No Sour Grapes at Library Fundraiser

BY  |  Monday, Apr 04, 2011 11:30am  |  COMMENTS (0)

“I’d rather have a good wine in really great company than a great wine in decent company,” novelist and Wall Street Journal wine critic Jay McInerney told the sell-out crowd at Saturday night’s Grapes of Wrath Winetasting Event at the Montclair Public Library’s main branch on South Fullerton Avenue. More than 350 supporters enjoyed wines from Amanti Vino, food from Saluté restaurant, and music by Chris Koch and Crackpot Theory to support the Montclair Public Library Foundation. The library suffered record funding cuts this year.

Guests had the opportunity to donate to the MPL Foundation evening by purchasing items off a large menuboard, the “Giving Opportunities Menu.” As a result, the library will be able to purchase additional items for the collection, new computers, accounting software, a puppet theater, children’s book group kits and more. This support is critical, as the library’s municipal allocation was cut $400,000 last year, with a proposed decrease of $800,000 in 2011

Now through April 18th, Amanti Vino will donate to the library foundation 5% from the sale of wines served at the Grapes of Wrath event.

Photo of McInerney with Watchung Booksellers owner Margot Sage-El by Lisa Passmore.

Coffee With…Children’s Book Author and Editor Arthur Levine

BY  |  Thursday, Mar 24, 2011 11:30am  |  COMMENTS (2)

In Arthur Levine’s bright new picture book, Monday is One Day, parents and children hug goodbye before going their separate ways each morning…and mark off the days until Saturday.  Already a best-seller in Austin, Texas (read on to discover why), Levine’s book is dedicated to “my only Max Emilio, from whom my heart is never parted,” and will have its official launch – including a reading, author talk, and signing — this Saturday, March 26th, 2 p.m. at the Montclair Public Library.

Rendered in cheerful primary colors, the book’s illustrations of love-imbued home life reflect a diversity of families and environs that Levine likens to the neighbors and friends he and his family have found in Montclair. A long-time children’s book editor and the author of seven picture books, Levine  took the time to talk with me over sparkling water (not coffee!)  about his family, his writing career, being J.K. Rowling’s American publisher, and  what he likes best about living in Montclair. Continue Reading

President’s Week Pop Quiz

BY  |  Thursday, Feb 24, 2011 9:11am  |  COMMENTS (6)

Quick:  You’re going on an adventure. What do you bring?

A(answer): If you’re from Jersey and the adventure falls near Washington’s birthday you’re bringing flip flops, bathing suit, and the key to your (parents’) Florida condo.

It happens every year at this time — the exodus from Jersey to the sunny southern shores. If a brief survey of your friends’ Facebook photos (palm trees, sunshine, chaise lounge snapshots of pedicure-painted toes hovering over the sand) doesn’t convince you that most of the state has fled the snow and sleet for Dade and Palm Beach Counties, then a quick trip to Newark International surely will.

Bronzed faces get off the planes and pale faces board them. Shades, cell phones, Uggs and a queue at the airport e-charging station do little to disguise the fact that the Jersey Shore’s going South for a little late winter sun, and a time-lapse photo sequence shot from the airport’s blue vinyl seats would surely show you that come February, those who can, hit the beach. Continue Reading

Gliding Through the Winter Freeze

BY  |  Thursday, Feb 10, 2011 12:00pm  |  COMMENTS (2)


Another week of freezing cold makes this the perfect time for ice skating. Yes, I am talking about that timeless activity that will take you back to childhood bonfires, rosy cheeks, and a thermos full of hot chocolate. And I am suggesting you embrace the cold before it melts into spring.

All you need is a green flag over a frozen pond, a pair of skates, and a gorgeous outdoor destination to make a day of it.

Essex Fells’ outdoor ice skating rink – known as The Pond – is a favorite, picturesque spot for winter skating. Never heard of it? That’s because the Pond has been Essex County’s best-kept winterland secret…until now. Continue Reading

My Big Walk: The Lights are Up!

