How Was Your July 4th Weekend?

  How was your July 4th weekend? 

If you live in the Northeast, it was steamy and hot. Really hot. Frank Isola, the sports writer-turned Sirius XM personality and fill in host on Pardon The interruption observed that Washington, D.C. was like Las Vegas. I have been in Las Vegas numerous times on or around July 4th with my family on my father’s cross-country car trips. It’s unrelenting heat there and even going into a pool provides little relief. Which is why the air conditioning in the casinos had to be top notch for the customers to flee into and lose their money. 

So you get the picture. Venturing out to run errands or work in the yard  this past week was either unpleasant or just forgotten until necessary. 

We endured thunderstorms which brought widespread, localized damage throughout the area. NJ Transit, which has an abysmal record to begin with, had three branches suspended due to the weather impacting its tracks plus the heat overwhelmed a train near Metuchen, New Jersey. Many people suffered power outages throughout New Jersey, including in our town of Springfield. We were lucky—my portable generator won’t start and I think it is a battery issue, which I have experienced twice before in the five years I have had it; I have to make a decision if it is worthwhile to keep the machine or bite the bullet and go with a fixed model. What good is a generator if you cannot rely on it at the most critical times? Besides, at age 75 plus with troublesome joints, getting on the ground to start it isn’t fun. 

Yes, the weekend was festive. Towns celebrated in its own way. New York City was one of the epicenters for the 250th birthday of the nation, with sailboats galore in New York Harbor and on the twin rivers of Manhattan. Macy’s held its annual fireworks extravaganza, which began a little earlier due to the threat of bad weather. 

A rite of July 4th happens yearly in a place sacred to me—Coney Island. Seared into my childhood memories are trips to visit my grandfather who resided in the Sea Gate section of the island—a gated community which you either had a pass or your name was left with the guard at the booth to access entry. 

At one time, Sea Gate was one of the most exclusive sections of Brooklyn, which, in turn, was once the fourth largest city in population in the United States. Brooklyn previously had a major league baseball team; now it is home for NBA and WNBA teams. 

The trips from Edison and then Highland Park in Middlesex County before the completion of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge (home to the first major portion of the annual New York Marathon in November, as it traverses the five boroughs to its conclusion in Central Park) was always arduous. 

We went through back roads in Woodbridge to reach the Outerbridge Crossing over the Arthur Kill to enter Staten Island. Where we made our way through the winding and hilly streets of the borough until we reached the ferry slip which would take us across the water to Brooklyn and the Belt Parkway, a scenic drive along the shoreline until we reached our exit. To a young boy, feeling the sea breeze on the ferry packed with autos was exhilarating and exciting. 

In addition to seeing my grandfather, there was a hidden joy on those trips. Almost always, my father would stop at an iconic locale before we made our way back to New Jersey. That place was Nathan’s. 

Two hot dogs with mustard and sauerkraut and those delicious crinkle cut fries with pieces of skin left on them were as delectable a treat as my young palate could want. I still salivate now over the thought. Pavlovian, I guess. 

Contrast that to the spectacle of Joey Chestnut devouring 66 of those five ounce treats (minus the mustard and sauerkraut) to win his 18th championship. It’s madness. 

It’s also marketing genius. And who would have thought that competitive eating is a sport? My idea of competitive eating was to eat my food at my Highland Park home before any of the carnivores in my family would swoop in and inhale what was available on any plate. 

My tastebuds went in a different direction this weekend. On Friday morning, we had a normal breakfast. Lunch was leftover white chili, which was chicken and cannellini bean-based, with a sauce made from greek yogurt and cream cheese. Dinner was a baked spaghetti dish, using ground turkey. Non-traditional fare for July 4th. 

On the actual holiday, breakfast was a berry smoothie and a hard-boiled egg. Lunch was leftover baked spaghetti. Then for dinner, BBQ chicken marinated in a garlic, lemon-lime, mustard and olive oil mixture overnight. Combined with homemade Cole slaw and a penne pasta salad, it was outstanding. 

