panacea" to the problem of New Jersey's numerous small municipalities and "home rule," there needed to be a rethinking of shared services to make it more regional rather than between towns to achieve better savings and efficiencies.
Sonenfeld said in an interview that Murphy's hiring of former Harding Township Mayor Nicolas Platt and Summit Mayor Jordan Glatt as shared services czars for the state, and Sweeney's taskforce has brought momentum to bringing shared services and municipal consolidation closer to reality.
However, she observed that for all municipalities to embrace what Murphy and Sweeney have each been advocating, it is up to leadership locally.
“I think it’s the will of political leadership,” Sonenfeld said. “I think the political leadership in the civic positions have to work with residents and put out the positives, the negatives, the ides around it, and get them involved.
Meanwhile, shared services have resonated on a local level in numerous ways in Bergen County.
Bergenfield and Dumont are each in the process of doing work on their respective borough halls.
That has led both towns in a shared services agreement with Dumont using Bergenfield's Municipal Court as the Dumont Borough Hall has been closed since 2015.
Bergenfield Mayor Norman Schmelz said the agreement was not difficult to strike with Dumont and Bergenfield is not looking to make a profit as it being paid enough to cover costs. Rather, Schmelz said it’s about helping the town next door.
“They came to us, and we were being good neighbors, we helped them out,” Schmelz said.
Schmelz said he finds shared services to be a “win-win,” with those collaborations happening both in town with the school district, and with the county to do health inspections in Bergenfield.
“There’s always a benefit because you are not paying an employee’s health benefits,” Schmelz said. “So, if somebody has free time that they can give up, it’s a win-win.”
While the towns have been able to share a service that has been beneficial for both, the two found themselves unable to pursue a shared service on a much grander scale.
In 2016, Dumont Borough Councilperson Louis DiPaolo and his counterpart, then-Bergenfield Borough Councilperson Chris Tully proposed the construction of a 64,000-square-foot joint municipal complex, including a police station, with an estimated cost of $23.7 million.
DiPaolo at a public meeting in November that year championed the project as an "investment in the town's future" that would help taxpayers see savings through sharing various municipal services.
But the idea, while it had its supporters, never came to fruition as both officials and residents took issue with the site for the complex being based in Bergenfield and had concerns about what town would be responsible for providing a municipal service.
In April, Gov. Phil Murphy and Lt. Governor Sheila Oliver trekked to Montclair to announce the state was reviving Main Street New Jersey and the Neighborhood Preservation Program, which have both helped in revitalizing downtown areas.
As the year is coming to an end, have those programs come back on line or do they continue to languish in bureaucratic limbo?
The Neighborhood Preservation Program, which dates back to the 1980s but has not been funded since 2009, received $2.5 million in Murphy's proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2019 approved in July. The program provides technical assistance and guidance to participating municipalities for a period of three to five years to encourage small-business job creation and community investment.
Main Street New Jersey, a program that deals with the renewal of historic downtowns, village centers, and neighborhood commercial districts through public-private partnerships, received $500,000 in the FY 2019 State Budget. Funding was eliminated in 2017 under former Gov. Chris Christie.
Among the towns that have benefited from the Main Street program is Boonton, which in 2002 was designated a Main Street New Jersey town, helping to attract new businesses. Paterson was a recipient of monies from the Neighborhood Preservation Program.
Murphy at the April press conference proudly pointed out that Main Street New Jersey from 1990 to 2017 was responsible for 10,000 full-time jobs in 2,560 new and expanded businesses in New Jersey, and more than $1.2 billion of private reinvestment went into Main Street districts.
A Department of Community Affairs spokesperson told The Record and USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey this week that the NPP and Main Street NJ, which both operate under the DCA, could start up again as early as February.
The DCA spokesperson said the Neighborhood Preservation Program plans to change its mission where it will work in tandem with Main Street New Jersey to work more on downtown areas.