BY  |  Thursday, Dec 16, 2010 10:26am  |  COMMENTS (40)

The lights are up, the endless loop of holiday songs is playing in every corner shop, and having watched for years as non-Christian friends struggled to make a simple menorah or blue-and-white dreydel stand up to the luminous delight of Rockefeller Center angels or Santa’s North Pole workshop, I was delighted when Baristanet founder Deb Galant invited me to walk through Baristaville and explain the myriad holiday (read: Christmas) decorations.

“Like what?” I asked.

“Like why do some people put up ‘tasteful’ white lights,” she said, her fingers forming air quotes. “And other people put up plastic candy canes and still other people have blowup Snoopy dogs with yellow stars in their hands?” Continue Reading

What a Difference a Dog Made for Dana Jennings

BY  |  Monday, Nov 08, 2010 9:01am  |  COMMENTS (6)

Play, even when you’re sick. Live in the moment. A long walk is more calming than a glass of fine cabernet. Nap in the sun, whenever possible. Be a mystery.

These are just a few nuggets from the doggy bowl of wisdom that Montclair writer Dana Jennings shares in his new memoir, What a Difference a Dog Makes: Big Lessons on Life, Love, and Healing from a Small Pooch.

On a brisk walk through town this weekend, the intrepid Jennings recalled the path that took him from cancer diagnosis, treatment, and blogging about his illness, to this “very, very lucky” point in life when he is in remission, back at his desk at the New York Times, and celebrating an effusive Associated Press review of his book that ran in newspapers across the country last week.

“After the shock of having cancer,” Jennings said. “I decided to find out what it could teach me.  Mostly I learned to look at everything very closely. And I started watching Bijou.”

Continue Reading

My Big Walk Tours Mt. Pleasant Cemetery

BY  |  Saturday, Oct 02, 2010 11:00am  |  COMMENTS (13)

Dante had his Beatrice to lead him through the afterlife. I had Jeffrey Bennett and Scott Willman. Dante’s venue was hell. Mine was Newark’s Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, established 1844.

Or as P.D. James might say, I had a taste for death today. And that taste was somewhat dry, a bit dusty, and certainly quirky.

An amateur historian and tour guide, Bennett met my intrepid companion Toni and me at the soaring Victorian Gothic Gateway on Broadway for a MyBigWalk tour earlier this week. He led us to a small door in an old brownstone office where, as if on cue, Scott Willman, third generation master of the cemetery, emerged.

Willman grew up on the cemetery grounds and lives now with his wife in the same historic gatehouse where he spent his childhood overlooking 36 bucolic acres of old graves. He told us he was hard of hearing, and that he would be leading our tour.

“It’s the most beautiful place in the world,” Willman said as we set out. “Sometimes we walk our dogs here.”

“Are dogs allowed the cemetery?” I asked.

“I can’t hear you,” he said.

I repeated the question.

“Not really,” Willman said. “But I let people sneak them in. Except pit bulls.”

Continue Reading

My Big Walk Takes a Stroll With the Principal

BY  |  Friday, Sep 17, 2010 1:00pm  |  COMMENTS (8)

I rushed out of the house and arrived at Mt. Hebron Middle School at 7:20 in the morning on Wednesday. Five minutes late for school –  some things never change!

Guy Whitlock, the school’s new principal, was already embroiled in a crossfire of  trouble-shooting when I caught up with him in the main office.  At well over six-feet he was  crisp  and cool with an animated  face that was focused, sharp, thoughtful and — when he broke into smile — sunny as hell.  It was picture day, the office was filled with boxes and books, students and teachers, ringing phones and pressing schedules. Shall I come back for our walk another day, I asked.

“Every day can be like this,” Whitlock said with a broad smile and easy shrug as we set off for his morning stroll around the school. “It’s a big learning curve.”

Continue Reading

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