Sunday is nearly always oatmeal with fruit after food shopping. For lunch, we had more of Saturday’s meal. Then for dinner on the road, we went with a favorite—Lox ’n Loaded on a Multi-Grain Everything bagel from O’ Bagels in Sterling.  Yummy. 

On all three days we shared a peach crumb pie from Melick’s Town Farm in Oldwick. It is a 25 mile ride into Somerset County to the farm stand/store. But so worth it. 

We stumbled on Melick’s because our source for Thanksgiving apple cider in Livingston was sold to build condos on the property. Melick’s had a good reputation and they commercially sold the cider in Whole Foods, so we tried it. 

It also didn’t hurt that the market was 9 miles down the road from the exit my wife took when she taught in nearby Bernards Township. Easy in and easy out every Thanksgiving eve. 

In my own forays to the site, I noticed how, in addition to the great produce they had—fresh peaches, plums and of course, apples and corn—their pies were fast sellers. So we tried a Very Berry pie last year and it was a hit. 

Thus with this being a birthday bash for our nation, it seemed logical to get a pie—apple was on my mind (“as American as apple pie”). Melick’s would be the place. Except that the peach crumb looked extra special. Thus we compromised—the drinkers bought a bottle of apple wine and the dessert hounds shared a peachy keen and tasty delight.  

Now the Fourth of July means fireworks. The local show, very visible from my driveway, began a tad early due to the upcoming storms. Adjoining Millburn did the same, as did Macy’s start their performance ahead of the rain. 

I have seen the Highland Park pyrotechnics; more from our hilltop apartment in West Orange. In 1982, an unknown postponed display was on the horizon at Long Beach Island as was Atlantic City’s. In 1971 I witnessed the Nation’s Capital show from a party in Arlington, Virginia. I’ve been to Disneyland on July 4th; Monroeville, Pennsylvania; and seen the streamers disappear into the fog in San Francisco, making the clouds look like they contained colored lightning. But never Macy’s—no interest in spending hours in the heat for the show. 

Before I knew it, the birthday celebrations were over. We finished watching Season 5, Episode 3 of The Bear. The show has been majorly disappointing in its last hurrah. We are reading a wonderful book about three movie moguls: Francis Ford Coppola; George Lucas; and Steven Spielberg—you may have watched a movie or two from their creative minds. 

Mostly, because of the heat, we have remained indoors in the relative comfort of our air-conditioning and ceiling fans. July 1st was my regularly scheduled time to change the filter, so it was fresher air the unit was taking in. 

That left me with New York Yankees baseball to watch. I haven’t checked out Wimbledon yet. And I made one visit to the World Cup on FOX, which I will discuss later.  

The Yankees are playing horrible baseball. The hitting remains in the toilet, although it was a slight bit better when Minnesota showed up in the Bronx. The fielding and pitching hadn’t been much, either. 

At least, in the midst of a rain delay, ace pitcher Gerrit Cole defied the odds, shooed his manager Aaron Boone away and showed why, even as he still recovers his form from Tommy John surgery, he could easily be in the conversation for Cooperstown when he retires. Cole’s pitching, before and after the rain, along with just enough power hitting, ended the onerous seven game losing streak which had Yankees fans apoplectic. 

However, the injury list grew even more with key starting pitcher Carlos Rondon, who joined the rotation in May after recovering from his own surgery, has inflammation in his elbow which placed him on the IL. On Saturday an untested  rookie came up from Triple AAA to replace Rodon and was shelled, surrendering four homers to the Twins in three-plus innings. The NYY bats awoke for a moment, but when key opportunities to tie or even take the lead emerged, they failed as they have done time and time again during the tailspin. 

The team is in a regression which glaringly showed how much superstar outfielder Aaron Judge’s absence truly means. Every member of the starting rotation has missed a start for some reason this year. Some relievers, like Camilo Doval, have been flat out bad—I know his stuff is electric but what good is it if he cannot retire batters with such an awesome arsenal? Getting back Trent Grisham to man center field and provide some needed offense may help, but he’s no Judge. 

Another low hit, non-offensive showing against the Twins on Sunday, a team the Yankees have historically beat up on, did nothing to stem the bleeding. Now the Yankees head to red-hot Tampa Bay for a critical show down before ending the first part of the season in Washington against a hungry, young team. This is not where they want to be. Let alone where the team should be. 

Moreovoer, when will Giancarlo Stanton’s balky calf heal enough to return him to play? Will Rodon and Max Fried quickly begin winning when they return to the rotation? Will underperforming Jazz Chisholm’s toe disable him? Is Clarke Schmidt’s eventual season debut going to go well and where will they need him? Has rookie sensation and first-time American League All Star Cam Schlittler hit a wall and the MLB hitters are catching up to him? Will Judge’s rib cage heal enough to make him productive during the stretch run? Has Ben Rice, another first time All Star, peaked in his performance? Is All Star Cody Bellinger going to come out of his horrible slump and play like expected? Can GM Brian Cashman find catching help to upgrade the offensive woes at that position? Or might the GM trade for bullpen help? 

Too many questions to sort out. Which means plenty of angst for the very impatient Yankees fans from now until the season is complete—however it ends. Unfortunately, this uncomfortableness includes me. 

I did mention the World Cup. I was intrigued by little Cape Verde being tied with #1 Argentina at the end of full time. I decided to check out the telecast. The teams traded goals in spirited action until Argentina’s superiority asserted itself and the defending champs and Lionel Messi moved on. It was fun to root for the little underdog and the huge potential upset. 

The United States remains alive and mercifully, FIFA, the governing organization for the World Cup, suspended the red card given to top striker Folarin Balogun after a phone call from President Trump, allowing him to play against Belgium. Could his presence be enough to propel the home team into the quarterfinals? 

France, Spain, Argentina and England remained the favorites as the Round of 16 concluded. The surprise team to have emerged to the next round is Morocco. 

Our weekend concluded with a trip to the PNC Arts Center in Holmdel for a bucket list concert by the 60’s-70’s group, The Guess Who. As an opening act, guitarist Don Felder reprised his times with The Eagles before the acrimonious split. He sang a spirited rendition of “Hotel California,” which he composed. 

From Winnipeg, Manitoba (where I have been), the most recognizable members of The Guess Who remain Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings. The song “American Woman” hit the top of the charts in both the US and Canada in 1970. Other notable hits were “These Eyes;” “No Time;” “Laughing;” and “Share the Land.” Additionally, Bachman and The Guess Who sang hits from “that other group” as Cummings referred to Bachman-Turner-Overdrive. 

While the group officially disbanded in 1975, there were some reunions and then an unauthorized group performed under The Guess Who name. Bachman and Cummings won a lengthy court battle for the N-I-L and recently started the US portion of the current tour. 

We had some technical glitches to deal with. For at least two different times, Verizon Internet went down. Including Sunday morning, which led to some nervousness before I was safely able to download the mobile tickets and parking to my Apple Wallet, lest we would not even get into the parking lot @ PNC. 

Traffic was mercifully light in both directions and while it rained on the return trip, it didn’t dampen our good time rocking and remembering. What was amazing was how continuously these men in their 70’s and 80’s could play at such a difficult and accomplished level. 

Finally, once home, I watched the conclusion of England defeating the Mexican team in Estadio Azteca, to the disappointment of the home crowd. The English side now draws Norway, a surprise winner over Brazil. In Miami. 

What we are left with this upcoming week are more Yankees hiccups. Seeing how Shohei Ohtani’s sore biceps affects him going forward while the Dodgers continue to roll. The MLB All-Star Game cannot happen soon enough. And more World Cup action.

Plus, where will LeBron James end up now that his agent Rich Paul provided a ten team white board of suitors? Bet cautiously if you must on this outcome. 

How was your July 4th weekend?